Nei Jing Acupuncture Practices

This weekend, I completed a two-year postgraduate training in Nei Jing Nature-Based Medicine. You might wonder why I chose to do another course when I already have a degree-level qualification in acupuncture.

The answer is simple: Chinese medicine is built on a beautiful philosophy, one that speaks through stars, rivers, mountains, trees and the changing seasons. From a modern perspective, it's easy to assume these are simply poetic metaphors.

Nei Jing

The Nei Jing (translated as The Inner Classic) contains the foundational ideas many people associate with acupuncture: Dao, Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the relationships between the organs, the channels, and the seasons.

These ideas didn't appear out of nowhere. Although the text was written around 2,000 years ago, it grew from the lived experience of people whose survival depended on understanding the natural world. They would starve if they failed to store enough food or fuel for winter. They observed the rhythms of the seasons for their very survival, noticed subtle changes from year to year, and passed that knowledge from one generation to the next.

They lived this way out of necessity, there were no supermarkets. They developed methods of longevity, which have direct relevance in the modern age - we still have the same bodies but also sofas, cars, central heating, air conditioning, screens, fast food, over-farmed land and stress. Most of us are sadly disconnected from nature that nourishes us.

Luckily this is one of the few texts to survive, from a library catalogue we know that Wai Jing (Outer Classic) existed, but no copies have been preserved for study.

Studying the original Chinese brings an entirely different depth of understanding acupuncture. I only know around 500 characters, but taking time to immerse in the layered meanings held within these small pictograms has given me a fresh perspective on everything I learned at college.

One of the concepts that has become widespread in the West is the idea of acupuncture "points" lying on fixed lines called "meridians". In reality, meridian is a 20th century French translation by George Soulié de Morant, expressing his understanding of acupuncture channels, likening them to the meridians that divide the globe.

When you read the Nei Jing in the original Chinese, it doesn't describe neat, straight lines running through the body like meridians. Instead, it draws on the great rivers of China as analogies, allowing students of the time to understand the qualities and movement of qì and Blood through landscapes they already knew. This analogy would have been especially meaningful in its original context. Roads were simple tracks, so rivers provided the fastest and most reliable means of travel. Through their experience of paddling, people would have be familiar with the contrast between slow-moving rivers carrying a large volume of water and fast-flowing rivers with comparatively little water—precisely the descriptors found in the Nei Jing.

My own British ancestors, who travelled along the Thames, the Medway, and the network of man-made canals across the UK, would also have understood these metaphors  from their everyday lived experience. By contrast, as a modern driver, I find that I need to spend time observing rivers in nature to fully appreciate the meaning behind these analogies.

In the Nei Jing, the rivers of the body are described as winding waterways with changing depth and flow. They have an entire ecology: valleys, marshes, estuaries, and seas. Very few specific "points" are described. Instead, the Nei Jing speaks of regions of the body—living landscapes of our bodies that, over time, have often been simplified into individual points in modern textbooks. When an area feels empty or undernourished, the Nei Jing recommends "mending" it. Gentle moxibustion can help nourish and restore that landscape. When an area feels full or congested, it's as though a branch has become lodged in the river, or a bank has become full interrupting the river's flow. Techniques such as needling, cupping, or more focused moxibustion can help remove that obstruction, allowing movement to return and the excess to naturally flow towards areas of deficiency.

So what does Nei Jing Acupuncture mean in the clinic?

I'm fortunate to have a background in massage therapy, so palpation and observing the quality of tissue have always been central to the way I work. The Nei Jing has given me a clearer sense of what a healthy body should look and feel like.

When you come for a treatment, the process begins long before any tools are unwrapped. My intake form is deliberately thorough, allowing me time to become familiar with your health history before we meet. During our consultation, I take time to clarify my understanding of your concerns and what you're hoping to gain from treatment. 

Once I have a clear picture, I begin by observing and palpating, looking for the patterns that may be contributing to your symptoms, alongside how your holistic functioning and constitution play into that pattern.

I keep in mind the teachings of the Nei Jing. I see the body as a living landscape, with rivers, valleys and plants that nourish every part of us.  I remember that you are a beautiful being of light, connected to the stars. My role is similar to a farmer tending the land—clearing what has become obstructed, nourishing what has become depleted and supporting the free movement of qì and Blood so your body remembers it's tremendous healing capabilities.

Nei Jing acupuncture means that we evaluate areas because the "points" are not precise dots on the body. TCM manuals provide a postcode rather than an exact address—they indicate the general location. So it's my job to carefully palpate the area, identify what's significant, decide what needs treating first and then choose the most appropriate method. Sometimes that involves acupuncture needles, but just as often it may involve moxibustion, cupping, gua sha, colour light or another technique better suited to what I find.

Every treatment is individual, guided by what I find on the day, tailored to what your body needs most and your expressed preference. In my experience, this approach allows for treatments that are both deeply restorative and remarkably effective. Book in if you'd like experience this for yourself.

Book a treatment

If you would like to get the blog posts in your inbox, subscribe to get posts as they are written and occasional special offers.