"After a pole is placed in the sun, a shadow should immediately appear".
This is a quote that is often found in several of the ancient texts on acupuncture. This quote suggests that the effects of stimulating acupuncture points should provide immediate results, yet only a handful of modern masters were able to achieve such results, even after many years of practice.
Growing up in Taiwan with an education in engineering and traditional medicine sciences, Dr. Richard Teh-Fu Tan believed that it should be possible for anyone to see the immediate shadow effect in acupuncture if given the right structure. It was from here that Dr. Tan setout to develop a better knowledge and understanding of how acupuncture worked, and, with his years of research, resulted in a method now known as the Dr. Tan Balance Method.
The Dr. Tan Balance Method is one that I like to use within my clinic. Listening to Dr. Tan in the first seminar that I attended, what he had to describe immediately made sense. From what seemed like such a secret, almost magical technique suddenly appeared to be so obvious.
The Dr. Tan Balance Method was a new way of analyzing the networks of the human body's energy channels, proving a mirror-imaging effect. For example, if you take a look at your right hand and then flip the image, it will resemble your left foot. Coming from an engineering background, Dr. Tan described this method alike that to an electrical wiring system: You are able to turn a light on by the switch on the wall, even though the light itself is located on the roof. It is the wiring system in-between the switch and the light that sends the signal for the light to turn on, similarly to the energy channels within the human body. Dr. Tan's Balance Method works in a way that I am able to treat a muscle for a muscle, a bone for a bone, a tendon for a tendon.
Sometimes it can be confusing as a client when I describe to them that I would like to place the acupuncture needles in their left knee to treat their right elbow - and understandably so! However, after explaining the method behind this madness, generally the client too understands the simplicity of how this form of acupuncture works.
I enjoy using the balance method every day to treat the clients in my clinic. I will also continue to learn from and be inspired by Dr. Tan, a great man who has incredibly revolutionized the practice and teaching of acupuncture.