Acupuncture School Comparisons

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Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

by Tammy Foster

So you’ve decided that you want to attend acupuncture school. A great decision to be sure, but if you decide that you want to study to become an acupuncturist then you need to do your research first of all. To get started, you will need to research many of the concrete elements about the training. First of all, you will need to understand the various topics of study, just how long the course will take, of course it is important to know how much the courses will cost, and unless you are independently wealthy, if financial aid is available. Another thing to consider when you are looking for school is to understand the philosophy of each school that you are looking at. The philosophy basis is critically important so that you are comfortable with the environment in which you are going to study.

You should know that currently there seems to be two distinct philosophies when it comes to acupuncture school and so and it is critically important for any prospective acupuncturist to understand the differences in each type so that you can choose a school based on your individual philosophy. You will be most comfortable if you choose a school that has a philosophy that is most similar to your own. The two different philosophies of acupuncture study are the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)/ Eight Elements School and the Five Element School. So just what is the difference in these two schools? Well, I am so glad that you asked.

Emphasizing the importance of counseling as well as traditional acupuncture, the Five Element School takes a classic approach to the study of acupuncture. While it is currently the less popular of the two schools of study, the Five Element School is only taught in a minority of schools in the United States where students can train to become acupuncturists.

So if you take a look at the TCM/Eight Elements School this school is different from the Five Element School in that it is based on a ancient Chinese practice that the diagnosis of a patient’s condition is a standardized event. It is this theory on which the Eight Principles School are built.

The Eight Element Schools place a significant amount of emphasis on herbal therapy along with the traditional practice of acupuncture. Of course when all is said and done the biggest differences between the two schools are mostly philosophical but this is a critical difference and so you must be certain about which method you intend to follow. Many critics of the Eight Element School preach that they are devoid of the spiritual element of acupuncture which is so totally the foundation of the Five Element Schools.

Both have their good and bad points and when taken together they both have important philosophies to teach students interested in learning about acupuncture.

Different universities across the states elect to teach one philosophy or a combination of both. Of course it is at the discretion of the school to decide which philosophy they will follow. One well known acupuncture school is Yo San University, located in Marina Del Rey, CA. This university specializes in Taoist Classical Medicine, which combines both the approaches of TCM/Eight Elements as well as the Five Elements School. It is a popular choice of students because they combine methods as well as including the Energetic Systems of Chinese medicine in their teachings and these are based on the I-Ching as well as the “Yellow Emperor’s Classic.”

Maoshing Ni, the co-founder of Yo San University believes that students benefit greatly from an integrated view that involves learning about the spiritual and physical connection of the mind and body. It is this mix of integrational studies that produces the healing energy of acupuncture.

It is important that any student of this Chinese healing art understand both philosophies of acupuncture training since it is the basis of study that will impact your practice as a trained and fully qualified acupuncturist. Here’s to a successful education and exciting career as an acupuncturist.

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