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In the last six months I have been taken on a learning journey that has completely changed my views on acupuncture, and how I work as an acupuncturist. Since I have been watching Heather work I have been shown a completely new way of thinking/being. What I have learnt is to treat a person as someone who has lived a life, whose life has impacted upon their blueprint. We were not taught this at university.
We are taught to look at a person as a bunch of signs and symptoms, and to then differentiate between what each means to come up with a diagnosis. This is a very western approach, and is more in line with how a doctor diagnoses and treats a patient. When not focusing on the diagnosis or the current pathology the results are vastly different.At first I felt a little strange not having a diagnosis to work with, however the more I work the more I am realising that it is more beneficial to both me and the patient.
I am able to focus on the patient, and what they are feeling RIGHT NOW, not their diagnosis - which means patients leave feeling so much better than when they walked in. By not having a diagnosis as such it means I am not getting caught up in an inner intellectual debate about what a patient may or may not have, it means I am able to be present for them, and better able to help them with their healing.
Heather has shown me new techniques that I had not previously known; that have quick results. These include practical adjuncts such as cupping the navel to get the cold out, and prostatic drainage massage; as well as sharing with me new rules of acupuncture that I had never heard of before.This included more information on what the 8 extra meridians do as well as the importance of them in treatment- this seems to have been completely left out of our training! Another huge change to my treatment since learning from Heather and being her locum is needling without guide tubes. In university we were not taught how to do this, nor were we given a choice. I feel like I am more in control, and feel more like an acupuncturist than someone who just puts needles in.
One of Heather's diagnosis methods is the use of tongues. Yes you may, say we all use tongues- BUT- I am now becoming alot more aware of the subtleties of tongue diagnosis and amazed at seeing the difference that occurs throughout the treatment. If you take the time to look at the tongue before, during and after treatment (and treatment is effective) you are able to see the tongue change as the energy shifts. This was a huge revelation for me as we had been told that you are able to feel immediate differences in the pulse, but the tongue generally takes a few days to change- NOT SO!
Heather for me has been the gap of what we learn at university and what happens in the real world. At university we are taught to figure out the diagnosis and treat accordingly, however in clinic it is very rare to actually get a clear diagnosis or to even see someone who is straightforward. What do we do if we can’t figure out the diagnosis? We are not prepared for this.
Since learning from Heather I feel more confidant and able to tackle nearly anyone who comes to me for treatment. Although she seems to have encyclopedic knowledge of all things alternative health, (a knowledge base you can only gain from being actively interested in what works for a very long time) she generally treats people in a very similar and simplistic manner. This is easily transferable and I have found it invaluable, as have my patients – some of who I have been seeing for years.
Obviously I do not claim to know all that Heather knows or even a tiny proportion of, however having said that I feel that the influence she has had on my treatments and the feedback I receive from them speaks for themselves. Since I have been learning from Heather my patients have all commented on how much more confident I am, as well as how different they feel afterwards.
I have been very lucky having the opportunity to work as Heather's locum and can confirm that alot of what Heather does is reproducible- if you take the time out to learn, and are open to changing the way you approach treating patients. During my time at Heather's clinic I have been able to help patients who I would not have been able to previously, had I not had Heather's training. She has shown me that each person is an individual with a life, and if you respect that and use that in the treatment, it will be more rewarding for both you and the patient.
When I started watching Heather work in her clinic, and watched her DVD seminars I thought it all looked too easy. I thought there had to be some trick that she wasn't sharing. However, this is not true. It IS that easy, after changing my methods of treatment and removing the need for diagnosis I too have started to replicate some of the same results that Heather has.
From a patients perspective Heather helps to fill the gap of information that should be readily available to everyone. This is especially true in the pregnancy preparation work that she provides. If what Heather teaches were to become common practice there would be a huge decline in the number of complicated births, as well as a huge increase in women who feel empowered and confident coming into motherhood. It would also create many more bonded families, and fathers who take an active part in their partners and childrens lives. Watching the transformation that has occurred since my partner started receiving treatment from Heather has been a blessing. Not only in his health, but also in his attitudes and emotions. He has taken a more active step in his role in his life, as well as becoming alot more positive and light hearted. I have to say that I feel a very similar shift in myself since receiving treatment.
What Heather does isn't magic, what she does is healing and acupuncture- and it works.
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Kim (Los Altos, USA):
"A colleague of mine went to one of your classes and allowed me to view her DVDs of your lecture on Women's health.. and now I'm hooked!
I LOVE what you're teaching, and hope to catch up with you next lecture series in the states if there are any coming up.
I love how you weave the spiritual, feminine into your teaching."
With gratitude!
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April ( Brisbane):
"In the last six months I have been taken on a learning journey that has completely changed my views on acupuncture, and how I work as an acupuncturist. Since I have been watching Heather work I have been shown a completely new way of thinking/being. What I have learnt is to treat a person as someone who has lived a life, whose life has impacted upon their blueprint. We were not taught this at university."
Read more ...
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Jennifer, UK:
“I am impressed by the depth of your research into Chinese medicine, your understanding of what women need and the sheer amount of work involved in what you have created.”
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Mike, (Queensland):
"I plugged your 'sharpen-up...' website while guest lecturing at last night. Awesome video.
Well done and thank you."
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Janet - (Spain):
‘I think your approach is brilliant, you are forthright and speak common sense, a rare commodity these days!’
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Camilla ( Brisbane):
"What I gained from doing the workshop with you:
- for the first time since I graduated I felt excited about the prospect of being an Acupuncturist. I left feeling very enthusiastic with the thought that “yes, I can do that, I can help these women". Whereas before I wanted to help them but was somehow blocked, or lacking in all the tools. The workshop opened up my eyes to other methods of dealing with these cases outside TCM which I have always instinctively known but never had the permission to use without feeling like I was practicing un pure TCM.
- It reawakened my interest with the 8extras, a topic that was belittled sometime in the 4th year of college when we were doing the research subject.
- I confirmed some of my deep personal subconscious beliefs about birthing that I must have had passed down to me from my mother because they were never something we learnt at college.
- I gave me the confidence to clearly see what was REALLY happening when I visited one of my patients after a C-section in a private hospital a week later. The uneasy feeling about what was being done to here was more than an uneasy feeling but a clear picture of the patterns being laid down that would affect her and her babies for years to come.
And the main the course gave me was a passion and a need to be practicing in the area of women’s health which I have toyed with for years but never actively perused because I had the belief that I needed to have a general practice and not exclude all the other cases because if I did I would not have enough patients and would not be able to make a living, I now realise there are an abundance of birthing women who need our help."
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Paddy McBride Dip Ch Ed, M Hlth Sci(TCM)
Nelson, New Zealand:
"As an acupuncturist and a Childbirth Educator and having worked with expectant couples and new parents on both sides of the Tasman, I am confident that Heather’s work can and will make a difference in the wonderful world of birth.
The techniques outlined by Heather are a current take on ancient wisdom, in a readily accessible package for anyone, regardless of their previous knowledge of either birth or acupuncture.
I especially appreciate Heather’s attention to referencing and cross-referencing her work, thus enabling the reader to quickly go to the part of the book they need with a minimum of effort.
Her work will be of interest not only to couples but also to other health professionals with an interest in facilitating natural childbirth."
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Maurice (Netherlands):
"Thanks for sending me your books and DVDs to my address in Holland. I enjoyed your conference last year very much.
Your 'hands on' approach is just what I needed by that time, and it has influenced my way of working. I was getting too confused and fet up with all the theoretical textbooks.
Would be great if you can come another time and show us some more practical devices. big hug, M."
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Kim (Los Altos, USA):
"A colleague of mine went to one of your classes and allowed me to view her DVDs of your lecture on Women's health.. and now I'm hooked!
I LOVE what you're teaching, and hope to catch up with you next lecture series in the states if there are any coming up.
I love how you weave the spiritual, feminine into your teaching."
With gratitude!
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Marlene Farry (Acupuncturist, NZ):
"Heather Bruce is an outstanding clinician - achieving results in cases both chronic and complex.
Her contribution to Acupuncture and Holistic (wise woman) health in Australia and New Zealand is far sighted, revolutionary and thankfully, with thoughtful pragmatic application."
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Robin Kerr, NZRA, NDA:
"I was a fortunate participant in Heathers course on 'removing blockages'.
It was great to have her years of experience and passion in working in women's health.
As a relatively new acupuncturist but with many years experience in women's health, this course gave confidence and validation to the work I do.
Many of her techniques and resources are used in my work now on a regular basis."
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Mike (Sunshine Coast):
"I was extremely moved by your last post on the Need More info on OB/GYN and Infertility thread.
You wrote, among other amazing lines,:"but should we look as an experienced people observer, with the intent to help and heal and with an open enquiring mind, and the acupuncture/energy framework at our disposal, we can often attend to those where hope seems gone."
Well, I read that and I almost had tears in my eyes. It is people such as you who embody the very essence of inspiration for practitioners and students of acupuncture. When I read some of the things you write, they serve as great reminders that I am on the right path in life and in my job."
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Nick:
“I opened myself up to being more shamanistic again. My roots have been lost in the more technical aspects of studying, and the spiritual is reasserting itself again. Your passion is thus inspiring. On a more personal note, I am examining your sexual concepts and the difference between potency and vitality”.
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Camilla:
“For the first time since I graduated I felt excited about the prospect of being an acupuncturist.
I left feeling very enthusiastic with the thought that "yes, I can do that, I can help these women" - whereas before I wanted to help them but was somehow blocked, or lacking in all the tools.
The workshop opened up my eyes to other methods of dealing with these cases outside TCM which I have always instinctively known but never had the permission to use without feeling like I was practicing ‘impure’ TCM.
It also reawakened my interest with the 8 extras, a topic that was belittled sometime in the 4th year of college when we were doing our research subject.
It gave me the confidence to clearly see what was REALLY happening when I visited one of my patients after a C-section in a private hospital a week later.
The uneasy feeling about what was being done to here was more than an uneasy feeling but a clear picture of the patterns being laid down that would affect her and her babe for years to come”.
The course gave me was a passion and a need to be practicing in the area of women’s health which I have toyed with for years but never actively pursued.
I had the belief that I needed to have a general practice and not exclude all the other cases because if I did I would not have enough patients and would not be able to make a living, I now realise there are an abundance of birthing women who need our help.
Thankyou so much – you validated some of my deep personal subconscious beliefs about birthing that I must have had passed down to me from my mother because they were never something we learnt at college."
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Mark:
“I came away from the seminar with an appreciation of your extensive experience – especially the application over time working out such things as the sacral massage. The next day, I was aware of the practical tips – like the different depths of needling affecting different meridians. The main thing I possibly got was the thought that I did not need to couple the eight extras when working with them.
“I learn visually, so I really liked the use of the whiteboard. In clinic – I had not thought of the role of the temperature the way that you explained and am working differently now with those coming in with infertility. Especially important was your concept of anything that creates heat as being a jing disruptor – a very useful tool for use in talking with patients”.
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Sheridan:
“It definitely got me thinking and am doing things differently.
I am now more aware of blockages and am not automatically coupling the 8 extras as we do in the Japanese style.”
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Wendy (Brisbane):
“Good on you for all the work you put in to practitioner tools and education, this is priceless for people like myself. Having just graduated, it is wonderful to have a senior and very successful practitioner sharing their work”.
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