This text was written by my mentor Ann Cecil-Sterman.

Classical acupuncture is a comprehensive, highly sophisticated, stand-alone practice using all 68 acupuncture channels. It differs from modern acupuncture which focuses on selected points on only 12 of the channels.

During the 1600 years spanning the 5th century BCE to about the 12th century CE, Chinese masters used all the channels of acupuncture. They had a complete tool kit; acupuncture was able to address anything.

The acupuncture channels fall into two broad categories, the twelve Primary Channels, responsible for maintaining the moment to moment functioning of the internal organs and the fifty-six Complement Channels responsible for protecting the internal organs by diverting illness away from them.

The Complement channels are divided into four groups:

1. The 12 Sinew Channels defend the body and also enable it to move. They treat chronic and acute injury, concussion, pain, stiffness, skin conditions, mood disorders, burns and more.
2. The 16 Luo Channels treat emotional, psychological, and psychiatric disorders including suicidal tendencies, psychosomatic pain, some musculoskeletal conditions, blood and heart diseases and blood cancers.
3. The 12 Divergent Channels treat chronic musculoskeletal conditions and chronic degenerative diseases known in western parlance as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, lupus, carpal tunnel syndrome, frozen shoulder, gynecological conditions including endometriosis, infertility, fibroids and cysts, gastrointestinal issues such as reflux, Crohn’s, irritable bowel, respiratory conditions including asthma, allergies, sensory organ and skin diseases including eczema, insomnia, hypertension, chronic headaches, teeth issues, cystitis, anxiety, fibromyalgia, cancer, etc.
4. The 8 Extraordinary Channels treat illnesses that originated in childhood, psychological issues that originated in childhood, long term food intolerances and other allergies that originated in childhood, moderation of birth defects and psychological issues resulting from birth trauma, infertility, cancers, geriatric conditions, childhood and infant illnesses, bonding and over-bonding issues, deep trauma, PTSD, gait imbalances, hormonal disorders, seizures, strokes, the quest to find purpose and meaning, orientating toward one’s vocation, the feeling of being directionless in life, etc.

In addition there are six cutaneous regions that treat burns, sunburn, skin irritations and very superficial pain, and two bisecting channels that treat urogenital and reproductive health.

Modern acupuncture, known as TCM, uses collections of points on 12 Primary Channels. While able to significantly relieve symptoms, these channels cannot give the practitioner access to the root cause or location of chronic illness because they cannot reach the level of the constitution. This is why many people report that they tried acupuncture and found that it didn’t work for them. As the process of restoring the use of all the channels of acupuncture progresses in the profession, more and more acupuncture patients are experiencing the remarkable results that are possible.

On my website, we offer teachings and publications to the public and to practitioners of all forms of acupuncture, helping to vastly extend the range of illnesses they are able to treat. Increasing numbers of practitioners in the profession are now able to:

• Arrest and reverse the course of chronic degenerative diseases, auto-immune diseases and other seemingly intractable illnesses.
• Entice the root cause of a disease to a location from which it can be accessed for treatment.

This is in addition to the benefits broadly enjoyed by acupuncture:

• Increased energy levels, less tiredness, a greater feeling of vitality through increasing the flow of energy.
• Increased strength and integrity of the body.
• Increased immunity.
• Pain relief.
• Health maintenance.
• Relaxation and invigoration of the mind, body and spirit.

Master Jeffrey Yuen, Ann Cecil-Sterman’s teacher, traces his lineage back 88 generations, back to the time of the original Nei Jing. As the chief primary source on an international level, he holds a mind-bending amount of information that no longer appears explicitly in the existing Classical texts. His gift has been the direct transmission of this material with an unbridled generosity. It’s impossible to overstate his contribution. Without him the ability to understand how these channels work and to construct treatments to reverse the course of chronic degenerative diseases using the complement channels would be absent today.