On Friday I was excited to be asked to talk about my dissertation on how we store trauma, at the ARRC Symposium, the research forum at the British Acupuncture Council Conference. You may have heard of 'meridians' or 'channels' in acupuncture. These are said to be like rivers that run through the body allowing 'Qi' or energy to circulate through the body. It's these channels we tap into when we insert an acupuncture needle. There are 12 main channels, but there are also 8 Extraordinary Channels or Vessels. These Extraordinary Vessels are thought to form while we are still in the womb. The 12 ordinary channels form much later as children grow and develop. So the the 8 EV's contain the energy we come into the world with - the most primal form, which we need to use sparingly in life as it's a limited and precious resource. The 8 EV's are also said to be reservoirs for the 12 ordinary channels. So they can move excess energy into them or dip into reserves if they run low. Most of the 8 EV's run vertically in the body like the 12 other channels. But one of the vessels, called the Dai Mai, runs horizontally, encircling the waist and securing all the other vessels running through it.

My research paper looked at the theory that this channel is where we store trauma that is too hard to face at the time. The body wants to keep it safely in place until we are ready to deal with it. Unfortunately keeping trauma in place might help us emotionally, but it requires a lot of resources - mentally and physically to keep it buried which can lead to difficult symptoms including long term illness.

Practitioners can work with patients to either help them safely release the trauma or support them to keep it in place whichever is most important at the time. If you think this is something you would like to explore, then ask me more about using the Dai Mai and the other Extraordinary Vessels to assist with your emotional health.