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Aw-rick-cue-lo-what?! Does the Ear Contain a Secret Map for Healing? : Exculsive Renegade Health Article

Could this type of healing be as easy as watching a sunset?

(Fisherman’s Beach outside of Nosara, Costa Rica)

A good number of years ago, I was sitting in my friend Nick Ortner’s apartment (you may know him from The Tapping Solution)…

He had just purchased a massive DVD set from a guy named Gary Craig. The DVDs were a complete course on how to use meridian point tapping (or EFT) to help with anxiety, weight loss, fear and phobias, physical pain, disease and more. Gary developed this strange technique by following many of Dr. Roger Callahan’s work with a practice called TFT or Thought Field Therapy.

Usually, we’d watch movies or a football game, but that day he wanted me to watch one of the DVDs where Mr. Criag manages to completely eliminate a man’s fear of water.

As the program started, there was a montage of images of people pressing and tapping their faces and torsos. I looked at Nick wondering if my friend had finally gone too far. He’d always been into self improvement and energy techniques, but this was absurd.

He told me to keep watching.

Reluctantly, I did.

What I saw was amazing…

We both sat in awe as Mr. Craig brought a man – who was obviously deathly afraid of swimming – into a pool using this crazy tapping technique and eventually managed to make him comfortable enough to float around on a few pool noodles.

My perspective on energy techniques completely shifted that day.

Eventually I watched the whole series, interviewed and met other practitioners of EFT like Carol Look and Rick Wilkes, read Donna Eden’s energy medicine books and promised to keep my mind open to possibilities I otherwise might have written off a foolish.

Recently, I was introduced to another type of energy therapy that – before I got into EFT – I would have laughed at, but these days, I’m kind of excited about.

The technique is called Auriculotherapy (aw-rick-cue-lo-therapy) and its roots are planted deeply in Chinese medicine. This is an ancient form of acupressure that has been used for years to help eliminate pain, anxiety (did people have anxiety 5000 years ago in China?), physical aliments and more.

In the 1950’s, a French physicist named Dr. Paul Nogier took the technology and turned it into more of a “western” science by mapping the ear. His findings determined that the ear was similar to the fetus (upside-down) and points on and around the ear corresponded to certain meridian points in the body.

Keep in mind, if I hadn’t found EFT or tapping, I would have scoffed at all of this, but any type of acupressure technique I come across these days, I explore – my thought is that if they work there’s little risk at all – they’re non-invasive, cheap and may have significant returns.

I purchased a book Nick tipped me off to called The Amazing Science of Auriculotherapy to start my research. Basically, wanted I wanted to find out was if there was any truth to the claims that it could “unlock” the body’s own “pharmacy” to relieve pain, reduce high blood pressure, quit smoking permanently, revive low sex drive and effectively treat hundreds of other health problems and diseases.

Pretty big claims, but were they true?

Here’s what I found (and you might be surprised…)

1. Healing through the ear is deeply rooted in Chinese, Ayurvedic and Western Massage practices.
When I look to see the efficacy of any type of therapy, the first thing I ask is how long has it been around?
While the name Auriculotherapy has been around for only about 50-60 years, the manual manipulation of the ear as therapy has been around for thousands more.
You can find roots in Chinese medicine as well as Ayurvedic practices.
Here’s a quick video of a Chinese practitioner demonstrating some of the meridian points in the ear…
Ear Massage, Chinese Medicine DVD, English Subtitled, Buy atwww.HeyChinese.com

http://youtu.be/Qj2wCn79MLY

These practices have been adopted by modern massage therapists too. As you can see here…
http://youtu.be/XQBEtcax3BY

Qi Gong masters will sometimes advocate the massaging of the ears as a daily practice as well.
While history may not be able to determine if something is effective or not, generally things that stand the test of time are worth looking into.
2. What about the science?
Unfortunately, there’s little money to made by proving the efficacy of a technique that is free to do and can be done by anyone at home. This makes finding science on most natural techniques very difficult.
What’s promising about the science behind – at least acupuncture and acupressure – is that they have been studied sufficiently to determine that they’re viable and useful tools. In fact, the NIH has approved acupuncture for medical usage, and inside of this approval includes using the technique on the ears and other meridians.
I’m generally hot and cold with scientific research anyway. Sometimes it’s necessary and sometimes it’s not – other times the science is just wrong or interpreted poorly.
So when I look to something like this, I understand that the value of a therapy may not lie in it’s body or research, but what it physically or effectively does for you.
I’ll explain here…
3. If it feels good, something must be happening.
After reading the book, I spent some time practicing pressing some of the target points that have been mapped out originally by Dr. Nogier.
The first thing that struck me was how good it felt to press these points on my ear. This wasn’t just a feel-good-because-I-hope-I-will feeling. I actually felt a physical endorphin reaction in my body.
This chemical release is one of the first indications to me that a protocol like this could actually unlock the body’s ability to heal – since our emotions are so carefully linked to your physical well being.
The only other massage technique that gives me this similar feeling is foot reflexology. If you’ve ever had this type of therapy, you understand how amazing your whole body can feel afterwords.
It’s true that your disease state is directly related to your feeling state.
4. The hunger and cravings point works!
I don’t have many health complaints. I shouldn’t really. I’m young, I’m active, and upbeat.
Some of you may know about my 100% raw food experiments that went haywire, but I can share those again some other time.
As I was looking through the book at all the points (it must list over 50 or more for specific issues) the one that struck me the most was the cravings / hunger suppression point.
I was hungry at the time – I hadn’t eaten in probably 8 hours or so – and I decided to push on the point to see if there was any instant relief. I was doubtful when I did, but very quickly I felt the pangs in my stomach disappear. It seemed that my squeezing was like the equivalent of sliding a dimmer switch. The harder I pressed the less hunger I felt.
After doing this a few times, I was amazed that my hunger and cravings for food had completely gone away. (Which, if you ask Annmarie, is quite an impossible feat, LOL!)
In case you’re wondering, I’ll share this point with you right now…
It’s actually right on the “tragus,” which is the little flap that sticks out in front of your ear canal.
Give it a squeeze and see what happens…
Pic - Aw-rick-cue-lo-what 2

5. Mercury toxicity point?
Every therapy has it’s pluses and minuses. I personally think that Auriculotherapy is a great tool for many issues related to stress, anxiety, pain, cravings, and dealing with the emotions that are associated with disease. I also know that acupressure channels can open up meridians to allow the body to heal, so yes, it’s likely that the healing process can be assisted using this tool (in conjunction with a well thought out treatment plan.)
Where I think the therapy does fall short is at the “mercury detoxification point” and a few others that were mentioned in the book (including Tuberculosis). I’m sure there’s no science behind this particular claim (or a few others), nor would I rely on pressing points on the ear to effectively remove toxic metals from my body.
But like all therapies, you have to know their limitations and by working within those parameters, you can have success.
6. Cost effective, “no harm, no foul,” and high value proposition.
When I take a look at therapies the other thing I like to do, besides looking at its actual effectiveness is compare the cost to value in terms of healing.
Some therapies cost thousands of dollars and can save your life. Others cost pennies and can harm you.
So there’s a value vs. cost vs. potential effectiveness play that goes into what I do for myself and what I don’t.
So for instance when it comes to water filters, you can buy a good reverse osmosis system for a couple hundred dollars and completely clean and filter your water. On the other hand, you can buy a water ionizer for $4000 that doesn’t even remove fluoride.
I’d – every time – recommend that reverse osmosis system because it does more for its value.
When it comes to Auriculotherapy, this is a no-brainer. Why? Because you just need to get a book for $39.95 – your only investment – and take the time to do it yourself. (You don’t even need to buy a book, but it’s best to have a road map!)
There’s no harm in pressing points on your ear and the rewards could be significant for you. What if you could eliminate smoking or other addictions, stop being nervous, eliminate stress, lose weight, control cravings, relieve constipation, headaches, insomnia or more?
In my time working on the American Stock Exchange (very short time, BTW), I learned that you wanted to hedge your trades to limit your financial exposure.
Health is obviously much different than trading “puts” or “calls” of International Paper, but this same concept applies in this way – you want to make sure that you’re measuring the risk vs. reward in any proposition. Does the cost of the treatment yield great results or are there risks involved that could point you toward another treatment that could give you the same results with less financial or health risk?
This is, of course, up to you to to determine based on your own goals, lifestyle disease and whatever other considerations you may have.
7. Find out for yourself…
I don’t want you to rely on me to determine what works or what not. I want you to try things on your own and come to conclusions that work for you.
In terms of Auriculotherapy, I’d suggest getting a copy of this ebook that maps out completely over 50 different points on the ear that can help you heal – or at the very least – release your cravings and hunger pangs like it did for me!
Here’s where you can read more about this therapy and get the book now…
http://www.renegadehealth.com/ear
Your question of the day: Have you tried this therapy? Do you believe energy therapy works?
Live Awesome!
Kev
P.S. You can learn more about my friend Nick’s work here:
http://www.thetappingsolution.com
http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2011/11/16/auriculotherapy-does-the-ear-contain-a-secret-map-for-healing/