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Acupuncturist Gerad Kite performs pulse diagnosis for James Eden, a film producer and also co-writer of the new book The Untapped Self, in London, on Sept 4.
Film producer James Eden first visited acupuncturist Gerad Kite's London clinic for stress relief, but had minimal knowledge about Chinese acupuncture at that time. After several years, the two British men were together presenting a new book on acupuncture that combines ancient Chinese ideas of balance with stories for a modern and anxious world, in front of an audience.
The Untapped Self, a book co-written by Kite and Eden and released in September, is an exposition of the philosophy of Chinese acupuncture wherein the authors take the readers to the realms of Chinese pulse diagnosis, an acupuncture points' network, and so on. Thus, they give a sneak peek at the continued impact of the ancient ideas on the modern approaches to well-being.
Kite shares his opinion about acupuncture, calling it, "one of the biggest cultural gifts from China to all over the world." He adds, "Acupuncture is a method that gives a very deep insight into health, which goes a long way into symptoms, facilitates people in recognizing nature's ways and thereby returning to a very good health state."
Kite's initial exposure to acupuncture took place in the 1980s while he was a resident of San Francisco. He was experiencing tremendous pain both from the office and from his private life, and one of his acquaintances proposed acupuncture as a solution. "That was a one and only treatment I got; my body felt totally different when I got up; I was so astonished by the Chinese method of healing that," he recalls.
Trained first as a psychotherapist, Kite later returned to Britain to study acupuncture under the late J. R. Worsley, one of the first who introduce acupuncture from China to the West. Three and a half decades on, Kite has become a veteran acupuncturist and teacher, quietly building a bridge between Chinese ideas of harmony and Western lives that are, as he puts it, "too often locked in our heads".
Kite says the first Chinese book he read was the ancient classic, Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine, which introduced him to five-element acupuncture.
Wang Jingjing, the leading doctor in the Acupuncture and Moxibustion Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, pointed out that acupuncture has two major schools: one is targeted symptom-based treatment, and the other is natural healing. Five-element acupuncture is of the latter.
"It is directed at correcting imbalances in the patient's body, with the objective of restoring harmony and consequently, overall well-being," she points out.
Kite, with such a high level of professional knowledge, opened his clinic in downtown London in 1990. His treatments have so far been provided to around 50,000 patients. In addition, he trains approximately 50 students annually.
In his latest publication, the author narrates the experiences of 10 patients as in-depth examples, showing how the main idea of acupuncture can lead to people living more peaceful and harmonious lives through the case studies.
Dr. "I strongly respect and feel thankful to China for being the origin of this amazing medical system that has been my life's work for more than 35 years." He continues, "Such a healing art cannot be separated from the larger concept of traditional Chinese medicine and the principle of harmony it represents."
He expresses his gratitude towards China’s integration of traditional medicine with modern science by saying that it is a very good thing.
"China is demonstrating how ancient wisdom can be part of the conversation with modern medicine by endorsing research and development. Thus, the overall perspective of TCM, which comes from the whole person approach, that is, the body, mind, and emotions, is kept, still, and even more so, by the present day," he says.
On the other hand, Eden was attracted to the Chinese culture in a different way. He, a very active meditation practitioner who was very much into Chinese philosophy, spent half a year on Wudang Mountain, a renowned Taoist temple in China, practicing tai chi, and kung fu as well as learning from monks.
According to him, this immersion not only allowed him to grasp better the entire Chinese medicine but also the health aspect of it, giving him a feeling of responsibility to present the Chinese culture — this is the mission he now works on with Kite.
"The global dissemination of TCM reflects how profoundly it clicks with different cultures. The whole world knows the effectiveness and the wisdom it brings, no matter if it is acupuncture, herbs, or some other practices," says Kite.
"It is a privilege to celebrate these Chinese roots while transmitting their healing wisdom to the people here in Europe and everywhere else in the world," he remarks.
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