Amsa
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Amsa, located at the top of the shoulder at the center of the acromion process, is indicated for shoulder problems, stimulates udana vayu to relieve stress, reduce fatigue, and ease emotional tension, and calms palpitations by regulating vyana vayu. The right Amsa is associated with the liver, the left the spleen (Lad & Durve, 2008, 190).
Though no acupuncture point matches this location, exactly, (points rarely, if ever, fall on top of a bony protuberance – the channels are similar to flows of water, the qì following natural paths occurring in tissues, just as water flows in valleys) Jian yú, Large Intestine (LI) 15, lays in the depression just in front of the acromion process.
Jian yú is the most commonly used point for shoulder problems. It is an intersection point of the Large Intestine channel (which, as one of the two yángmíng (“yang brightness”) channels, is abundant in qì and blood, and, thus, best able to deal with obstructive channel pathology) and the Yáng Qiao Mài, one of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels (Qí Jing Ba Mài). Also crossing at this point are channels associated with Lung, Urinary Bladder, and Small Intestine.
The effects of Amsa in stimulating udana and vyana vayus is mirrored in Jian yú’s function of “Harmonizing” qì and blood and “quickening” the connecting vessels, i.e. regulating the smooth flow of qì and blood.
On the emotional level, the shoulders can be seen as part of the passage way between the main body and the head, where thoughts, emotions, and memories are processed at a conscious level. Specifically, the Large Intestine, as system of the mind and body, regulates the identification and absorption of what is of value to the being (physically or mentally/emotionally) and the release of what is not of value, as in the passing of stool or the letting go of thoughts, memories, or emotions that no longer provide usefulness (i.e. posses real value). Pain and stiffness at the shoulders may be associated with suppression of painful memories from reaching the conscious level, especially when associated with the Large Intestine channel (Jarrett, 2003).
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Lad, V. & Durve, A. (2008). Marma Points of Ayurveda. Albuquerque, NM: The Ayurvedic Press.
Jarrett, L. (2003). The Clinical Practice of Chinese Medicine. Stockbridge, MA: Spirit Path Press.
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