I practice what is known as Saam acupuncture, which is an extensively used style in Korea. It was developed over 400 years ago by a Buddhist monk physician whose name is not certain but given the name Sa-Am, which means “cave dweller”. Sa-Am meditated on the classic Chinese medicine framework texts and interpreted a new system where he paired the channels using the 5 Elements with the 6 Conformations, which is different from what is traditionally used in Chinese medicine. This framework comprises the yin yang (陰陽) and five-phase (五 行) theories principally derived from the Yi Jing (易 經, Classic of Changes), Huangdi Neijing Suwen and Lingshu (黃帝內經素問靈樞, Huang Di’s Inner Classic – Plain Questions and Spiritual Pivot), and Nan Jing (難經, Classic of Difficult Issues).   The diagnostic style I learned was passed down from Toby Daly, who learned it as an oral tradition from his teacher Doam, a wandering Buddhist monk.  (I am grateful to Toby for his teachings and Michael Max for producing his invaluable lessons.)

Rooted in Mind/Body Connection
Sa-Am created this acupuncture technique from the philosophy that a disease of the mind can appear as a physical disease, meaning one’s mind can contribute to physical symptoms. This is precisely what the late great cardiologist Herbert Benson wrote about in his many books and is finally making its way into the mainstream. This idea was inherent in Chinese Medicine from 2000 years ago and in Korea 500 years ago, so we can say the future is catching up with the past. Sa’am acupuncture is not only effective medicine for emotional challenges but also highly effective for physical symptoms such as pain and illness.
Saam acupuncture encompasses a variety of diagnostic and treatment strategies, all built upon a solid foundation. It is the proper diagnosis that makes a treatment successful.

Point Locations
Patients who have received acupuncture in the past are surprised that Saam treatments involve so few needles. Saam acupuncture principally uses the acupoint below the elbow and knee joint known as the five transport or shu points. The five shu points occupy large areas in the cortical representation in the postcentral sensory gyrus in the brain. Saam acupuncture powerfully activates specific body regions via the brain with just a few points. My job is properly selecting the points for a patient on that specific day. I rarely do the same consecutive treatment more than two times as each treatment starts with observing where a patient is physically and emotionally on that particular day.

Efficacy
I have studied with several world-famous acupuncture teachers, and nothing offers the quick clinical efficacy I observe with Sa’am treatments. Every day in the clinic, I see miracles. One can look on Pubmed and find many studies showing the efficacy of Saam in treating a wide range of conditions. With the powerful efficacy, there is also a flip side: If the wrong treatment is administered, someone can get quite ill. We call this a wrong treatment. Thankfully, with the Sa’am treatments, we can easily undo the wrong treatment and make it right. Rest assured, I am confident I will not administer the wrong treatment, but on the off chance it does happen because I do not see you clearly, symptoms can be reversed instantaneously. I feel for any condition, it is worth exploring Sa’am treatments to see if we can elicit a change. Every day I am awed by the human body’s healing capabilities when given certain inputs such as acupuncture needles in specific points.   I hope you will be too.

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