“Imagine my disappointment when I learnt that my teacher would no longer be able to come to London…”
Ann Cecil-Sterman is an amazing teacher. Author of Advanced Acupuncture: A Clinic Manual, she takes complex concepts and presents them in a way that makes them accessible for mere mortals like myself. So imagine my disappointment when I learnt that she would no longer be able to come to London due to Coronovirus lockdown measures (she lives just outside New York). I had been eagerly anticipating the 2 day seminar booked for last weekend ever since it was first announced last year. Instead she would be holding the class on Zoom. Would I still get that interactive experience that being in the actual presence of a great teacher affords?
Yes! Unexpectedly, in many ways I preferred the online experience. There was no having to turn up early to get a good seat right at the front of the class (yes, I’m one of those students 😉). During the needling demonstrations I got amazing close up views that are not always possible in a room full of other students. Massive kudos goes out to Ann’s family for the team effort they put into making those demonstrations possible. Usually at these seminars, as practitioners we are invited to bring clients we feel are relevant to the topic. They kindly act as live models for the practical demonstrations of treatment. Of course, being in a time of pandemic, it was not possible for Ann to bring actual patients to the seminar so her family generously pitched in to great effect.
Despite having poured over Master Jeffrey Yuen’s teachings on the Divergent Channels (on which Ann’s teaching is based), having studied Ann’s writing on the subject and having spent a term of mentoring with Dr Hung Tran studying the Divergent channels, I still learnt so much this last weekend. Ann’s textbook is faithful to her interpretation of the classical teachings whereas in the live seminar she was able to present her own commentary based on her many years of clinical experience.
As clinicians we all have our own approach to practice that is grounded in the theory we have studied but is refined by all the things that shape us as a practitioner. Dr Jeffrey Yuen, Ann Cecil-Sterman and Dr Hung Tran have all taught me that the most powerful strategies for me to use are the ones with which I resonate. Ann thus presented the way that she actually uses the Divergent Channels with her patients, pointing out where this deviates from the teaching as she received it and explaining her reasoning, allowing us to make up our own minds. This resistance to dogma is one reason why I’m so in love with this particular lineage of Chinese Medicine. After all, the ability to add commentary to the Classical teachings is surely one reason why Chinese Medicine is so sophisticated, rich with nuance and subtlety.
I wasn’t sure what I was intending to write about when I started this post. I had half a mind to tell you what you should and shouldn’t be eating to support your health in relation to Divergent Channel theory. However it’s Easter weekend and I’m about to go and make some hot cross buns and spend the rest of weekend eating too much chocolate so that would probably be rather hypocritical. Will have to save the dietary advice for another time.
As it turns out I’ve shared various musings on learning. Take home message? If you are an acupuncturist, definitely take the opportunity to study with Ann Cecil-Sterman if you can. If you are not an acupuncturist, try some online lectures of whatever subject ignites your passions. If you are old fashioned like me and thought that the digital experience could never be as fulfilling as the analogue version, you might be very pleasantly surprised.😊