Positive Health Online

This A4 format 70- page workbook is divided into two main sections – the first section shows illustrations of each of the 14 main meridians plus five pages of the extra meridian acupoints of the back, head, trunk, arm and leg. The second section shows the same without the names of the acupoints, designed for students and newly qualified acupuncturists to complete in their own hand as a learning tool. As stated, it is designed for the student acupuncturist and, as such, does it successfully. There are many aspects to this book, both positive and negative.

Positives

• The illustrations are very clear and well-drawn, each meridian being colour coded to the five transformation (element) colour. As the Metal element meridians of Lung and Large Intestine are typically indicated in white, Erica has drawn these in grey, which works well;
• The Luo, Source, Xi-Cleft and other command points on the meridians are colour coded and very clear;
• I particularly like that each of the acupoints are given their traditional names and their functions in clearly marked boxes on the illustration itself, thus saving having to thumb between illustration and description which is typical in many workbooks of this type;
• The illustrations of the extra points are a joy to behold. They are placed alongside meridians and their acupoints so one knows not only their positioning but also their functions and uses;
• Also, within the five extra acupoints pages are found the Chinese ‘inch’ measurements. These are clearly marked in bold lines as well as the illustration being within grid lines – excellent idea!

Negatives –There are only two negatives, but need to be mentioned

• I wonder why this book has been published, as there are at least two other acupuncture point workbooks on the market, including one that has been published by the same publisher;s
• Even though the illustrations are good, they do not show underlying bony landmarks that show exactly where each acupoint lies. It would have been perfect if this detail had been added.

Conclusion

Acupuncture point guidebooks are extremely popular and will always sell well. Some obviously are better than others. Acupuncture workbooks have also become popular over the last decade. This book is certainly the best one I have had the pleasure to read and assess. I thoroughly recommend that acupuncture students, and those acupuncturists, shiatsu therapists and those who practice acupressure who do not have an encyclopaedic memory of each point should immediately invest in a copy of this book. You will not be disappointed.

Further Information

Available from Singing Dragon Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com