Ancestors of Liberation Acupuncture

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What is Liberation Acupuncture?

Liberation Acupuncture is a philosophical approach to acupuncture that affirms that individual health and disease do not exist, and cannot be understood or addressed, apart from social conditions – particularly injustice, inequality, and the pervasive influence of traumatic stress.At the root of the practice of Liberation Acupuncture are the needs and perspectives of the oppressed, the exploited, and the excluded. Liberation acupuncture defines what is valuable in acupuncture theory and practice by determining what is useful and valuable to oppressed people.

Liberation Acupuncture philosophy arose out of praxis that has included the use of the community acupuncture/ POCA clinic model, but also out of the work of other revolutionary practitioners through acupuncture history, who systematically used acupuncture as a tool to combat oppression and to fulfill the needs of marginalized communities.

Check out this informative post by POCA Tech‘s recent graduate James Shelton describing the names, stories and contributions of these “Ancestors of Liberation Acupuncture”.

You can also look for a new display featuring James’ beautiful drawings (pictured above) in our waiting room about these Ancestors, and pick up a copy of the “Radical Roots of Acupuncture in America” ‘zine the next time you are at Sarana.

For more on Liberation Acupuncture read this and visit: liberationacupuncture.org

 

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