Welcome to another episode of the FAKTR podcast. My name is Jessica Riddle. Welcome, and thank you for tuning in today. Today, we're diving into the fascinating world of 5 element acupuncture with our guest instructor, doctor Andria D'Amato. And we're exploring how this ancient practice can elevate patient outcomes and transform your clinical approach even if you are not a health care provider that offers acupuncture as one of your services. In part 1 of this 2 part series, we'll dive into the 5 element theory, which is an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine. You'll also hear us refer to this as TCM for short, that has been practiced for 1000's of years. The theory outlines how the 5 natural elements of fire, earth, metal, water, and wood interconnect to impact physical health, emotional well-being, and overall balance.

But what makes this approach truly unique is how it views the body holistically, connecting organ systems, emotions, and external factors like the seasons and environment. Doctor D'Amato will explain how understanding this framework isn't just for providers that practice acupuncture or TCM. Integrating the principles of the 5 element theory into your treatment approach can improve your diagnostic abilities, help you better understand your patient's needs, and even offer innovative ways to address stress and emotional imbalances that can often manifest physically. So go ahead and download this episode. Be sure to hit the follow button for our show so that you're sure to receive a notification when part 2 is released in 2 weeks. This is definitely one you're gonna wanna visit more than once. Let's dive in.

Thank you so much. Welcome everybody. I appreciate you, showing up for this, wanting to learn a little bit more about acupuncture or ways that we can integrate that into your practice. This is informative, helpful. If you don't know acupuncture, you won't be lost. So just sit tight, enjoy it. We're going to have an activity, a little introspection and talk about how the wellness side of your practice can be accessed with some 5 element acupuncture. So we're gonna review that theory a little bit in the upcoming slides and then we'll have a little activity like I said for getting to know what your element is and then talk a little bit about the characteristics and qualities of a Chinese element theory.

So, again, you don't have to be an expert to be on today of Eastern medicine or acupuncture. Just come with an open mind and curiosity. That's how I started with acupuncture in the first place, and here I am doing things like this during lunch hours. So your course outlines and objectives, Jessica talked a little bit about those. So we wanna be able to understand wellness through that TCM, traditional Chinese medicine, 5 element perspective. We're gonna, like I said, review that 5 element. We'll learn 8 dimensions of wellness in a western perspective. These were developed by UCLA.

So we'll talk a little bit about that component of of how wellness is viewed in in the west. So that's gonna help us better navigate stressors, worries, components that are interrupting and affecting our patient population's well-being as well as possibly our own. It's not just that physical, mental, emotional side of things. There's other components to that wellness umbrella as well that I think we aren't always taught to review and understand. So this is just an opportunity to explore further into that and give us one more way to better have compassion and support with our patient population. We'll have that self quiz like I talked about. We'll understand and utilize the strength of that dominant five element that you're gonna discover as well as maybe appreciate the weakness side of things of that five element that might be in your personal perspective. So, again, fun, informative, educational.