Ask Dr. Ka'imi

Tira Cole from New Zeland asks "I have a question regarding root canal treatment that I'm hoping you could shed some light on. I've heard that root canal fillings interfere with meridians. But I'm thinking that the alternatives cannot be any better, ie. an implant involves a metal pin, and extraction surely must also interfere with meridians. I'd love to hear your thoughts."

I think you are right Tira, any dentistry procedure potentially interferes with your meridians. But that isn't enough to argue against all dental procedures. One of the biggest controversies around root canals is the idea of lingering infections. I don't believe that this is always the case - I think the bigger issue is the health of the related organs and meridians going into the procedure, and what is done afterwards to balance the energy flow.  I think every case has to be evaluated separately. I have a personal story about this: I had a root canal done many years ago, which I didn't want to repeat, but I didn't want to lose the tooth either. A few years later, x-rays showed an infection in the root of an adjacent tooth. My dentist said if it got worse, I could always have a root canal. Easy for him to say! I had just started studying Shiatsu, so I did self-pressure on the acupuncture meridians in my arm that go through the jaw everyday. The pain gradually went away and the next x-ray was clear. The original root canal has been problem free for 25 years, and I haven't had a cavity since! For those of you who are interested, you can go to my facebook page to get a tooth chart relating to meridians.  

Cameron Walker, also of New Zealand responded to my answer to his question in the March newsletter about the Governing and Conception vessels deserving caution and respect, and hence not part of BodyTalk protocol.  He had three more important questions:   

1)  ".... I thought BodyTalk was 100% safe?"  

2) "Not withstanding errors in muscle checking, those meridians wouldn't come up if the person didn't need them/couldn't handle it, right?  Or the clients mind/body wouldn't accept a formula which involved those meridians if they weren't a priority?"  

3) "Ka'imi's answer .... seems to imply that we can influence peoples state even if they don't need it. Which of course contradicts a basic tenant of BodyTalk. Thus my concern."

This is why I created the 'Being in Practice' E-courses; to help practitioners be in practice. The deeper theory behind these answers is included those lectures, but here's the short version:   

1) Since BodyTalk works by bringing awareness to areas of concern rather than by prescribing specific actions, the protocol is safe. But we have to be sure we are being safe practitioners. We can do harm by using muscle-checking to prescribe, diagnose, prognose or give advice. Following the protocol to bring awareness to body systems is safe. But we shouldn't mess around with certain meridians without proper training and awareness, because an inappropriate specific intent could result in an uncomfortable imbalance.  

2) Our yes/no answers are always filtered through our beliefs about what is going on. We get lots of useful answers, but we always have to have humility, because some percentage of our answers are going to be wrong.   

3) Yes, we can influence someone's state even if they don't need it. We've all been around someone that affected our own energy at some point - even when we didn't need or want it!  The amount of 'Will' energy an individual has impacts on their ability to influence another's state for good or for bad. It is very important, therefore, if you have strong 'Will' energy that you keep your intentions 'pure and clear' and that you continue to work with yourself honestly to this end. Also, have intentions that are in keeping with the motto, "First, do no harm."