This work presents the theory and practice of abdominal diagnosis with the greatest care ever applied to an important diagnostic technique. Beginning with an historical and cultural perspective on the use of palpation in general, and abdominal palpation in particular, the book details the information required to master and extend the techniques presented. Introductory chapters concern the role of the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of Chinese medicine. Detailed etymologies, historical context, and classical sources are used to acquire a greater insight into hun, po, zhi, jing, and shen, as well as many other seminal concepts.

The text offers an exceptionally well detailed exploration of interior meridian pathways and the role of classical Chinese energetic anatomy, including concepts such as source and origin. This is followed by a description of the anatomy and physiology of the body’s energetically active fascial system, drawn from the latest Western studies, that establishes the authors’ rationale for acupuncture based in a complex biological information system. Detailed, step-by-step procedures for practical diagnosis and therapy are accompanied by profuse illustrations and useful case histories.

The treatment systems described are coordinated through the abdominal patterns and are staged from the general to the specific. Therapies and techniques include hara shiatsu, sotai and breathing exercises, and five-phase treatments. Clear instructions are provided for using Manaka’s ion pumping cords, mu point diagnosis, O-ring diagnosis, and secondary diagnostic and treatment strategies such as palm diagnosis. The text concludes with a full description of biorhythmic treatment procedures drawn from the Da Cheng and Dr. Manaka’s practice. This chapter contains the information necessary to use the biorhythms, including tables for the bi-hourly and daily meridian rhythms, stem-branch rhythms, the ten-day cycle of the phases and source points, and the sixty-day cycle of the extraordinary vessels. The point associations are detailed, as are the selection procedures.

The text presents everything that is required for a practitioner to begin clinical application. Hara Diagnosis is replete with useful therapeutic and diagnostic information, clinical and theoretical insight, and approaches to the understanding of acupuncture that draw East and West ever closer. It is the first text generated in the U.S. that has been favorably received by Japanese practitioners.