Altered States of Embodiment and the Social Aesthetics of Acupuncture
Kevin Taylor Anderson
Alternative & Integrative Medicine 2013 DOI: 10.4172/2327-5162.1000112 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Acupuncture patients in Galway and Dublin, Ireland |
| Intervention | Acupuncture |
| Key findings | Argues that patients regard acupuncture as both pleasurable and transformative, and that an embodied sense of transformation—unusual bodily and emotional sensations—functions as a key construct for determining acupuncture's medical efficacy. Proposes the concept of "altered states of embodiment" (ASE) to analyze these somatic phenomena, contending that existing models of altered states of consciousness remain cerebral and inadequately account for bodily sensation. |
Abstract
Acupuncture therapy encompasses various domains of experience: from the aesthetics and atmosphere of the clinic; to the sensorial aspects of needling; to the aftereffects in terms of potential changes in health and lifestyle.In my research (conducted in Galway and Dublin Ireland) one of the prevailing reasons expressed by patients as to the appeal of acupuncture, and rationale for its continual use, was that treatments were regarded as both pleasurable and transformative.This transformation-in either an immediate-sensorial, or a long-term behavioral way-is the key focus of this paper.Interviews with patients strongly suggested that an embodied sense of transformationexperiencing unusual bodily and emotional sensations-is not only part of the appeal, but is one of the key constructs for determining the medical efficacy of acupuncture.Such embodied transformations are referred to as altered states of embodiment (ASE).1 While the body is cited as a means of inducing ASC (e.g. through prolonged physical activity, hyperkinetic and/or ecstatic trance states [Ludwig 1969:11]) the locus of alterity remains cerebral.Further, of the ten general characteristics of ASC listed by Ludwig, only one ("Body image change") includes a discussion/consideration of bodily sensations (1969:14-15).In order to analyze these ephemeral phenomena from an anthropological perspective it is therefore necessary to adjust slightly Tart's concept of altered states of consciousness, in order to evaluate the function and origins of the somatic and visual imagery associated with the drifting portion of the acupuncture treatment.