Getting to Know You: A Physician Explains How Acupuncture Helps You Be the Best YOU

This book will explain the basics of acupuncture and how you can benefit from understanding your own physical makeup. It gives lots of food for thought and reflection. It is written in easily understandable language by the physician who developed "medical acupuncture." The combination of western medicine and acupuncture is a winner.

Dr. Helms has written a clear and concise explanation of acupuncture based upon years of extensive clinical experience. He has skillfully combined his knowledge of ancient wisdom with modern acupuncture to offer a new perspective of understanding human personality and constitution. We can now begin to appreciate our strengths and weaknesses, formulate our own pathways for rebalancing and ultimately live healtier, more enriched lives. I highly recommend this book!

I will also be recommending this book to friends. I'm not a physician, but this readable introduction to acupuncture has given me a whole new way to understand and take care of myself. Dr. Helms explains that there's a lot more to acupuncture than needles. By assessing what type of person you are, both physically and emotionally, you can be more prepared to recognize risks and maintain your health. Using examples, Dr. Helms shows how an acupuncture framework can address early signs of trouble and make sense of seemingly unrelated symptoms. He sees acupuncture and Western medicine as complementary, and he includes plenty of advice about simple ways to improve your lifestyle. I particularly enjoyed the dietary recommendations and the many tools that help you to figure out what type of person you are. I think this book would be a valuable resource for any person who is interested in finding new ways to stay healthy.

Americans "discovered" acupuncture when Nixon went to China in 1972. I had acupuncture for the first time in the 1980s when it was still looked upon as a "fringe" therapy. I knew very little about it, but it worked. That's all that mattered to me. I had no idea there was so much more to acupuncture beyond the needles and the moxa, but this book presents a thousand years of mind-and-body health wisdom in a clear, understandable way. This guy's a doctor, an MD and a professor at Stanford U, who has been training other doctors in acupuncture for decades. His approach is to honor and respect the traditional medical wisdom, but he supports and expands it with modern scientific info. He's treated lots of patients, he knows his stuff, and he explains the whole wellness philosophy that's at the heart of acupuncture. Acupuncture can't cure everything, but if you understand what's behind it, you get a much clearer picture of who you are (mind and body), what makes you run, and how to get the most out of every day--needles or no needles.

Getting to Know You promotes a complementary system of health care that starts with our personal awareness of our constitutional makeup and the changes in our body over time, and then combines that awareness with acupuncture and conventional approaches to medicine. Dr. Helms posits that this biological-psychological awareness, plus life style changes and strengthening our physical vulnerabilities to ailments, supports improved health and well being, especially when added to acupuncture maintenance treatments. The book offers insights into both patient and physician perspectives regarding acupuncture through patient examples in the chapters and a running footer throughout half the book. After reading the book I was motivated to identify my bio-psychotype by filling out the questionnaire on line www.acupunctureprofessor.com and take better charge of my own energy and wellness. I even found a Helms graduate near my home and have started a series of treatments. I feel a lot more in control of my life and health since following some of the guidance in Getting to Know You, and am submitting this comment in hopes that other people like me will get the same benefit. It's fun and easy to read, and well worth the time and study.