Why Guide Tubes?

(L-R) copper round, silver round, long silver round, 18K gold hexagon, silver hexagon tubes

Over the years of making acupuncture needle insertion tubes I have found that many people don't quite understand the need for them.  The majority of my orders have been for teishins, and although I believe teishins are an important part of every acupuncturists tool kit, I think practitioners are missing out on the most important tool for their arsenal.  One of the biggest reasons for their usefulness is that, since we use needles on every patient, we will use a guide tube on every patient.  As a student I used the stainless steel hexagonal guide tubes that are commonly sold.  At that time I didn't find any fault in them.  Even after making my first couple of 18k gold tubes I was not sensitive enough to notice the differences between them.  When I  made my first silver tube, I had a profound realization of their value.  I was needling the abdomen of a patient when I noticed the tube itself had an amazing softness.  The highly polished surface that can only be achieved on non-ferrous metals gave the tube a non-metallic feel.  While the stainless tubes I had been using felt inert and lifeless, the silver tube was gentle, warm, and receptive.  As I palpated this particular patient's abdomen I began to carry myself with the same energetic that the tube possessed; quiet, calm, and gentle, I began to percieve the acupuncture points on a more subtle level.  Myself becoming soft and able to receive.  My palpation became more gentle, the tube gliding into the points as if some invisible force were directing it there.  For this simple lesson they have taught me, I still find myself most enamored with the sterling silver tubes over the other metals.