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Inner Works Acupuncture takes its inspiration from the Chinese phrase nei gong 內功. In traditional Chinese healing, exercise and martial arts, nei gong refers to the cultivation of internal energy or qi. For the ancient Chinese, cultivating internal energy includes cultivating and improving oneself in all aspects: spiritual, physical, psychological, moral.
Like the Chinese practice of nei gong, the goal of Inner Works is core-level healing for the whole person – body, mind and spirit. Illness is not an enemy to be fought, but rather a message from the body/mind for deeper healing and transformation.
內 nei translates as “inner.” It has two parts. The first part 冂 shows a picture of an empty box. The second part 入 is the character meaning “to enter.” It shows a sprout with two roots. Together, these are a picture of the roots of a plant growing into and penetrating an interior space. This character is the inspiration for the calligraphic logo of Inner Works.
功 gong translates as “work, skill, service, achievement.” It also consists of two parts. 工 is a root form of the character for “work,” originally a picture of a tool. 力 means “power, strength, force.” Power plus a tool gives us the idea of work.
In Chinese, plural and singular forms of words are the same, so at Inner Works Acupuncture we freely use the English plural form, “works.” In English, the word “work” has a slightly different nuance than the Chinese, because it includes the sense of “functioning.” This adds another layer of meaning to the name. “Inner Works” works!
Read more about Elizabeth Zenger’s professional background and personal experience with acupuncture, or view testimonials here!
