The pulse is a kind of a monitor. When I touch an acupuncture point with a round-tip needle, the pulse changes. If what I did to the acupuncture point, the pulse becomes softer and slower, but if I did something wrong to the acupuncture point or my skill was not good enough, the pulse becomes harder and faster. That is why I check the pulse frequently after I touch an acupuncture point with a round-tip needle or insert a regular needle.
 
The pulse also changes by just touching with the finger. If I touch an acupuncture point too hard with my finger, the pulse becomes hard and/or fast, and if I touch an unsuitable acupuncture point for your body, the pulse also changes the same way.
 
The same thing happens to the abdomen and other parts of the body. If I touch a suitable acupuncture point with right strength, the abdomen becomes soft and smooth. So I check the abdomen and the muscle of the neck as well in order to confirm my pulse reading is correct, especially when the changes of the pulse is subtle.
 
That the pulse becomes harder and faster means your body gets stressed, while that the pulse becomes softer and slower means your body gets relaxed, which is the condition that acupuncture tries to lead to.  

Why do you let the patient take a rest on the table after the treatment on the front of the body?
 
The treatment on the front of the body includes touching a few acupuncture points on the leg or arm with a round-tip needle and tapping on the front and sides of the neck and head with a round-tip needle for tapping purpose.
 
Touching a few acupuncture points on the leg or arm is called the Root Treatment that affects all the body. Tapping on the neck and head is to remove a kind of dust in the energy pathway which can’t be removed by the Root Treatment.
 
I usually let the patient rest for about 10 to 15 minutes after the Root Treatment. After the rest, a lot of painful points with pressure on the abdomen and the other area which have been checked during the diagnosis disappear because the energy flow of the body can be improved by the Root Treatment.
 
According to an acupuncture classic book, the energy in our body circulates 50 times a day. That means it takes about 30 minutes that the energy moved by the Root Treatment circulates all the body once.
 
So it is ideal to have more than 30 minutes rest after the Root Treatment. If I could do that, remaining painful points with pressure after 15 minutes rest could disappear too. However, more than 30 minutes rest between the front and back treatments is too long for my clinic considering the space and time of the treatment.
 
That is why I have my patients rest for 10 to 15 minutes between the front and back treatments.

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