What Is AcuDetox?
Five points. A quiet place to land.
AcuDetox is a simple form of auricular acupuncture that uses up to five specific points on each ear.
Five, sterile, single-use acupuncture needles are gently placed in the outer ear while you sit & rest, usually for about 30–60 minutes depending on the setting.
The protocol is commonly called the Five-Point Protocol, Five-Needlepoint Protocol, 5NP, or the NADA Protocol.
Unlike a full acupuncture treatment, AcuDetox does not require an individualized diagnosis or a customized treatment plan. The same five-point framework is used with each participant, making it especially suited for community settings where care can remain simple, accessible, & low barrier.
No diagnosis required. No story required. No need to know exactly what you need before you arrive.
How Does AcuDetox Work?
AcuDetox is designed around something very simple:
Sitting. Receiving. Resting. Noticing what shifts.
The five ear points are traditionally associated with different aspects of regulation, grounding, restoration, movement, & release.
From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, acupuncture is understood through the movement & balance of Qi, a traditional concept describing vitality, movement, function, & relationship within the body.
From a modern wellness perspective, AcuDetox creates a structured period of stillness & sensory reduction where a person can step away from stimulation, sit quietly, & allow their body & mind time to settle.
The experience is supportive rather than diagnostic.
There is no requirement to talk through what you are experiencing. There is no expectation that you achieve a particular emotional state. And there is no guaranteed response.
People experience AcuDetox differently.
What Happens During a Session?
1. Check In
You complete a brief check-in, safety screening, & consent process.
You are asked only for information relevant to receiving care safely.
You do not need to disclose your diagnosis, trauma history, recovery story, substance-use history, or personal circumstances in order to participate.
2. Get Comfortable
You choose a seat & settle in. Depending on the clinic, treatment may happen:
Individually
Alongside other people
At a community clinic
At a festival or event
In a recovery or harm-reduction setting
In another shared wellness environment
Community treatment is intentional.
You may be receiving care beside other people without needing to interact with them.
3. Needle Placement
The practitioner gently places up to five sterile, single-use acupuncture needles into specific points on each ear. The five points are:
Sympathetic · Safety
Shen Men · Spirit Gate
Kidney · Resilience
Liver · Movement
Lung · Release
You can receive fewer than five points.
You can receive treatment in only one ear.
You can ask to stop at any point.
And if needles are not right for you, ear seeds may be available as a needle-free option.
Consent does not end when the form is signed. Your body remains your choice throughout the session.
The Five Points: Mind · Body · Spirit
The five-point protocol is rooted in auricular acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine frameworks.
The five AcuDetox points are often understood not only through their physical location on the ear, but also through the broader traditional ideas they represent.
Within Traditional Chinese Medicine, the body, emotions, mind, & spirit are not viewed as entirely separate systems. They influence one another continuously.
The names below refer to traditional energetic systems & ear points. They should not be interpreted as claims that needling the ear directly treats the anatomical kidney, liver, lung, or any specific medical condition.
The descriptions below reflect traditional Chinese medicine and auricular acupuncture frameworks. They are not claims that stimulating an ear point directly treats a specific organ, diagnosis, or medical condition.
Sympathetic
Safety
The Sympathetic point is usually the first needle placed, and it sets the tone for everything that follows: a signal to the nervous system that it is safe enough to slow down.
It is associated with the autonomic nervous system, the part of us that decides, below conscious thought, whether we are in danger or at rest.
Mind
The Sympathetic point is associated with helping the mind come out of urgency, panic, hypervigilance, and survival-mode thinking.
When the nervous system is on high alert, the mind scans for danger, rehearses worst-case scenarios, and treats almost everything as an emergency. Thoughts move fast. Choices feel few. Every message, sound, or demand can seem like it needs an answer right now.
This point supports the shift from reacting to responding: a little more space between what happens and what you do next.
Quieting internal urgency and alarm
Easing hypervigilance and constant scanning
Softening panic and “what if” spirals
Creating room to pause before acting
From reacting to responding.
Body
The Sympathetic point supports autonomic nervous system regulation, especially the balance between fight-or-flight (sympathetic) and rest-and-digest (parasympathetic) states.
When the body has been bracing for a long time, it often stays braced even after the danger has passed. This point is traditionally used to help release tension, soften stress responses, support digestion, ease restlessness, and create a more grounded state.
You might notice your shoulders drop, your jaw unclench, your breath lengthen, or your body feel heavier in the chair.
The chair can hold you for a while.
Spirit
Spiritually, this point can feel like returning from chaos to center.
It invites safety, surrender, and reconnection with the body’s own intelligence: the part of you that already knows how to rest and repair when it is finally given the chance.
Surrender here is not giving up. It is allowing yourself to be held for a moment, without having to earn it.
Safety first. Everything else can follow.
Shen Men
Spirit Gate
Shen Men translates to “Spirit Gate.” In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shen refers to the mind, consciousness, and spirit, the part of us that is present and aware.
It is one of the most widely used points in ear acupuncture for calm, settling, and comfort.
Mind
Shen Men is associated with easing anxiety, reducing emotional overwhelm, and helping the mind settle.
When thoughts are scattered, reactive, or racing (looping on the past, rehearsing the future, jumping from worry to worry), it can feel impossible to land anywhere.
Shen Men supports a shift into steadier awareness. Thoughts may still come and go, but they no longer have to carry you away with them.
Easing anxiety and worry
Softening emotional overwhelm
Settling racing or scattered thoughts
Supporting clearer, steadier awareness
Less noise. More room.
Body
Shen Men supports nervous system regulation and the move out of a stress response.
When the mind is overwhelmed, the body usually joins in: the forehead tightens, the shoulders lift, the breath shortens, sleep gets harder. This point is traditionally used to reduce tension, support rest, and create a greater sense of internal safety.
Many people notice a wave of calm, heaviness, or sleepiness once this point is placed.
Spirit
Shen Men is about reconnection, presence, and inner refuge.
If it had words, it might simply say:
“Come back to yourself.”
It supports feelings of being held, grounded, and less alone in whatever someone is moving through.
A gate does not push you through. It simply opens, and lets you return home at your own pace.
Kidney
Resilience
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Kidney system holds the body’s deepest reserves: vitality, endurance, and will. It is associated with the Water element and with fear as its core emotion.
This is not about the anatomical kidneys. It is about the well we draw from to keep going.
Mind
The Kidney point is associated with easing fear, insecurity, burnout, and deep exhaustion.
It supports steadiness when someone is feeling depleted, overwhelmed, or emotionally worn down: when it feels like there is nothing left in the tank, and the mind keeps asking, Am I safe? Do I have enough? How much longer can I keep doing this?
Courage, here, is not the absence of fear. It is staying connected to yourself while fear is present.
Easing fear and insecurity
Steadiness through burnout and exhaustion
Grounding when emotionally worn down
Remaining rooted amid uncertainty
Rooting before reaching.
Body
Restores reserves.
The Kidney point supports the body’s capacity to rest, repair, and regulate, helping the body feel less drained and more resourced.
You cannot keep drawing from a well without letting it refill. This point represents that refilling: restoration before exertion, rest before pushing forward.
People often describe feeling rooted, heavy, or deeply tired in a way that finally feels allowed.
Spirit
Spiritually, Kidney connects to willpower, courage, ancestry, and deep inner reserves.
It supports a return to trust, to resilience, and to the quiet strength underneath survival: the part of you, and of those who came before you, that has carried you this far.
Like water, resilience does not always push. It adapts, finds openings, and keeps going.
Sometimes strength means conserving enough of yourself to continue.
Liver
Movement
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Liver keeps energy (Qi) moving smoothly through the body. It is associated with the Wood element and with anger, and its themes are direction, flexibility, and flow.
When something feels stuck, physically, emotionally, or mentally, the Liver point is about giving that energy somewhere to go.
Mind
The Liver point is associated with easing frustration, irritability, resentment, anger, and emotional stagnation.
It supports mental flexibility when someone is feeling stuck, tense, reactive, or internally pressurized, like a kettle about to boil.
Anger is not treated as something bad here. It often carries information: something matters, a boundary was crossed, something needs to change. The intention is not to suppress that energy, but to let it move without being consumed by it.
Easing frustration and irritability
Softening resentment and stuck anger
Restoring mental flexibility
Releasing internal pressure
Movement without being consumed.
Body
The Liver point is connected with movement, circulation, detoxification (in the traditional sense), and the smooth flow of energy through the body.
When flow is restricted, pressure builds. This point traditionally supports the release of tension and stress buildup, and is associated with easing headaches, jaw clenching, tightness, and supporting the body’s natural processing systems.
You might notice a long sigh, a softening jaw, or tension finally loosening its grip.
Spirit
Clears what has been held too long.
The Liver point supports forgiveness, emotional movement, personal direction, and the courage to stop carrying what is no longer yours.
Like Wood growing toward the light, it asks a simple, open question:
Where might I go from here?
Mind
The Lung point is associated with easing sadness, grief, and heaviness.
It supports mental spaciousness when someone is feeling weighed down or unable to fully exhale emotionally, carrying memories, roles, losses, or old versions of themselves.
Grief often exists because something mattered. This point does not rush it; it makes a little more room around it.
Easing sadness and heaviness
Making space for grief
Supporting emotional exhale
Allowing what cannot change to be accepted
Release does not mean forgetting.
Lung
Release
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Lungs govern breath and the boundary between inside and outside. The Lung is associated with the Metal element and with grief, and its themes are receiving, letting go, and beginning again.
It is often the last needle placed, closing the treatment with an exhale.
Body
The Lung point is connected with breath, release, immunity (the protective Wei Qi of TCM), and the body’s ability to let go.
It supports deeper breathing, softening in the chest, relaxation, and clearing physical and emotional tension held in the body.
Every breath is a small practice of receiving and releasing. Sometimes simply noticing “I am here, and I am breathing” is enough.
Spirit
Spiritually, this point is about grief, surrender, and making room for life again.
It supports the process of honoring what was lost while opening space for renewal, connection, and receiving.
You do not have to carry something exactly the same way forever in order to honor it.
Safety. Spirit Gate. Resilience. Movement. Release.
That does not mean every person will experience these exact changes during AcuDetox.
There is no prescribed emotional journey. There is no “correct” response.
These are traditional frameworks that offer one way of understanding the five points and the larger philosophy behind the protocol.
Your experience belongs to you.
You may feel calm. You may feel tired. You may notice an emotion. You may notice your breath. You may feel something shift. You may simply sit quietly for thirty minutes.
Sometimes that is enough.
Then You Rest.
After the needles are placed, there is very little you need to do. Really.
You sit. You breathe however you breathe.
You can close your eyes or keep them open. You can meditate or not meditate.
You do not have to talk. You do not have to process anything. You do not have to “do wellness correctly.”
You simply have permission to be still for a while.
Sessions commonly last around 30–60 minutes, although the length may vary depending on the clinic or event.
What Might I Feel?
Everyone experiences AcuDetox differently. During or after a session, some people report feeling:
More relaxed
Sleepy
Grounded
Calm
Less tense
Quieter mentally
Emotionally lighter
More present
More connected to their body
Some people notice very little. Some notice the shift later. Some simply appreciate having had thirty quiet minutes.
All of those experiences are valid.
AcuDetox does not guarantee a particular result.
Does It Hurt?
Most people describe insertion as brief—a small pinch, pressure, or sensation.
Imagine plucking an eyebrow—some are felt more than others. Some are not felt at all.
Once the needles are in place, they may become barely noticeable.
However, bodies are different. If a needle feels uncomfortable, you can ask for it to be adjusted or removed immediately.
You never need to tolerate discomfort to “make the treatment work.”
Do I Have to Talk?
No.
AcuDetox is intentionally well suited to nonverbal care. You do not need to:
Tell your story
Explain why you came
Discuss trauma
Describe your recovery
Identify a diagnosis
Talk about what you are feeling
Process the experience aloud
If you want to speak with the practitioner, you can.
If you want silence, that is welcome too.
What Is Qi?
Qi, often pronounced “chee,” is a foundational concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
It is commonly translated as vital life force energy, although that translation is imperfect. Qi is better understood as a traditional framework for describing movement, vitality, function, transformation, and relationship within the body.
Traditional acupuncture theory describes health partly through the balanced movement of Qi. When Qi moves freely, the system is understood as being better able to adapt and respond. When Qi becomes stagnant, depleted, or disrupted, traditional theory associates this with different patterns of discomfort or imbalance.
Qi is not something The Hokey Pokey Collective claims to measure scientifically. We use the concept within its traditional and philosophical context.
For us, moving your Qi also speaks to something broader:
Movement from tension toward softness.
Movement from overwhelm toward space.
Movement from holding toward releasing.
Movement from isolation toward community.
Sometimes the movement is dramatic. Sometimes it is one deeper breath.
Both count.
Why Community AcuDetox?
AcuDetox is particularly suited to community care because it is:
Simple
The same five-point framework can be offered without a lengthy individualized assessment.
Low Barrier
No diagnosis or referral is required.
Nonverbal
You can receive care without explaining yourself.
Choice-Based
You remain in control of your participation throughout treatment.
Community-Oriented
Multiple people can rest and receive care together.
Adaptable
The protocol can be brought into community spaces, events, recovery environments, festivals, wellness gatherings, and places where traditional care may be harder to access.
Instead of always asking people to travel toward care, we can ask:
What happens when care comes to where people already are?
What AcuDetox Is Not
AcuDetox is supportive care. It is not intended to replace:
Medical treatment
Mental-health treatment
Psychotherapy
Emergency care
Crisis intervention
Medically supervised detoxification
Withdrawal management
Comprehensive acupuncture treatment
AcuDetox does not diagnose medical or mental-health conditions and does not guarantee specific health outcomes.
If you are experiencing a medical or behavioral-health emergency, seek appropriate professional or emergency support.
Your Body. Your Choice.
AcuDetox is voluntary. At any time, you may:
Ask a question
Decline a needle
Choose fewer points
Receive treatment on only one ear
Ask whether ear seeds are available
Request that a needle be removed
Take a break
End your session
You never need to justify changing your mind.
Consent is ongoing.