Saam Acupuncture: Weaving the Six Conformations and Five Phases
Saam Acupuncture with Colleen Putnam
One of the gifts of practicing Chinese Medicine is witnessing how ancient traditions continue to breathe life into our modern world. Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of learning Saam acupuncture, a lineage brought forward from Korea and carried in the West through teachers like Toby Daly.
Saam offers us a way of seeing the body that is at once intricate and beautifully simple. It is rooted in the interplay of two great systems in Chinese medicine: the Six Conformations and the Five Phases.
The Six Conformations map the dynamic flow of yin and yang through the body. They reveal how energy expresses itself, whether it is moving inward or outward, warming or cooling, expanding or contracting. The Five Phases, on the other hand, speak to the elemental cycles we see in nature: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. These phases show us the seasons of our inner terrain, the ways we grow, transform, return, and begin again.
Saam acupuncture weaves these two maps together into one living, breathing picture. When we place a needle, we are not just treating a symptom; we are engaging the harmony (or disharmony) between inner and outer, heaven and earth, yin and yang. We are helping the body remember its own balance.
What I love most about Saam is its precision. By understanding which Conformation and Phase are asking for support, we can use just a few needles to invite the body back into resonance. The treatment feels subtle, yet profound. Patients often describe a quiet settling, a sense of “coming home” to themselves.
In this way, Saam reminds us that healing is not about force. It is about listening. It is about aligning with the rhythms that already live inside us, and trusting that when balance is restored, the body, mind, and spirit naturally return to health.
Colleen Putnam practices Saam acupuncture here at Nido Wellness and would love to support you with this amazing gift. If you are in Petaluma, CA, and curious about how Saam acupuncture can help you make big and little shifts in your life, schedule a consultation today!