Thursday, June 3, 2010

Again With The Needles

I have returned to acupuncture. It's a last resort, and I mean that in the kindest way. I know it will work, and I know in order for it to work I will need to face whatever surfaces as a result of the treatments.

I stopped going for acupuncture in February of last year. Too many emotions were stirred up, so I decided to take a break. Instead I tried a variety of exterior remedies, as in getting busy, busy, busy.

That worked for awhile.

This past winter I took the opposite tact and turned inward to look for answers. I started meditating, exercising, hibernating, and reflecting. Those things have become part of my regular routine and continue to work.

Then when the nightmares, night sweats, spinning thoughts, and anger flared up this spring I knew I needed to dig deeper. The last straw was the acne on my chin, which I can treat topically but I know is due to internal upheaval.

I have had two acupuncture treatments in the last three weeks and started taking an herbal supplement twice a day. I can already see a difference in how I feel. I am not as frazzled, and I am sleeping a solid five hours at night.

I can't explain how it works, but it does.

Each acupuncture appointment starts with about twenty minutes of talking about what has been going on with me and how I have been feeling physically and emotionally. She looks at my tongue and takes a multitude of pulses in each wrist. Then I lay down on the table, fully clothed, and she places needles in my feet, legs, hands, arms, and ears. She leaves me in the room alone, with low lights and calm music, for about 25 minutes. Then she returns to remove the needles, ask how I'm feeling, and remind me to cut back on coffee and drink plenty of water.

The consensus, between massage and acupuncture, is that my body is responding to all the change in my life. My limbs and my organs work together as channels for what I take in, digest, and incorporate into the system that is me. If I pay attention, I will learn what I need to know.

Acupuncture, unlike massage, is not a long-term commitment. It is a tool to help me over this recent hurdle, to get me back on track. I am grateful to have access to a gifted practitioner who can help me find my way to better health.

It's a search for balance. I know I can find it again.

6 comments:

Joanne said...

I've never used acupuncture, but what a fascinating process. It's so interesting the way our physical bodies are closely tied in with our emotional state. It almost seems that if we take care of one aspect, the other will take care too.

Carolynn Anctil said...

I've never tried acupuncture, although I've considered it to relieve a chronic muscle spasm in my back. I never knew it had other benefits. So glad to hear it's working its magic for you.

Thank you for your kind words at my place.

Carolynn

Janice Lynne Lundy said...

Hooray for you! I am a huge proponent of acupuncture. It has been very powerful for me at key times in my life, one of which was moving through anxiety ... It literally shifted things for me in a way that nothing else did. I am so glad you have found this out for yourself and that you will go back to it whenever you need it. Blessings! And here's to your health and healing!

Cindy said...

I would really like to try this sometime. I believe in alternate therapies and wish our health care system would get more on board. So glad that this is giving you some relief.

Laura said...

I am so glad you are taking the time to do this for yourself Sharon...accupuncture is an incredible healing system. I wish you many blessings on this part of your journey!

Rebekah said...

I tried acupuncture for the first time about a year ago and have had about 6 sessions since then. You describe it so well. Around the same time I also started seeing a therapist (finally!) to deal with some deep-seated issues and have thrown in the occasional massage. Overall it has been a pretty good approach for me to try to address my "issues."