Why Acupuncture is part of my wellness practice
When I first started seeing an acupuncturist, I was having headaches. Daily headaches and pain, essentially caused by grinding my teeth at night. Every week I would visit the acupuncturist’s office, that was pretty similar to a doctor’s office in terms of design, to have a treatment done. Acupuncture dramatically improved my pain and my headaches after about six weeks.
Each individual acupuncture session took an hour, and my current acupuncture sessions are the same length. The acupuncturist places about 6-10 needles at various points on my body then leaves me to rest quietly in the room. To this day, after trying acupuncture off and on for about seven years, I use the quiet time during treatment to meditate and practice deep breathing to help release stress.
What exactly is acupuncture, aside from the strategically placed needles at different points on the body? The purpose of this Chinese practice dating back thousands of years is to balance chi by inserting needles along “meridians” in the body. Meridians are essentially the highways through which the life force chi moves throughout the body. The purpose of acupuncture and the placing of needles is to basically clear up traffic jams of chi to bring an individual’s health back into balance.
My current acupuncturist treats a variety of health conditions that includes helping balance reproductive hormones, manage stress, and alleviate back pain. I see the acupuncturist monthly and he recommends herbs as needed and also engages in a practice known as “cupping.” It is a key part of my wellness.
Acupuncture is a natural healing technique. The goal of placing the tiny, painless needles is to stimulate the body’s central nervous system and jumpstart the body’s capacity to heal itself. Not to mention, the quiet time during sessions are priceless. It’s a time to intentionally slow down and be present in the body to check in with how I’m feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Have you ever tried acupuncture or are interested in trying it? Let us know in the comments.
