I was chatting to a friend the other day ( who just happens to be a really good writer) and asked her… how can I write about acupuncture and get people´s attention…. “Tell it how it really is Annie, tell us what it really feels like” So here goes:
Coming to have acupuncture for the very first time is a little bit scary, we have images in our heads about hundreds of 2 foot long needles being placed in the most painful parts of our bodies, we are going to be trapped on the table and unable to move, whilst in complete agony!!!
The truth is, it’s nothing like that…. neither is it like visiting the doctor or the physiotherapist, A well trained practitioner of Chinese medicine is going to ask you 101 different questions about your body, your state of mind, your preferences for types of food, whether you prefer to be hot or cold etc. etc. …. She is surreptitiously making a diagnosis using an age old Chinese system of medicine that integrates the WHOLE of you…. so you may just think you have a bad back or are stressed out… but she will be thinking about how to rebalance your body in a completely natural and pain-free way in order to eliminate your symptoms.
When the chatting is done you get to lie down, In a wonderful warm room with gentle relaxing music playing. Yes, now is the time for the needles, but they are tiny… no thicker than a hair in diameter and you really don’t feel very much at all… And here is the magic…. within about five minutes you will feel yourself totally relax, you may drop off into a pleasant sleep but more than likely firstly you will experience a floating sensation, your limbs feel light, it is like a deep meditation where everything becomes quiet and still. After about half an hour the needles are removed (again no blood and gore) and you are sent back out into the world….. The sensation of peace and tranquillity stays with you, life will feel a little calmer, nothing will bother you…. for some people this sensation lasts for a few days others for a week or more, the effect of acupuncture is cumulative and the more you have the less you will need.
