It’s been a long while since I wrote here and my clinic has been pretty much like the rest of the country – open, closed, open, closed then open again. What a year it has been!
Now we are mid April 2021 and I am back working, seeing clients and at last getting around to writing here again.
This post is a practical one – just to explain what’s happening right now in the practice and to offer reassurance about the steps I have taken to keep you safe when you visit.
For the moment I am still wearing a mask throughout your treatment session. You do not need to wear one but this is your choice.
When you arrive I will ask you to remove your shoes inside the hall and as there is no carpet perhaps bring along some socks if your feet get cold.
You can wash your hands in the bathroom both before and after the session – with soap and water.
I wear a fresh apron for each client and also wash my hands regularly.
The room is cleaned between sessions and the sheet, blanket and pillowcase changed.
All my needles are single use and disposable. This has nothing to do with Covid but is normal practice – just seemed good to add it to this list.
All appointments are well spaced out so that people don’t bump into each other in that old friendly way that used to happen. You probably won’t see anyone apart from me when you are here.
In the last lockdown – the winter one – I decided to repaint the hall floor and this is how the entrance looks now!
Some people come along for acupuncture quite happy to relax into the session without needing to know what it is all about.
Others – and this may be you – want to know more.
What does acupuncture do? How does it work? What are the needles doing and how do I chose where to put them?
If you are curious to know more, this is a post for you.
What is acupuncture?
We all know it involves putting needles into the body in specific places. These are acupuncture points and there are about 400 of them on the body.
The points connect up with each other along pathways known as Channels or Meridians. Like rivers flowing through the whole body they carry energy.
These Channels take their names from the main organs of the body.
For example the Heart channel runs from under the armpit down to the little finger. There are 9 points on this Channel.
The Bladder channel runs from the inner corner of the eye, over the head and down the back to the ankle. There are 67 points on this channel.
Most Channels are bilateral but there are also two that run up the central axis – front and back – called the Conception and the Governor Channels.
Why do acupuncturists put needles so far away from the painful area?
The answer lies in the pathways of energy.
For neck pain we may use points on the ankle because we are working on the Bladder Channel. For back pain we may use a point on the knee.
Heart palpatations may be treated by using points on the wrist.
What are the needles doing?
Acupuncture is a method of balancing, moving or strengthening life energy, This energy is called Qi (pronounced chee). Qi flows not only along the channels but throughout the whole body. The Channels and the Points are places where we can contact the Qi more easily. Like springs of water that flow to the surface.
The needles are left in for up to half an hour and are making contact with the Qi energy in order to help it flow better. Different points have their own ways of working so there are some that are calming, some that move the energy, and some that have specific aims such as easing pain or helping digestion.
Not only about the body
Strong vibrant Qi is important for emotional and spiritual health. This is how acupuncture treats non-physical symptoms too, like depression or anxiety.
Qi is always flowing and finding balance. We are born with energy inherited from our parents and ancestors and throughout life we need to look after our Qi and to learn what brings us health and happiness and what brings us down.
Acupuncturists do more than just put needles into points. We help you understand how the Qi got out of balance in the past. Then we can find ways to strengthen it in the present.
Of course Acupuncture involves putting needles into the body but really it is about working with Qi. The food we eat, how we balance activity and rest, how happy we feel, where we live, who we spend time with, how well we breathe and what work we do, all this and more affect the state of our Qi.
Three Ways to Take Care of your Qi today
Stop right now and take a deep breath. Feel how your body enjoys having a pause in your busy day. Let your muscles relax. Smile.
Eating slowly and with awareness helps your stomach digest more easily. Is the food you have chosen full of nutrients? Is it happy food? Remember that every mouthful is creating new Qi .
Qi likes to move. If you are working at a desk then stop regularly to stretch. Get up and move around. This sounds so simple but how often we forget to move. Even better – put on some music and have a dance – Qi likes to dance!
Please pass on this post by sharing it. We all need reminders of how to take care of our energy. Sharing information means we keep the Qi flowing for a healthier and happier world.
This is the most asked question about acupuncture and for obvious reasons. Who wants to have a treatment that hurts? Here is my best and honest answer.
No, it shouldn’t hurt if done well by an experienced practitioner. All you should feel is a tiny prick at most.
If – and very occasionally it happens – if a point hurts it means the needle must be removed and re-positioned. I don’t believe that acupuncture should hurt.
After the needle is in we often give it a little turn to activate the energy flow. At this moment you might feel a tingling, or a heaviness or a pressure on the point.
But definitely not pain. Please don’t feel you have to tolerate pain.
2. It’s not a magic wand
Many times I felt that something magical was going on when I needled a point and the client felt a big change happening.
A ‘Wow” moment.
As if something that has been stuck and unmoveable for years, shifts position and the person feels lighter and better for it.
But it is important to know that acupuncture can’t wave a magic wand and cure old patterns of illness just in one treatment. Most people come for a series of sessions, perhaps once a week to start with. It is more like gardening than a TV makeover.
Things change and sometimes quickly but it is subtle and the body needs time to heal in a deep way. We need to be patient and trust the body’s wisdom.
3. It’s not just for pain
Acupuncture became famous for helping to shift stubborn pain. It is incredibly effective in treating back pain and sciatica, arthritis and frozen shoulder. But many people don’t know that acupuncture is used for many other problems.
Physical symptoms are usually what bring people to the clinic but acupuncture also helps with depression, insomnia, anxiety, or simply a feeling that you have lost your way in life.
People often ask me how I got into acupuncture and the truth is that I went along for help with asthma but what happened changed my life. I felt like I had woken up to myself. I started to make plans for my life that had never occurred to me before.
Acupuncture helped me be more me!
4. It is best to go to a fully qualified acupuncturist
There are other practitioners who use acupuncture needles in their work but who are not acupuncturists. Many of them do good and using needles is a helpful extra tool. However, acupuncturists who have done a full training of three years or more have a much deeper understanding of what Chinese Medicine really has to offer. When a non-acupuncturist offers acupuncture as an adjunct to other treatment it may be called ‘dry needling’. If you are feeling brave ask them how long they trained for. I am afraid that often the answer will be that they went on a weekend course.
One of the things that surprises people when they start treatment is how different they feel ‘in themselves’. The symptom they came with may be changing or has gone away but what really amazes them is how much better they feel in general.
“I am sleeping better and am more relaxed”
“I feel so happy – I’d forgotten what that was like”
“I’m much more focused at work – it’s easy to make decisions”
“I feel like the old Me again”
Sometimes it is partners and friends who comment “you seem so well now”
If you want to try acupuncture or to talk about whether it could help you then please do contact me by phone or email. You can find my details on the right of this page.
Have you ever had acupuncture treatment? Tell us in the comments what it was like for you.
