Third Time's the Charm

Today, I had my third acupuncture appointment. Third Saturday morning in a row I visited Acupuncture Together on Burnet Road. In an attempt to become whole again, I have been exploring a new diet, therapy, and acupressure in general to reach a higher level of overall wellness. I thought I should give it a shot and this place is pretty cheap, only $20 a visit, less if I pony up and get a package. They keep costs down by doing up to eight clients at a time, in a large room, dim lights. namaste world music bubbling from some unseen source, it looks like this:

I'll admit, I was a little trepidatious about it at first, it seemed like kind of a personal thing to do in front of a bunch of strangers but they won me over with the price so I gave it a shot.

The first visit was pretty much as I expected, they asked me why I was there, what I wanted to "work on" and I explained how I would really like to get off my anti-depression/anxiety meds and needed some help. I also take an antibiotic everyday to prevent bladder infections and tend to get them when I am stressed out. I'd like to not do that anymore. Both the pills and the infections. I told Ashley I had recently lost about 30 pounds and also reduced my Effexor by half since May, she congratulated me. It felt good to get some outside affirmation for the work I had been doing. I didn't mention I had also sobered up and had not had a drop since June 4th.

She asked me if I had any questions and if I was nervous about it hurting. I really wasn't, just excited to get started so she had me recline the chair all the way back, placed a pillow under my feet and I closed my eyes. She placed the tiny needles in my feet, legs, hands, head and ears and it honestly doesn't hurt at all. I felt some tingling up my legs and arms, between the points she had placed the needles. She told me to relax and I could stay as long as I wanted, placing a tiny clicker in my lap if I needed her. It was warm, dark and peaceful and I promptly fell asleep. When I woke up about an hour later, I beeped her and she came and took out the needles.

Did I feel any different? Not really. She handed me a treatment plan that suggested 2 visits a week for three weeks. I tried like the dickens to get over there during the next week but couldn't until the following Saturday. This visit was a lot smoother at intake, I handed Maxine a 20 dollar bill at the front and headed on back, picking the same chair and Ashley placed the needles in about the same places. There was no tingling this time and I guess I was a little distracted, I tried to relax but just couldn't, my mind racing with the previous week's activities, the errands and chores left to do this weekend, what the following week looked like, I just didn't give any thought to what you are supposed to be thinking about when you get acupuncture. No one really talks about that. So yeah, I was doing it wrong.

When I left I thought maybe this just isn't for me. Maybe it's a bunch of quack science and I could do something more useful with the $20 a week. I hemmed and hawed all week about making an appointment but on Friday, I used their super easy online appointment requester and found myself there again this morning at 9 am.

Today I picked a different chair. As she placed the needles I started taking deep breaths. I've done a lot of breath work in the last few months to deal with anxiety and am learning a little about something called "Emotional Freedom Technique" or EFT. Some of it seems a little over the top to me and I'm not a big tapper yet but the affirmation part is something I can embrace. "Even though I am sometimes depressed, I know the feelings will not last forever" and "Even though I can be a total mess at times, I am taking steps every day to be a healthier person" are two of my favorites. I started with those. Then I started to concentrate on the soft music playing and created an inner theatre of the last year, just some of the trials and surprises in a very abstract way. Some of the darker times I was struggling under water, dark, thick water that had every intention of taking me down into the depths. But then I saw myself swimming towards the lighter water and onto the beach, relaxing on the beach as I watched the waves crash onto the shore. At some point, I must have fallen asleep because Ashley gently woke me up at about 10 as I had asked her to and I woke up so alert, refreshed, and energized, I literally bounded out of the chair and felt like a whole new person.

I don't know if today was a fluke, but I feel like that is an hour a week I can really concentrate and focus on me, what I am feeling, what I want, what I need and how to develop into who I want to become. And there was something about the way I woke up, it was like I wasn't really sleeping but connecting on some deep level to some core consciousness where I can gain strength and knowledge and peace. Now it doesn't seem like there is anything better I can do with that $20 a week.