when sparks fly; magic needles
here's another reason winter is my least favorite season: literally everywhere i go, whenever i touch metal i get zapped. i mean ZAPPED! i must be a magnet for static electricity--on door knobs, car doors, grocery carts and shelves, even when the person at the cash register hands me change! ouch! wtf? does this happen to anyone else or is it just me? it's getting to the point where i'm almost afraid to touch anything metal for fear that sparks will fly. it's making me seriously consider moving to someplace like california or florida one day...oh, except that i have to be extra careful with sunlight and rashes.
i just came back from acupunture. it really is so wonderful and my acupuncturist is tops! today's session was very relaxing and and i left feeling a little bit better and calm although sleepy enough to want to take a nap.
earlier in the fall he wanted to try something on me called electroacupuncture but i put my foot down firmly and told him i wasn't comfortable with him using electrical currents, given the fact that i always seem to get zapped and i hate it so much. i appreciated the fact that he was totally understanding and cool with that and didn't try to push me into trying it. it really has been the best decision to try acupuncture. in truth i had toyed with the idea a few times. back in college one of my professors recommended someone in amherst who had helped him with stuff like allergies and fatigue. alas, i didn't have a car and although i probably could have gotten there via bus, i ended up not pursuing it. then a few years later i went in for a consultation with a guy who is an acupuncturist but was originally trained in sports medicine. i'm sure he was professionally competent but something about his bedside manners and demeanor left me cold and i decided to wait and find someone i liked.
in the meantime i saw an aunt (whose background is in pharmacology and who lives in another country)administering acupuncture to herself in her hand when she came to see us one summer. that fascinated me. then this spring, i was totally in awe as i watched an auricular demonstration, which a local agency says they use a lot with addicts, especially to treat withdrawal.
finally i heard about my current acupuncturist through several reliable sources and decided it was time to explore this avenue. i totally trust this person. i never thought much about it before now, but it really requires a lot of trust to let someone perform acupuncture and put needles in you, let alone reveal details of your personal health history to. especially because treatment in traditional chinese medicine is so tailored to the individual patient. so i really think my acupuncturist is a real gem.
my only regret is that i didn't get acupuncture started sooner. if i had, is it possible things wouldn't have had a chance to evolve as they did? would it have been nipped in the bud? or even if it hadn't, would my suffering have been a little bit milder?
i know some of you on diaryland have similar problems as mine. if you haven't yet, definitely give acupuncture some thought and consideration. it might mean you can eventually wean yourself from prednisone or go to a lower and less destructive dose.
i think some of my "what if" questions exist because of the way in which western/modern medicine still is somewhat trapped into seeing eastern healing traditions like acupuncture as alternative and second-line. however i was encouraged to read a few recent articles highlighting the move to emphasize the complementary nature of the two schools of thought and healing. i think a lot of med. schools are starting to familiarize students with the other options out there. i was encouraged that my sister is open and embraces the idea of acupuncture. when i asked if she would hypothetically refer her patients for acupuncture she said she definitely would. maybe if modern medicine referred people to acupuncture more readily and quickly there would be fewer people who see it as only a last resort when they're gravely ill or when it will take harder work to restore them. just my own ramblings.
i really think that acupuncture is also helping me to grow spiritually in a way i never anticipated before starting it. as crazy as it sounds i'm starting to think outside the box more and realize that wellness IS within my reach. there must really be some magic in those needles.
well what i could really use is a short nap and sweet dreams about magic needles minus the sparks. tonight i plan to drop in on a yoga class.
