Awesome, Amazing Acupuncture & What It Can Do For You!

Over the past 3 weeks, one of my dear friends and favorite acupuncture practitioners (besides the beloved Adam Salzman) has been facilitating acupuncture/reiki combo sessions for me. At our first session, I expressed that I wanted to cleanse and strengthen my liver. I'd been having intuitive feelings that my liver was in need of support, as well as physical symptoms to indicate that it was congested. I'd become incredibly sensitive to alcohol, feeling hung-over after even one drink and experiencing a great deal of heat - sweating and hot flashes in the aftermath of having a social drink. I was also having difficulty sleeping, experiencing a lot of anger, frustration and outbursts (anger, as an emotion, is associated with the liver) and suffering from intense right shoulder blade pain, also associated with liver problems. At our second meeting, I was highly emotional and confidently let my friend pick the focus of the session - later I would find out that she placed some focus upon the liver in that session as well. Yesterday, at our third session, when my friend asked me what I'd like to focus upon, I automatically started to respond "liver", only to evaluate if that was really necessary. Upon reviewing what's been happening since we started this trio of sessions and what kind of results I've experienced, I realized that all of my liver-associated symptoms had disappeared! I had recently been able to enjoy a few social drinks without any adverse repurcussions, I was sleeping like a baby, not even waking in the night to use the bathroom as I frequently had in the past, I wasn't angry anymore and the right shoulder blade pain was gone!

I have two points to make in connection to this story.

1) Acupuncture is awesome! An ancient method rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture seeks to clear energetic meridians - paths through which life-energy, also called "qi" (pronounced "chi") is said to flow. When qi gets congested, organs, systems and glands that lie along the congested meridians can start to function less optimally. Insertion of acupuncture needles into specific points that lie along meridians helps to release congested energy, allowing it to flow freely, thereby nourishing organs, systems and glands.

2) Consistency and follow-up is incredibly important! When I do health coaching or ongoing cleanse counseling with clients, it almost always happens that the client is not entirely aware of the positive benefits they've gleaned from their healing journey under my guidance until we review together - touching on their original goals and the status of what was originally ailing them. My recent experience with acupuncture is a perfect illustration of how I overlooked the healing that had occurred for me through the application of acupuncture, while exemplifying the value of follow-up. Yesterday, when I realized that all my symptoms had disappeared, I ignorantly started to say "Wow - I haven't even really done anything specific to cleanse my liver...wait a minute...that's precisely what we've been doing here!" I had been so content to just chalk the sessions up to an opportunity to relax and take care of myself, that I lost sight of what it was actually doing for me. Pursuing consistent sessions and following up with your therapist clarifies progress, letting you know that what you're doing is worthwhile and effective.

Adam is our acupuncturist here at Prana Holistic. He's an amazingly skilled and sensitive therapist. Working largely from a place of intuition and with an immense amount of knowledge, Adam easily makes each person he sees feel comfortable and valued. If you feel like your body is not working quite as well as it could be, give us a call to set up an acupuncture appointment. Especially with my most recent acupuncture experience under my belt, I am not the least bit hesitant when I say that I know it will do you good and free up the energy needed to make you feel tip top!

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic

Tapping In To A Better Experience (Literally)

As we enter the melting period, ie: the end of winter, I reflect on how long and grueling it felt for me. Just this morning I mentioned to someone that January felt like at least 2 months to me, if not 3. I know I've experienced seasonal depression before and am left confused about how much of that may have been the cause of my low winter feelings. Either way, I intend to build up and be aware of a plethora of personal, stress-relieving resources for next winter, including the application of self-care and the willingness to ask for support when it's needed. 

One of the resources that I used this time, which I believe was a big part of helping me to pick myself up and keep going, was EFT: Emotional Freedom Technique. EFT is a branch of energy psychology. Energy psychology is a field that considers the relationship of energy systems to mental and emotional health, as well as behaviour. Founded by Gary Craig, an American engineering graduate and ordained minister, now retired, EFT’s guiding principle is that negative emotions disrupt the body’s energy. EFT manipulates the body’s energy field, with the goal of creating harmony and balance. 

EFT combines tapping on particular points, as recognized in traditional acupuncture, focusing on an emotionally debilitating issue and repeating affirming statements that promote acceptance of oneself despite challenges and shortcomings. The idea is that negative thoughts and feelings get stuck in the energetic system just as toxins periodically get "stuck" in the body, calling for a nutritional detoxification process. Consider EFT to be an emotional detoxification process. Quite simply, where a high emotional charge exists in association with a dysfunctional belief system ("I'm not good enough"), event or trauma, EFT, in application, works to diminish this emotional charge in order that you cope more effectively with life and your own personal healing. 

Me Tapping In To A Better Life!

For example, during the winter, I got caught up in feeling responsible for others' feelings - probably as a way of avoiding my own. For a while, I was consumed with what a few people in particular were thinking and feeling, especially in relation to me, and this became draining and defeatist. I was not able to properly function because I was allowing my obsessive thoughts to pervade every part of my life. Daily application of EFT helped to bring the emotional charge around my obsessiveness down so that I could objectively look at my situation and logically compute that hey, this is this person's journey and here's mine - I am only responsible for myself and obsessing about others who may or may not even have issues with me is a waste of precious energy that I need to heal myself and care for my son. This moved me to take care of things that needed to be taken care of inside my relationships in a matter-of-fact way, which brought healing and renewal.

EFT can also be applied to old, traumatic events that have never fully been healed such as death and loss, accidents and abuse. It's difficult to move forward when we haven't shed light into and healed the wounds of the past. This is not to encourage you to stew in past wounds but rather to shed light upon them, heal them and move forward. EFT is a phenomenal way of healing wounds both from the past and the present. It also helps to eliminate jitters around public speaking, difficult conversations, traveling or anything where fear seems to be taking over. 

One of the most beautiful things about EFT is that once you've learned it, you can add it to your personal tool box forever! I recommend having a session with a skilled EFT practitioner to start so that you can talk the process through and gain the skills necessary to use it on your own. Further, it's helpful to be with someone who can offer fresh perspectives to something that may be old and festering in your life. 

Sharon is our skilled EFT practitioner here at Prana Holistic. Please call us today if you'd like to learn how to apply EFT in order to rid yourself of possibly debilitating emotions that may be blocking you from thriving in your life.

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic