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