poked

[phineasjones]

well, so that's acupuncture.

dude. with the therapy and the acupuncture and all... rach and i were just making extreme makeover; inside edition jokes. i mean, really. it's kind of what it feels like. with the visit to the shrink tomorrow a.m. as well. i think i should buy some new clothes and get a hair cut to balance things out.


i have to say, the whole concept behind chinese medicine makes so much sense to me. the whole sit down and chat a while and get a sense of what is going on with the whole person before beginning treatment? why would any doctor not do that? the acupuncturist's (? is that what they're called?) name is jana and she was very nice and easy to talk to. we spent 30 minutes talking about my allergies and asthma and my life in general (including therapy, which made me cry. oy). she said it was good i told her about the anxiety/depression stuff and that she'd do what she could to support the work i was doing with that. which is nice.

then she had me lie on the table while she felt my pulses and looked at my tongue. i have a friend who does shiatsu so i've seen this before. and then she told me some more about chinese medicine and seasonal stuff and i really didn't retain much. hee. and then she poked me with needles. one at the top of each ear, one on the side of each calf, two in my right foot and one in my left. they hurt a tiny bit going in, but nothing i couldn't take. i lay there for 20 minutes or so, trying to just relax and not think about trying to relax. she told me i breathed really well - deeper than most people. i was all, dude! practice! yay singing.

she told me my chi is blocked. i should move more (yeah, this i know), tai chi is good, i should eat 'warm' foods like garlic, onions and ginger. and i should see her once a week for a while. and she'll have some herbs for me to take that she has to mix and rach will pick them up tomorrow. this led to her telling me about chinese v. american 'herbology.' it was all i could do not to squee over her use of that word.

so. i am pleased and optimistic. it feels everso good to be doing things to make myself feel better - emotionally and physically. even if, in the mean time, i am the posterchild for basket cases.

Comments

[afrikate.livejournal.com]

Wow, acupuncture sounds cool. I've always been afraid, and thought the whole "it doesn't hurt" bit was a lie, so it's good to hear someone's experience. And good for you doing good things for yourself, like therapy and acupuncture, and just generally trying to figure things out for yourself. I think it's great. Go you!

[holdenrevisited.livejournal.com]

i've been seeing my accupressurist for quite some time now and i have to agree at how cninese medicine just seems to make sense. the "remedies" for getting my chi flowing more evenly in my body have really helped. that and it's like going to therapy as well because we talk about more than just the muscles and how i'm physically feeling as it is all connected. i've found i'm much more aware of my body and surprisingly my organs as well. i can feel when i need certain things beyond just food and water.