Acupuncture

Sticking needles into "pressure points" would not be my idea of relaxation. And yet, I was up early Saturday morning to go to a spa that offers the service, just so I could see if it would work - as they say, you don't know what you're missing until you try.

I had lots of questions - Would it hurt? Where do the little needles go? How long does it take? What does it feel like?

There were no special instructions given when I made the appointment so I had no idea what to expect. But I wasn't nervous. The spa smelled like aromatherapy and incense. The receptionist spoke softly and slowly, reminding me of some hippies I met in Iowa a while ago, offering us tea and organic snacks. The acupuncturist took me into her office, a small room with a desk, a dim lamp and a doctor's table covered with a soft cloth, she asked me a few questions about how I feel about my health and life in general, what I do for a living, etc. Then she gave me a gown to change into and left.

When she came back, she told me to hold out my arms straight, then she moved the fingertips of one of my hands to different places (my head, my stomach, my heart) and she pressed down on my other outstretched arm, saying "resist me". She moved my fingertips to a few different places and explained that my energy around the area where my one hand was would affect my ability to resist the pressure she was putting on my other arm. Her results happened to be very similar to the areas I mentioned during the Q&A. Then she noted a few things she was going to focus on like stress and focus, and told me to lay down. It was at this point that I got really nervous.

She would feel out a point like the top of my head, then tell me what it represented, then tap in the tip of the needle. After a few she asked if the effects were "too much," which made me think there would be some massive influx or outflux (?) of energy that would bombard me. That never happened. Sometimes I couldn't even feel her putting in the needles, sometimes it felt like I was getting a shot at the doctor's office. She put one on the bottom of my inside elbow. Which made it impossible to put my arm down without shoving it in further, but there was no where to put my arms, so they just hung there. That part was uncomfortable. I felt the ones she put in my hands, they hurt, as did the ones in my feet. But the rest I didn't really feel.

Then she left me there and asked if I wanted the lights off. Hell no. I don't want to sit in the dark covered in needles I can't see. I asked her where my mind was meant to go and she replied that I should envision a world where there was no money, and I was free to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted - what would that life look like?

So I did. And did some more. And more. After what felt like forever (40 mins) she came back and started to pluck out the needles. There seemed to be more coming out than went in. She asked if she had forgotten any. I was really hoping she was joking. She wasn't. So I had to feel around to make sure I wasn't going to stab myself with a stray needle. Then she noticed one of the points had started to bleed, which freaked me out because these are supposed to be very superficial pricks. She said some acupuncturists (some - i.e. not her) say that happens when more energy needs to be released from a specific area. Maybe it was because she put it in too far. Just saying.

But I did feel a bit light-headed and much calmer when I left. As far as the stress issue went, it was definitely relaxing, but that might be because I spent 40 mins dreaming about my mansion in Ireland. As far as everything else, I think it was a bit hocus-pocusy. I could just get a massage next time. Although I really enjoyed the adventure of trying something new, and finding a new way to enjoy the spa.