Why I Love Acupuncture - World Acupuncture Day
Today is World Acupuncture Awareness Day, so I thought it fitting to share my story of how I fell in love with Acupuncture. My first insight into acupuncture was when I attended a talk at a yoga studio about ‘Qi’. Thinking back I’m sure I told someone it was a talk on Q…I - I didn’t even know how to pronounce it (phonetically Chi – in case you are also wondering).
I recall watching a video of the flash of light (scientifically related to zinc) when an egg and sperm meet and the wondrous energy that is created in that moment and the brightness can determine the strength of the embryo….but in that moment, I knew that I wanted to know more about the energetics of the body and these interconnected channels also known as Meridians I was hearing about, the rest of the talk continued to fascinate me. This could be my gateway from working with Western Medicine into a new realm of Holistic Traditional Chinese Medicine.
So I booked in with the Student Clinic at The College of Integrated Chinese Medicine (where I later studied) to see what it was like. I recall going with no particular complaint except for occasional cold sores and knee pain. Looking back now, I realise how blissfully unaware I was of all the niggles and cries for help that my body had been trying to tell me!
On my first appointment Shelley (the student acupuncturist and amazing woman she was) asked me questions that I had never been asked before about everything imaginable! I began to realise I had many symptoms that indicated there were disharmonies in my body. I had stress, feelings of anxiety, palpitations at rest, vivid dreams with restless sleeps, PMT, period pains, the list does go on further! I thought were just ‘normal’ for me. Over the next period of 3-4 months, I began to feel more like myself, the physical symptoms that were covered in the initial consultation reduced. The healing was not in a linear fashion and I recall having good weeks and bad, but over time the extremes between the two lessened and I literally felt more balanced. But that was not what drew me to loving acupuncture, I began to really feel in touch with my body and was able to listen to what it needed. I could see the impact of what my own lifestyle was having and I knew (with some gentle prompting from Shelley) what changes I needed to make. The way I was living meant I was living in the fast lane and I really needed to take time to nourish myself and be kinder to my physical and mental body. I think the biggest shift of all was my mental attitude – I am absolutely certain that the acupuncture helped me to see clearer, make decisions that I had been dilly dallying with and feel overall happier and a little more like me.
Given all this, my path was clear and here I am, passionate about my work to the point it hardly feels like ‘going to work’. I love helping others to unleash their full potential in their own health – it is not always a straight path, but that would be boring right? My love of acupuncture is now lifelong.