Getting Pricked: My first experience with acupuncture

I've always had an interest in complimentary and alternative medicine.  It's part of what drew me to nutrition science.  I believe that the body has pretty much what it needs to maintain wellness.  Sometimes we get out of whack.  The body has specific and quite amazing internal controls to regulate itself.  Managing body temperature within a couple of degrees all of the time is a great example.  When our body temperature increases, we begin to sweat and blood vessels expand to help release heat; when it goes down, we shiver and blood begins to centralize to keep the most important organs warm.  Similar things happen in our nervous system, blood system and fluid balance - the body wants to maintain homeostasis (balance).

I'm a little...well, out of whack.  Oh, and I hate medicine.  I'm a terrible patient. I don't even follow my own advice sometimes.  Plus, I have a hard time remembering to take my vitamins.

To that end, I decided to try acupuncture as a compliment to nutrition.  According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), Acupuncture is one of the oldest methods of care.  As a component of traditional Chinese medicine, practitioners use tiny needles to open energy channels by inserting the needles at specific points along invisible energy meridians. 

Acupuncture in action. (c) BananaStock

I've been skeptical.  I'm still not totally sold.  Yet, it was a very interesting experience.  My practitioner had me complete a short questionnaire and then asked me a number of specific questions.  Then, she told me a little about what she was going to do and had me lay down on a massage table.  Next, she gently inserted the needs in various places around my body.  With most of the needles, I felt almost nothing.  In a few cases, there was a specific pinch-like pain.  After she was finished inserting the tiny needles, she left me alone in the room to relax.  I breathed deeply and began to deeply relax.  My hands became warm and my relaxation became deeper with a definite feeling of floating.

I don't know if the acupuncture worked.  The relaxation that I achieved was remarkable. My guess is that one visit won't change everything...but I might be hooked on getting pricked.