#Acupuncture

[foldingfittedsheets]

Hands down one of the greatest magics my beloved brings to our relationship is being a doctor of acupuncture. When we first started dating I was somewhat skeptical of the practice. I’d had friends who swore by it but I’ve always been terribly put off by needles. It definitely wasn’t for me.

But I couldn’t help but notice how easily they banished a headache just by putting pressure on my feet or made my nausea dry up by pressing around my shins. Their medicine felt like witchcraft. I sidled closer to their sorcery the longer we were together. The tipping point was about three months into dating when my spine went out.

I’ve had back problems since I was 11 and every few months my spine liked to jump out of alignment and completely debilitate me for a week or two. This has been significantly mitigated by doing core exercises and working out so it’s a less constant problem now, thank goodness. Core muscles are important y’all.

When my back struck this time I still hobbled over to their house for date night. They took one look at me and begged me to let them work on it. At that point, nothing could possibly have hurt worse than my own spine, so I submitted.

It was incredible. Within an hour from treatment the pain had dissipated to a mild annoyance. Two weeks of suffering, instantly mitigated. I couldn’t believe it. After that I got a little bolder, letting them treat other ailments and soliciting help before problems blew up which was even more beneficial.

I let them needle my face for anxiety once and was floored to realize that a needle point between the eyes felt like Calm Emotions had just been cast on me. A weighted blanket of serenity settled on my whole body. It’s my favorite acupuncture point now.

But despite this I’ve remained a fussy patient, nervous and flighty. I take a little coddling through treatments but I’ve expanded what I can tolerate a great deal. More needles, more sensitive areas, all have been slow milestones for me.

Today they treated me and a friend of ours in exchange for that friend working on their neck. My arms have both been acting up as my hand ailment has tightened it’s way up my arm rather than down, then spread to my other arm.

There’s something called “trigger point release” that I’ve never been brave enough to handle. But laid out on the table I insisted, “I want to feel better.” It’s indescribable what they did. Trigger points don’t… hurt exactly. It’s more like touching the raw nerve and feeling a jolt of energy along the muscles. It’s shocking and your brain doesn’t like it but it’s not pain.

Afterward it’s normal to feel sore and achey, and I do. Still, I can’t help but laugh. It took eight years for me to get comfortable enough being needled to brave this. A treatment that people just walk in the door and lay down for on their first time with my beloved took me eight years.

[maybe-im-dark]

Wade convinces Logan to try acupuncture for his joint pain that he has due to the adamantium. But as soon as Logan sees the long needles he is instantly reminded of the water tank and the needles that first injected him with a prepping fluid and then pumped the adamantium into him. Wades holds his hand the entire time and begins talking about the biggest nonsense, the thing he's best at to distract Logan. And yes. It is working. The pain is actually getting better. Logan can't tell if it's the acupuncture or just a placebo effect and it's actually Wade being there for him that lessens the pain but either way he's glad

[griffinequestrian]

The boys went on their first adventure together! 💕

[disease]

System of main meridians with acupuncture point locations

[teenagedirtstache]

[allsadnshit]

Excerpts from "Lao Lao And The Great Crocodile" 2023

Published in Nobody In Taipei Loves Me on Substack

[elvenferretots]

At this point, the doctor just gets him set up and then just lets us vibe.

"I'll leave him with his cheese thoughts."

[tumble-tv]

gonna start going to an acupuncturist as requested by my mom, I'll keep y'all updated on how it goes

[blamebrampton]

I went to see the local acupuncturist about my sore shoulder today and he was, ‘Hmm, yes. That muscle is stiff. Ah, so is this one. My goodness, that is also tight…’

Long story short, I was lying there for an hour looking like Lin Beifong.

[dollsdiary2518]

just be

[belladonna413]

Has anyone out there with chronic pain had relief from acupuncture? I'm trying it today to see if it helps with my fibromyalgia symptoms. Fingers crossed!

[ener-chi]

Chronic sinus infections run in my family. For most of my life, anytime I would get even the slightest cold - boom, sinus infection, guaranteed. And then I'd have to go to the doc and get some antibiotics and wait for it to clear up in a week or two.

When I was 19, my mother and my grandmother suggested to me that I should get acupuncture for it. At the time, I was a nihilist and very scientifically-minded, and kind of scoffed at the idea. Not to mention, I was never a big fan of needles. BUT what did I have to lose? They were just needles, after all.

So I made an appointment. Between the time that I made an appointment and my actual appointment, I ended up contracting a sinus infection. So I went in for acupuncture.

Not only did the acupuncture make my sinus infection go away without antibiotics - which has never happened before - I've never had one ever again.

That was 7 years ago.

I was astounded and amazed - just pure needles shouldn't have such an effect on my body like that, especially with something that I have always needed antibiotics for. I was very curious, and long story short acupuncture had incredible results for my physical and mental health, changed my belief system, changed my life, and then prompted me to pursue a degree in acupuncture and chinese medicine, where I am now at the end of my first year of school.

This summer, we started taking a class called Acupuncture Techniques. It's the beginnings of us learning different needling techniques and manipulations, and needling each other for the first time.

Each class, we get lecture on some techniques/manipulations, have a demonstration, and then have a list of points for us to try out on a partner. The points are a non-cohesive - designed for us to try different points and different parts of the body. But also, they're picked so that they don't interact with one another and don't have a therapeutic effect on the person that they wouldn't want - a set of points that are harmless and have really no lasting effects.

I have been feeling discouraged and frustrated in this class, because due to lack of time and also other considerations, I would only be able to get through about half the points on the list. I felt like I was falling behind, and also that I was feeling anxious and rushed and as a result wasn't able to feel things as much as I would like.

But in another class, we had a teacher talk about how in certain traditions, the first time people needle another human is their first clinical shift - they spend most of the time learning their techniques on fruit/leather/other objects that we get to practice on. This really eased my anxieties, and helped me realize that it was okay that I wasn't getting all of the points done, and that I would be okay.

But another thing that he mentioned, is that even though they say that the points that we are needling on each other are harmless due to the lack of combination - that's really a myth. Any time you are putting a needle in someone, you are connecting with their Qi, and the Universe, and you are likely to have some kind of therapeutic effect, especially if that's your intention.

This really resonated with me, and I decided that for the last techniques class we had, I wouldn't worry about the number of points or getting points done I hadn't had a chance to yet - I would just focus on doing what the person needed, and giving them a treatment. I really wanted to focus on that, and actually trying to feel and focus on the Qi sensations and interactions.

At the beginning of the term, they encouraged us to find a partner and stick with them for the whole 6 weeks. I ended up having a different partner each week, and decided for the last class that I would continue the trend, and let whoever wanted to work with me, work with me - to let whoever needed treatment from me be aligned with me.

That brings me to today. In class, there were 3 unpaired people that I could've potentially worked with. One girl came up and asked if I wanted to work with her, and I agreed. While I was getting setup, I told her that I wanted to focus more on a therapeutic effect, and asked if there was anything she wanted to have worked on.

She said that for the last couple of days, she has had a sinus infection, and wanted that to be worked on. She hadn't taken any antibiotics. Fast forwarding, I treated her, and it was an incredible experience for us both, and afterwards, she felt much better, and could actually breathe through both of her nostrils freely for once.

She said she would follow up with me in a few days and let me know if her sinus infection clears up. I already know that it is going to.

I am just... completely, utterly floored. My first actual time giving someone a real treatment with acupuncture ended up being for the same thing that I went in for my first acupuncture treatment, and what ultimately led me to study it. Completely full circle. The synchronicity of it all is just... insane. I got super emotional when it happened, and still do just thinking about it.

I know who I am now, and every day I feel more and more rooted in myself and my energy. For a while I had forgotten and lost sight of my purpose, what was important to me, and what I was meant to do. But I see my Path clearly now - I am a healer. I was always meant to be, and today's experience is a wonderful affirmation that I am right where I need to be.

I want to learn and to understand the secrets and underpinnings of reality and of the Universe, and I want to use that understanding to help and heal other people. And I gladly dedicate myself to this work. I have fallen in love with Chinese Medicine, and the other healing modalities that I am drawn towards. I have already helped so many of my classmates, and I am excited to share what I am learning with the rest of the world, and those that I am destined to help.

Thanks for reading. I hope that you have a wonderful night!

Blessings!

[madame-helen]

[noosphe-re]

I use the word acupuncture in the sense of revitalising the clogged energy of a site. Here is a place that can now be seen as an artefact in the manner of a pyramid, labyrinth or catacomb, at the intersection of geology and human ingenuity. It can help us tune into our own body-response to a particular built habitat. I consider all architecture as the second body.

Antony Gormley, Interview With Arabella Natalini, From Human, Forma Edizioni, Florence, Italy, 2015 (antonygormley.com)

[foldingfittedsheets]

My fiancée @aorryn47 is an acupuncturist and will just start massaging and palpating my muscles sometimes when we’re cuddling.

Today we’re sitting outside in camping chairs to get outdoors time and they started rubbing my calves. Instantly they were like, “What the fuck! Why are these muscles so tight, you can’t even be walking around! It’s like- it’s like a dry roast!!!”

I started laughing and protested and after they repeated it several times I cried, “Stop calling me a dry roast!”

A nearby neighbor heard and looked over in confusion as @aorryn47 started digging a knuckle into my tight tight muscles and I writhed in discomfort.

[moopsy-daisy]

Had my first acupuncture visit yesterday. When I woke up, half the familiar little sensations in my body were gone. Maybe more. The way the skin tugs on the top of my foot if I shift it a certain direction, the strings of tension between my shoulders when I take a deep breath, how my muscles light up when I push on sore spots, and that's not even counting external stimuli.

Ice didn't feel as cold, the carpet is distant fluff, air on my skin was muted.

I had no idea that could happen. It's fading now but I have never been clear headed and sensory addled like this. Found studies that report this phenomenon so I guess it happens. Still wish I'd been ready for an out of body experience while still in here.

Maybe @stele3 knows something about this weird nerve stuff?