Acupuncture is my go-to treatment for almost every person and condition. I have been able to work with many people who experienced some profound changes with acupuncture, mostly revolving around feeling less pain, less stress, moving better, and improving mood, along with many other benefits.
Acupuncture helps greatly with weight loss, quitting an addictive behavior, improving sleep, managing diabetes, conceiving a child, and clearing up persistent skin issues.
The success of acupuncture resides in stimulating the body's qi
, or healing power, and in the lens used to view the person and their condition. This allows the correct diagnosis within the nature-based pattern: a skilled acupuncturist views the human condition and then can correlate the seasons, environment, timing, and Earth to help make the treatment energetically tuned to the unique person receiving it.
There are reasons why it feels really good to have acupuncture. Decreasing pain naturally makes one feel better, but the balanced and happy energy that persists is from having that connection with the universe via the needles. I feel that the needles are antenna to the divine consciousness and a conduit of healing; that's the spiritual aspect of acupuncture.
There is also the very tangible physical healing that occurs when having specific acupoints stimulated via a needle, but even acupressure of that point can bring relief. Acupressure is a massage technique that everyone can benefit from by massaging their face, hands, ears, neck and feet. I do acupressure massage before the needles as part of holistic treatment. This serves to "warm up" the body for needles and also soothe any nervousness about the needles when the points are often tender. This is also a really good way to assess your own body condition: with proper care the number of tender points decreases and health and vitality increase.
Acupuncture points also have specific functions and are over neuro-vascular bundles, including arteries, veins, nerves, and lymphatic vessels; this accounts for the wide scope of healing acupuncture has. It allows for stimulation or sedation of the nervous, cardiovascular, immune, lymphatic and endocrine systems, leading to less pain, better communication, and improved detoxification throughout the body.
Acupuncture produces its immune and endocrine effects by tapping into that bundle of vessels, which also then contain the meridians by which the qi flows, and tiny collateral blood vessels, which can diffuse the blood network. Stimulation of the lymphatic and cardiovascular systems helps alert your immune system to either activate or at least patrol the area, which helps identify antigens and deal with them efficiently and effectively. These two systems help take waste material away and cleanse the area, also contributing to stronger immune function overall.
Hormonal balance is achieved in a similar manner: the needle stimulates that bundle, and through the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems improves the delivery and removal of hormones in the body. The hormones are secreted by glands of the body which correlate to specific acupuncture points, all located on the midline of the body. These points also lay over the seven bodily chakras and are very strong at regulating the energy there.
Acupuncture truly is holistic medicine. The physical body is restored via improved blood flow and nerve conduction, the mental body is refreshed via improved blood flow (it is part of the philosophy of this medicine that the Spirit is stored in the blood), the emotional body is balanced via the regulation of hormones, and the Spirit is enlivened via the healing and universal connection. Acupuncture is gentle, comprehensive, and individualized, which paves the way for healing to occur.
Katie Borchert, LAc, MS, O, M
