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This week I have been thinking about the impact that Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine has had on my life.
Many of you know that I transitioned from surgery to acupuncture because my arm was not functioning. The pain in my arm kept me up at night, prevented me from driving, and was too much to even use the remote for the TV. As the pain got worse, I found that I couldn’t move my arm at all. It was terrifying. I was afraid I would never be able to use my right arm again and that I would be living in constant pain for the rest of my life.
And also I was emotionally very unhealthy. I was deeply depressed and often had thoughts of suicide. I even had a plan. I thought regularly about ramming my car into a large tree that was on my commute to work in the hopes that if I made the accident severe enough maybe they would let me out of my residency for a day—in other words, I wanted to destroy my car just to not have to go into work for one day. Not healthy.
The mental and emotional pain was manifesting in my body. And my body’s pain made my mind all the more fragile, my emotions brittle.
When I say that acupuncture saved my life, I am not exaggerating. It reconnected me with myself. It gave me a path out of my pain but also a way out of the agony that was my work life—the thing I had been wanting to be since I was 4 or 5 years old and the dream that I could not let go of…until my body forced me (helped me?) to do it.
The foundations of this medicine have infused my being. I think through it with each decision I make throughout the day. I tailor my food choices based on what my tongue and pulse tell me I need. If I’m feeling a little shy, I put on a red jacket to bring my Fire Qi to the fore and deliver a great talk. When I notice I’m working too much, I amp up my Qi Gong and herbs to strengthen my system.
On this day, Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Day, I feel profoundly grateful that I am here with you. I’m grateful that acupuncture saved my life and that I get to use the wisdom of this medicine to care for you and support you on your path too.
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