Once Afraid, Now a Believer
By: Sarah Brown, Guest Blogger & Founder of I Wanna Wear That
Even for someone who has a few tattoos and has had her belly button pierced twice, I’ve never been a big fan of needles. I always get nervous when I give blood or get shots. Recently I’ve started doing Yoga and exploring different ways to relieve some neck and shoulder pain, so when I had the opportunity to give acupuncture a try I thought, let’s do it! I was a little bit nervous about getting a tiny needle stuck into my body, but after meeting and speaking with Hadley at Zenkai Acupuncture, I really felt comfortable going for it.
When I got to Hadley’s new office on Congress Street, she warmly greeted me and was really sweet. She explained the process for my first treatment to put me at ease.. First she asked me some questions about any pain or discomfort I may have. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, I have lots of that in my neck and shoulders due to my office job. She was very specific with the questions from there…where, what side, when, etc. Then she asked me some personal questions like eating habits, surgeries, allergies, things like that…all of which will help her decipher the best way to treat my discomfort.
From there I got to lay on her cozy table with a comfy pillow under my knees. She took my pulse, felt my abdomen for pain, looked at my tongue, and then…she took out the needle. The super scary, going to hurt a lot needle. Much to my excitement, that was not the case at all! I got to touch it, see how tiny and flimsy it was. It was kind of amazing that it could even go into my body.
The first entry point was my forehead. She did it really quickly…I honestly didn’t even notice! After that, I really believed – this was going to be easy! Then she put two needles in my right and left hands/wrists and I believe three in my legs and feet. The coolest experience was feeling a sharp bolt of nerve electricity in my foot after she put a needle in the right side of my knee. I’ve never felt anything like that before.
After my unique experience, it was time to relax. Laying there in dim light with pretty music playing in the background was really wonderful. After 15-20 minutes (I’m guessing, I was too relaxed to tell for sure!), Hadley came back in and took the needles out. I turned onto my stomach and she put some needles in the center of my back and then the sides of my neck where it meets my shoulder. I was left to relax again and feel the energy flow for a bit.
I didn’t realize this but acupuncture does not only entail needles. Cupping is also a form you can use as treatment. Cupping uses small cups that suction to your body and pull the toxins out of your body. She put a small cup on my upper neck and it felt so cool. When she took it off I could feel what seemed like a tight muscle that was pulled up to the service. Whether it’s true or not, for me I really felt like the cup had pulled out some of the tightness and tension in that part of my neck. Physically feeling something like that was pretty amazing. She also has a silver needle where instead of inserting a traditional needle, she will simply hold the needle above an area of your body. So if you are afraid of needles and really can’t bring yourself to do that, there are other alternatives for you.
I have to say Hadley was really informative. She explained what acupuncture is supposed to do and what the benefits are. The idea of your body having a flow of energy and using the needles to facilitate that flow to prevent or stop pain, illness, stress, anxiety, etc, is really interesting. Being a newbie she walked me through the entire process. At the end I had this feeling of lightness. It is hard to explain but I almost felt like I was a sopping wet towel and had been wrung out. My muscles just felt good. I look forward to my second treatment!
Hadley Clark, Owner of Zenkai Acupuncture
