FAQS

Things to know before arriving
At your first appointment you will have filled out an intake form which you can either download here or fill out upon arrival. We will go over your health history, health concerns, and goals for treatment. Eat a light meal prior to a treatment in order for you to feel grounded and connected to your body.  

Things to know about receiving Acupuncture.
Treatments are given on a comfortable massage table. Wear loose clothing, preferably shorts. For most treatments, it is necessary for the acupuncturist to have access to your chest, abdomen, legs, arms and head. Treatments are given to your whole body in order to create a circuit. 

Treatment points are chosen based on the information the patient has provided via the intake form, conversation, pulse, tongue and palpation. Palpation throughout the body is done to look for any constrictions or energetic manifestations such as heat or cold, edema, (damp) rigidity, or softness. Once the acupuncturist  has an intention for the treatment, needles are inserted. When I treat, this first aspect is not necessarily relaxing because I tend to ask for feedback and want to know what is coming up emotionally for the patient. As needling takes place, I feel it is important for the patient to feel comfortable enough to verbalize an issue they might be thinking about. This is important because more often than not, the thoughts we have, if not verbalized will make it difficult to shift the energy of the body. The mind, body, and spirit are connected in one person. 

Once the needles are in, a heat lamp or moxa may be used in conjunction with the treatment to either warm an area, bring grounding, or move energy. 

Then it is time for relaxation! I will leave the room while you rest. I may suggest a mantra or some breath work if an emotional or spiritual issue needs shifting.  Then it is your job to allow the needles to work. Breath into the treatment a couple of times, and just BE for a while. During this time patients have experienced a deep relaxation, or lucid dreaming. Things may come and go, ebb and flow. Some attention to what may come up for you is beneficial. Emotions, ideas, concepts, past experiences, people. This is a time to go inward. Build your yin a bit.  And a time to LET GO of constrictions of the outer world. It is safe place.

What to Expect After A Treatment
Be Good To Yourself. Rest if possible. Eat well. Drink water or fresh juice. You may be sore from trigger point needling. This will resolve itself faster if you provide some self care such as moist heat from a hot shower or bath or if you have a heating pad that goes in the microwave with some water to moisten it up that is great too. Keep your body supple. Your symptoms will improve, but to what degree depends on how chronic your issue has been.  The healing process is often like peeling an onion: one layer at a time. If you come for a physical issue, it is not uncommon for there to be some emotion attached to it.  For acute issues, resolution is sooner. Your body will start to regulate itself in a more efficient way. Look for improvements with other issues that might not be what you came for. And lastly, as the days go on after a treatment, become aware of your connections and clarity. People often report feeling more connected to possibilities and more energetically clear. This can often create path leading to more power within their lives. Acupunture is a way, if you allow it, for you to become a conduit. Open and flowing, yet grounded and strong. 

What does Acupuncture treat?
According to the World Health Organization the following list of symptoms, diseases and conditions have been shown through controlled trials to be treated effectively by acupuncture. 

  • low back pain

  • neck pain

  • sciatica

  • tennis elbow

  • knee pain

  • periarthritis of the shoulder

  • sprains

  • facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)

  • headache

  • dental pain

  • tempromandibular (TMJ) dysfunction

  • rheumatoid arthritis

  • induction of labor

  • correction of malposition of fetus (breech presentation)

  • morning sickness

  • nausea and vomiting

  • postoperative pain

  • stroke

  • essential hypertension

  • primary hypotension

  • leucopenia

  • adverse reactions to radiation or chemotherapy

  • allergic rhinitis, including hay fever

  • depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)

  • acute bacillary dysentery

  • primary dysmenorrhea

  • acute epigastralgia

  • peptic ulcer

  • acute and chronic gastritis

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Body U n b o u n d Mind U n w o u n d take a moment and be gentle with yourself. Allow yourself to ask for help when you need it.