I'm writing this blog because I have often been asked, "Does acupuncture really work?" and I have been thinking about it long and hard.
My answer is, "It depends."
It depends on the style of acupuncture (my husband visited a clinic in Delhi where he was hooked to a machine that gave out a signal. Based on this, a doctor shoved in some needles. My husband felt nothing, then or later).
It depends on the practitioner and their ability to read the patient's problems and what is causing them. ("When you see a child who comes for treatment, it's often the parents who need it," said my friend Nora.)
It depends on the nature of the condition to be treated and whether the patient has tried other systems of medicine or healing. (A visiting scientist and friend from California recently said that for several days he had been hiccuping continuously. Nothing helped until he finally turned to acupuncture, and the hiccups stopped soon after.)
Acupuncture did not enter my life in any determined decisive way. Like most of my decisions, I drifted towards it entirely by chance. While returning from America, I stopped to meet my mother in law, who was staying in London with her old college friend, Nora. I spent a few days with them and when I left, Nora gave me a book to read on five element acupuncture as I am interested in traditional forms of healing.
I did not think I would ever need treatment, but many years down the line, when I was feeling burnt out and low, and conventional medicine had no answers, I turned to acupuncture. Instinctively, I turned to Nora, who had become a close friend. Since then, I have returned to London several times, sometimes just for a visit and on several occasions, for treatment as well.
Each time, my experience with acupuncture has been the same (though the treatments have varied with each session). There are some points which trigger a discernible physical reaction- warmth in certain parts, an unblocking of the ears or nose, coughing out mucous or tears that well up in my eyes.
But these occasions are few.
Generally, there is a feeling of relaxation, sometimes fatigue, a desire to sleep or to release one's emotions in some way. I often go for treatment when I am at the crossroads of important decisions (as I realize later). They are times when things seem very difficult or when I have just finished a period of struggle and am completely worn out. I feel I need something more than my yoga practice or a holiday, to renew myself.
I always love the moment when I enter Nora's clinic. I get a timeless feeling of being part of something old and venerable, and recently, of being in the presence of a master. Nora is warm ('fire'), spontaneous and brings a wisdom and slant of her own to the practice. (In fact clinic is the wrong word for this place, for it is filled with paintings, calligraphy, beautiful stones, a cheerful air and a comfortable bed where one can lie down and shrug off one's cares. My son is very fond of the dragon in the corridor, whom he has named 'Flamie Jamie'.)
Decisions about diagnosis and treatment seem to come from Nora and beyond - as if a whole line of teachers were standing behind guiding her spirit and her hands. This might sound fanciful, but it's what I felt on this visit.
For those who wonder how it's done, five element acupuncture is not a gentle, wishy washy process. The positioning of the needles is very precise. Often the spot is warmed before by placing a little cone of moxa and heating the area, and repeating this a few times - if you don't tell the practitioner when you feel the warmth, you're likely to get slightly singed! You don't feel the needles as they go in, but when the point is being needled there is a definite tug, sometimes a feeling of being stung!
Energy shifts and changes can be very strong and the effect is not always felt immediately. This time I felt like a rusty old engine - coughing, spluttering and eventually coming to life. Nora detected a block in my ears that I had completely forgotten about (after having visited several doctors, all of whom told me there was nothing wrong). I awoke the next morning to find smells from the street almost overwhelming as I began to smell clearly after ages. Needless to say the migraines have also been receding.
After the treatments, there is a general feeling of stillness and contentment that I have experienced time and again. A feeling of being at peace with nature and with oneself. It's happened too often to be a coincidence.
After a week I returned to India to find I was able to deal with all the physical and emotional demands around without getting flustered. I began to change my attitude towards things that had got me stressed and anxious earlier (this was partly a result of feeling stronger and partly an aftermath of conversations with Nora about dealing with things that worry me- something no doctor in any conventional clinic would waste their time doing).
The change has also reflected in my creative decisions - writing to begin with. I have found a tranquil place to write and I now have the energy to write almost everyday, which I didn't have earlier. My thoughts about what to write and the next project to embark upon have changed tremendously. Right now I'm standing in the midst of a very happy jumble of paths, feeling my way forward.
For me, five element acupuncture with Nora has cleared many physical and mental blocks at times when conventional medicine or yoga could not.
My answer is, "It depends."
It depends on the style of acupuncture (my husband visited a clinic in Delhi where he was hooked to a machine that gave out a signal. Based on this, a doctor shoved in some needles. My husband felt nothing, then or later).
It depends on the practitioner and their ability to read the patient's problems and what is causing them. ("When you see a child who comes for treatment, it's often the parents who need it," said my friend Nora.)
It depends on the nature of the condition to be treated and whether the patient has tried other systems of medicine or healing. (A visiting scientist and friend from California recently said that for several days he had been hiccuping continuously. Nothing helped until he finally turned to acupuncture, and the hiccups stopped soon after.)
Acupuncture did not enter my life in any determined decisive way. Like most of my decisions, I drifted towards it entirely by chance. While returning from America, I stopped to meet my mother in law, who was staying in London with her old college friend, Nora. I spent a few days with them and when I left, Nora gave me a book to read on five element acupuncture as I am interested in traditional forms of healing.
I did not think I would ever need treatment, but many years down the line, when I was feeling burnt out and low, and conventional medicine had no answers, I turned to acupuncture. Instinctively, I turned to Nora, who had become a close friend. Since then, I have returned to London several times, sometimes just for a visit and on several occasions, for treatment as well.
Each time, my experience with acupuncture has been the same (though the treatments have varied with each session). There are some points which trigger a discernible physical reaction- warmth in certain parts, an unblocking of the ears or nose, coughing out mucous or tears that well up in my eyes.
But these occasions are few.
Generally, there is a feeling of relaxation, sometimes fatigue, a desire to sleep or to release one's emotions in some way. I often go for treatment when I am at the crossroads of important decisions (as I realize later). They are times when things seem very difficult or when I have just finished a period of struggle and am completely worn out. I feel I need something more than my yoga practice or a holiday, to renew myself.
I always love the moment when I enter Nora's clinic. I get a timeless feeling of being part of something old and venerable, and recently, of being in the presence of a master. Nora is warm ('fire'), spontaneous and brings a wisdom and slant of her own to the practice. (In fact clinic is the wrong word for this place, for it is filled with paintings, calligraphy, beautiful stones, a cheerful air and a comfortable bed where one can lie down and shrug off one's cares. My son is very fond of the dragon in the corridor, whom he has named 'Flamie Jamie'.)
Decisions about diagnosis and treatment seem to come from Nora and beyond - as if a whole line of teachers were standing behind guiding her spirit and her hands. This might sound fanciful, but it's what I felt on this visit.
For those who wonder how it's done, five element acupuncture is not a gentle, wishy washy process. The positioning of the needles is very precise. Often the spot is warmed before by placing a little cone of moxa and heating the area, and repeating this a few times - if you don't tell the practitioner when you feel the warmth, you're likely to get slightly singed! You don't feel the needles as they go in, but when the point is being needled there is a definite tug, sometimes a feeling of being stung!
Energy shifts and changes can be very strong and the effect is not always felt immediately. This time I felt like a rusty old engine - coughing, spluttering and eventually coming to life. Nora detected a block in my ears that I had completely forgotten about (after having visited several doctors, all of whom told me there was nothing wrong). I awoke the next morning to find smells from the street almost overwhelming as I began to smell clearly after ages. Needless to say the migraines have also been receding.
After the treatments, there is a general feeling of stillness and contentment that I have experienced time and again. A feeling of being at peace with nature and with oneself. It's happened too often to be a coincidence.
After a week I returned to India to find I was able to deal with all the physical and emotional demands around without getting flustered. I began to change my attitude towards things that had got me stressed and anxious earlier (this was partly a result of feeling stronger and partly an aftermath of conversations with Nora about dealing with things that worry me- something no doctor in any conventional clinic would waste their time doing).
The change has also reflected in my creative decisions - writing to begin with. I have found a tranquil place to write and I now have the energy to write almost everyday, which I didn't have earlier. My thoughts about what to write and the next project to embark upon have changed tremendously. Right now I'm standing in the midst of a very happy jumble of paths, feeling my way forward.
For me, five element acupuncture with Nora has cleared many physical and mental blocks at times when conventional medicine or yoga could not.
1 comment:
Great post.
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