Acupuncture

Ancient healing art

Acupuncture has been a healing method for over 2000 years and is based on the Taoist philosophy of natural balance, harmony, growth, and change. It recognizes that the body has the capacity to heal itself.

According to the book by Peter Firebrace and Sandra Hill, Acupuncture: How It Works, How It Cures: “Acupuncture is a system of medicine which seeks to aid these natural processes, helping the body to correct itself by a realignment or redirection of energy, which the Chinese call Qi [pronounced ‘chee’].” [Peter Firebrace and Sandra Hill, Acupuncture: How it Works, How it Cures, New Canaan, CT: Keats Publishing, Inc., 1994, p. 9.] Qi is essentially your vital energy or vital force.

My experience in Belize

I first experienced acupuncture in Central America in Placencia, Belize. I was vacationing there with my family over the year-end holidays.

A quiet sandy spot by the sea, Placencia is a wonderful place just to hang out. It is a very small village that only recently acquired electricity, and its first and only road was built in the last ten years. There are no fences and no concept of private property. The whole village is community property. Only with the influx of Americans moving in has the matter of private property ever been discussed. Everyone helps watch everyone else’s kids, and no one ever has any occasion to wear shoes.

The people are, for the most part, of African descent rather than Spanish. They have beautiful English accents and are some of the kindest and most open people I have ever met in my life. They are warm, friendly, and always smiling. My family and I felt like we made many friends while we were there.

One morning after we had been there a few days, during my morning walk around the village, I saw a small cabana painted blue with a sign that read “acupuncture.” I inquired within and met the acupuncturist, an American who had moved to Belize in the early 1960s during the Vietnam War. He had been living in Central America for over 3 5 years.

I told him I had had a lot of stress and my neck and shoulders still felt the strain, even though I was now on vacation and relaxed. He stated that the body often continues to hold stress long after your mind lets it go. My Denver chiropractor and massage therapist had told me the same thing, so I agreed. We had tea and a nice chat. He couldn’t work on me that day, he said, because he had other patients coming in, and he couldn’t work on me tomorrow because the village was having a dance that night and he would probably not be feeling too great the following day. I agreed we would wait until the day after next.

I returned as planned and found him up and spry. He asked questions concerning my medical history and had me lie down on the table. We chatted while he inserted the affected area with very small needles. The needles were so fine I couldn’t even feel them go in, so they did not hurt in the least. He removed them after about fifteen minutes and then he had me sit in a chair. He rubbed some vegetable oil on my neck that he said also had orchid oil in it. Next, he used a Japanese soupspoon to scrape the oil off. He warned me that this would be slightly painful, but the treatment would be very effective in releasing tension and getting energy to flow back into my neck. It did hurt, but it was worth it.

Leaving his place, walking down the dirt road back to my little hotel, I realized it was the first time in months I had felt pain-free. There was no pain at all in my neck, a condition I had only experienced a few times in the last several years.

Provides relief for varied conditions

Acupuncture can benefit many ailments, including acne, cramps, and many other complaints. I have had great results for PMS and back pain from my Denver acupuncturist. If you need hormonal and energy balancing, I highly recommend acupuncture. These problems are also treated with specific herbal-blend teas.

Books

There are many good books on acupuncture available at your local health food store. Your library may carry some. I recommend the one I mentioned above, Acupuncture: How It Works, How It Cures by Peter Firebrace and Sandra Hill.