Why Acupuncture?

I have been practicing acupuncture in Santa Rosa CA for 25 years, and I am still awed by it every day. It is an incredible treatment modality, and an amazing treatment to receive. Despite this, there are many people who don’t understand how it works or what it does exactly.

Acupuncture is based on the principles of Chinese medicine. Specifically the idea that your body is made up of energy that travels through the body in certain patterns. When your energy is out of balance, this causes problems in your body such as illness and pain. The overall purpose of doing acupuncture is putting tiny needles – which are almost as thin as a strand of hair – into certain locations on your body which will change your energy flow in order to help you heal.

Of course, many people are afraid of needles because of years of conditioning that needles hurt. However the needles we use are so small and thin, they don’t cut into your tissues the way injection or blood drawing needles do. They part your tissues, more like pins in cloth when you’re sewing.

What can acupuncture do for you?

Acupuncture is excellent for restoring the balance of energy in your body which can regulate hormones, reduce pain, heal injuries, fight infections, heal your digestion, and make your immune system stronger. It can even help prevent you from having to have surgery or prolong the duration before you need it when you’ve got shoulder, hip, knee or other bodily traumas. Acupuncture is great for addressing specific ailments.

I personally believe that acupuncture is one of the best anti-aging treatments. Many of the problems of aging have to do with decreased ability to function. Acupuncture keeps your energy flowing making your body more youthful. I can tell you hundreds of stories of my patients who have stayed younger by having regular acupuncture.

How does it work?

Now that you’re curious, you may wonder how it works. Usually, you will have a treatment once or twice a week initially to get the healing energy started. As your body gets stronger the number of treatments you receive a month will decrease. Each treatment lasts about 30-45 minutes, during which you lay on the table or sit in a chair and relax. Often there will be relaxing music playing.

For staying youthful I recommend you see your acupuncturist at least once a month for a tune-up after your first treatment. If that doesn’t work, try seeing her every season as the seasons are changing to provide your body with the balance you will need.

If you’ve never tried acupuncture for healing or you feel like you can’t find solutions to your health issues, visit your local acupuncturist and try it out. You’ll be surprised at how good you’ll feel.