Pins and Needles #1

There is a bit of an adventurer in me. You probably wouldn't be able to understand that by looking at me but I will try almost anything at least one time. I enjoy exploring new foods and new experiences.

I've always wanted to try acupuncture although the idea of having a needle sticking out of my body is a little disconcerting. I'm a big fan of acupressure and reflexology and massage in general. I think that the human touch can help a lot of what ails a person. So due to the fact that these needles are not human, I was skeptical about trying it. However, recently due to some issues that have gotten increasingly unmanageable, I was told to give it a try.

The first session was pretty interesting... the acupuncturist asked me a number of questions about what ailed me and what I ate and other medical history questions. I proceeded to put on my best Garden of Eden impression and waited for the practitioner to begin.

She started by putting heated paddles on my back and massaged them around and in certain spots, the heat was a little unbearable. Being on my stomach, I couldn't see that the practitioner had a machine that sent back a reading of where the heat spots were strongest. Once she completed this the poking began and honestly, I didn't feel a thing. She told me she would be leaving the needles in my back for 30 minutes and would return. I'd probably fall asleep and that was a good thing, I shouldn't resist.

By the time she came back, I was fast asleep and very relaxed. She proceeded to take the needles out and then massaged some strong smelling oil on my back. After this she did some meridien scratchings, as she called them and then scraped my head as well. The head scraping I could have done without but everything else was quite nice.

The rest of the day, I spent in a semi-coma. I was so sleepy and tired. When the clock struck 8, I made my way to bed to watch some tv and at 6am the next morning, the darn alarm clock went on...I have never slept better in my life.