This is the first in a series of blog posts from an Indigo Dragon client on a journey to wellness. 

I have a new addiction, and it’s called acupuncture.

As someone who enjoys life’s pleasantries (a two hour massage, good glass of red wine, lengthy soak in the hot tub – get the picture?), I didn’t expect to be crossing the comfort divide and craving a regular needle poking session, but it turns out it’s exactly what I needed.

Now, I know as well as anyone that acupuncture has been around for a thousand years and is practiced all across the world. Anything that old has most definitely stood the test of time and helped millions of people in different ways, from stress relief to injury rehabilitation. But I had never invited it into my life as a form of treatment until this past year. Why? Mmm, the needles.

My concerns were quashed in my very first session. Most of the time I didn’t even feel the miniscule acupuncture needles as they got applied, and those that gave me a second’s sensation were not painful. If anything, the warm treatment “bed”, soft music and tranquil setting put me to sleep in minutes. Now that I’m an old hand at this, I find that if I don’t actually fall asleep during the sessions, I tend to move into a deep trance like state of consciousness that I’ve been actively embracing during the time Jen (my acupuncturist) vacates the room to let the acupuncture do its magic.

After my first two sessions I decided to commit to going weekly. I suffer from an autoimmune disease and started to see relief almost immediately… Along with some other holistic approaches, I am currently able to maintain my condition without the addition of dangerous drugs, and acupuncture has become a critical part of that journey. Depending on what my body needs each week, Jen introduces moxi (a traditional Chinese medicine therapy using moxa made from dried mugwort), cupping, or other modalities. Her intuition about which treatment my body needs has led me to believe that there might be some magic involved, but let’s keep that between us…

Although I first walked through the welcoming doors of Indigo Dragon in search of relief from the symptoms of my disease, I have now found that my weekly session brings so much more to my life. Importantly, I take the time out to actually relax (something that is a challenge for this goal-oriented girl), and relax I most certainly do. I feel the week’s stresses melt away as the balance of flow is corrected within my body. The pain in my joints ease with each session, and by this point is holding that pattern. And I feel like I hit the reset button on my body for the week ahead.

Acupuncture has now simply become something that I do, kind of like getting my hair trimmed or my teeth cleaned. Except unlike in those appointments, every part of my being benefits from these sessions.

Can you say the same about your pedicure?!

Yours in healing,

Zoe