Acupuncture: In its simplest definition it is the use of tiny, disposable, sterile needles placed gently throughout the body into specific acupuncture points. It is a drug-free, integrated health care treatment with the goal to activate the natural, self-healing abilities of the body.
When most people think about acupuncture in the 21st century, I would venture to say most assumptions are around pain management, injury rehabilitation, and that the treatment isn’t as tangible as taking an antibiotic or any kind of modern western medicine. Other assumptions may be that it’s abstract and a pseudo medicine that doesn’t belong as part of a medical practice because it involves needles without the purpose to draw blood; it isn’t instantaneous and could be classified as “energy medicine.”
What if I told you that I just had acupuncture by a licensed practical nurse who trained in the military as a medic and worked with veterans and PTSD victims?
Much of what you’ve read about Ohana Wellness so far may seem like it’s got all the warm and fuzzies you need or ever would want, but there’s something for everyone: I learned that by having some time with Rebecca Dimmerling who was truly a unique experience.
I had two sessions with Rebecca. Acupuncture, is yes, a longer commitment than your one-stop shop Minute Clinic experience. However, there was much of my experience that felt like I was truly talking to a medical professional who was committed to helping me take care of me – which no matter the practitioner is true to the mission of Ohana Wellness.
My first session with Rebecca included:
- A more traditional (and thorough) intake on history was performed (physical, emotional, mental, history of major surgeries, injuries, etc.)
- She will then take your pulse (much like the nurse technician at your Primary Care doctor’s office). But here’s the cool thing: she’s actually listening to 6 pulses on each wrist, 12 pulses total that can indicate 26 different subtle variations.
- She’ll also take a picture of your tongue as a person’s appearance, etc. and the color, shape, size of our tongues can provide vital clues about what’s going on inside.
I got on the table after our detailed conversation and she began to explain to me that she treats her patients strategically by building the foundation within your body so that it can be receptive to the treatments you’re about to embark on. Rebecca believes in building a strong foundation to build upon and it makes good common sense.
During this first session she did a treatment of “clearing.” I felt a deep heaviness as if I couldn’t move my legs, as if someone could have paid me $1 million dollars to move my limbs and I wouldn’t have been able to do it. It wasn’t a paralysis (and definitely not scary) but reminiscent of deep relaxation that radiated throughout my entire body.
For me, acupuncture is not about the needles, or the pain management, or the energy realignment (though it can help with all these things quite well)—it is an act of patience, and of self-reflection. It gently forces body awareness in a way that day to day we have trained ourselves to ignore. That first session, the treatment was designed to help me reset my body to clear out anything that wasn’t serving it.
My 2nd session with Rebecca:
My next session was much more about building on the work that happened in the first treatment. Rebecca explained that we were going to continue to work on building the groundwork within my body. She explained, as an acupuncturist, it’ll help her really hear and understand the disharmonies in my body, allowing them to present themselves clearly.
I loved her visual analogy: “We have to rake or sweep away the leaves in the yard to know what we’re working with.”
True to my neuroses, I immediately started to wonder if Rebecca could tell what my yard looked like. Riddled with a variety of leaves, trees growing wildly, sun-deprived corners, and the grappling with the very real possibility of the need to re-seed my entire lawn.
But, like every experience I’ve had at Ohana Wellness, it doesn’t really matter what state you’re in or how mangled your yard is – Rebecca worked deliberately, kindly, and gently to help my body begin to harmonize again, just a little bit.
We ended the therapy by talking about the supreme controller, which in acupuncture (and really in life): the heart. My final two points and needles were inserted in my back to put the heart back on its throne as it’s a fundamental acupuncture belief that the heart knows how to control all the others. What beautiful imagery! And, what a reminder for us in a world that celebrates the rational and unemotional to believe in the heart, its purity, and its ability to guide us through life.
Treatments are never just a moment in time, those 45 minutes to an hour. They keep working long-after, in fact, a good acupuncturist will tell you that you can expect some physical, emotional, and mental “stuff” to come up well into a week post treatment, all part of sweeping up that yard – hard to do it all in one afternoon and expect it to be the landscaped yard of our dreams.
All in all, acupuncture, in my humble opinion, is a meeting of the mind and the heart and all the way those troubles can present themselves physically in our bodies. If pain management is what you’re seeking – acupuncture is for you. If anxiety, stress management, and trauma relief is what you’re seeking – acupuncture is for you. If rehabilitation post-injury is what you’re seeking – acupuncture is for you. If wanting to feel well is what you’re seeking – acupuncture is for you.
Schedule time with Rebecca HERE.
