The Big Question
Dear Patient,
I enrolled in acupuncture school back in 2001, and over the last 20+ years I’ve heard probably every question a person could think to ask about acupuncture. And one of the most commonly expressed queries is some version of…What does this actually do?
And I can talk about needles and qi and balance and stimulating flow. I can talk about yin and yang and the meridians and the organ systems and the five elements and the three treasures and the eight methods and the six stages and the four levels and those are all great metaphors, but still not really an answer to…What does this actually do?
My dear patient, if I knew the answer to that, I would write a book about it. In fact, these short missives are my attempt at doing that very thing.
I do not know what this actually does. All I can say is that acupuncture somehow brings you back into your own body, while at the same time projecting you far beyond your physical container to connect with everything else in the universe. It rejoins, realigns, reunites, reassembles.
How this happens is a mystery to me, even after all these years in practice. Maybe one day the answer will be made clear to me. If that happens, I’ll definitely let you know.
Love and gratitude,
Your Acupuncturist