How acupuncture helped this acupuncturist.

It's World Acupuncture Day today and I thought I might share my personal experience of Five Element acupuncture as one of the questions I am frequently asked is how I got 'into' acupuncture,  particularly Five Element acupuncture.  

So, early 2000s, I was working in my 'dream job' but it had turned into a nightmare;  I hated it.  I was so busy, so stressed, but I just had my head down and was trying to power through it.  Long hours, partying hard at weekends, eating badly, living for holidays and avoiding the bigger issue which was that I was a bit lost.  Knowing what I know now, it's no surprise my back went into a massive spasm - my body was trying to take me down so I would stop and actually think, instead of avoiding taking my issues head on.   

At the same time I also had pretty terrible eczema, seven types of eczema actually, all over my body.  It was in my scalp, on my face, chest, nipples and almost everywhere else.  I have had eczema since I was a kid but it had never been this severe.  I mean, I guess I knew it was stress related (and related to all the unhealthy coping mechanisms I had in place to copy with my stress) but I just kept on slathering on the steroids, using the emollients, 

Anyway the spasming back was the straw for this camel, and at the time I happened to be working opposite a Five Element acupuncture clinic so I staggered in for an emergency appointment.  No idea what to expect.  The first session was a long one, I was there for almost two hours, answered loads of questions.  Was my back less sore when I left?  Yes, absolutely.  But something else too.  I felt noticeably lighter.  A little more 'like myself', whatever that meant. 

Over the subsequent weeks what became apparent was that not only did acupuncture seem to be improving my physical health but something really remarkable was happening to my mental and emotional health.

I recovered my confidence and sense of clarity.  What the actual eff was I thinking?  I could choose where to work, so why not choose somewhere better to spend most of my day?  I resigned and felt lighter again.   My skin continued to improve and as I felt better in myself my life continued to change in lots of positive ways.  I drank less, ate better, exercised more and generally began to treat myself with a bit more respect and love.  And so began my love affair with Five Element acupuncture and a personal evolution that has taken me so far away from who I was and so much closer to who I truly am.   

This may not have been the first time I had come across the body / mind connection, or alternative therapies (a period of depression in my early 20s had seen me dabble my toe in these waters) but this was the first time I had ever experienced so powerfully what happens when you approach body mind and spirit as one and treat them together.  

Over the years since then acupuncture has been my constant.  

It supported my through the devastation of a late miscarriage, helped me navigate subsequent fertility issues that took years to resolve, fertility treatment that failed twice and fertility treatment that succeeded.  It supported me through a nerve-wracking pregnancy, helped me prepare for labour and birth.  Postpartum it helped me deal with night sweats and the loss of identity that can come with motherhood.

Over the years I have worked with some tremendous practitioners, and acupuncture is a non-negotiable part of my self care as well as a lodestar for my life journey, offering me a way to return back to my most authentic self time and again, to keep me aligned with my personal dao, my way, my path.

It is really this simple and this profound; Five Element acupuncture is medicine for your body, your mind and your soul. 
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