Acupuncture works by releasing the blockages within ourselves that prevent us from being the people we know in our hearts we’re meant to be.  Blockages, or “stagnation,” can take many forms.  Some are physical such as pain, arthritis, and inflammatory conditions.  Others are emotional like depression, anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 

What every health condition shares in common is the process of habituation: we begin to accept these physical limitations and emotional struggles as inevitable, that our experience is “just the way it is”.  In the process we lose sight of fundamental truths about ourselves about our worth and our value, about our freedom and potential, and about the unique contributions that each of us is here to make. 

Acupuncturists use needles, bleeding lancets, cupping, herbal medicine and more to release the muscular tension, inflammation, emotional suffering, and suppressed trauma that informs our posture, our movements, our life choices, and our daily experience.  Chinese Medicine is a profoundly sophisticated system of understanding the human experience that takes a lifetime of study to fully appreciate, but its goal is the free and unfettered expression of our spirits and purpose.

Acupressure is based on the same theories and “channel” systems as Acupuncture is but it has limitations.  It works very well at the level of the musculature (what we call the “Sinew Channels” in Chinese Medicine) because they are relatively superficial and respond well to touch, massage, etc.  There are much deeper channel systems where we hold old injuries, old trauma, and outdated ideas about ourselves that are much more difficult to access and release without the insertion of needles simply because they are deeper than touch allows access to.  I would also argue that needles provide a degree of focus of intention that is more difficult when using acupressure alone. 

While it is not an exaggeration to say that there are no conditions which do not respond positively to acupuncture, we certainly have more success with some than with others.  My practice been largely focused in two areas.  Mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, including more challenging issues like bipolar disorder and dementia, all respond very well to acupuncture.  Another common specialty is obstetrics and gynecology, and concerns such as menstrual disorders, endometriosis, and infertility are treated very effectively. 

The West has mostly focused on acupuncture for pain relief, which I would agree it excels at.  It is also extremely useful in managing lifestyle diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. And finally, acupuncture as an adjunct in the management of cancer typically produces better outcomes.  Chinese Medicine works to identify the underlying causes of disease and help patients transform their habits and beliefs in order to produce systemic change.

This is a difficult question to answer because acupuncture is practiced so differently by different traditions.  Some needling styles are barely felt by the patient, while others can produce strong sensations similar to aching or pressure.  Most treatments result in a sense of relaxation following the session, and many patients report feeling much more “like themselves” or remembering who they really are. 

Occasionally symptoms get worse before they get better, because it is the goal of acupuncture to fully release pathology, not to numb or repress it.  In all cases, any sensitive and qualified acupuncturist will work with you in a way that you are comfortable with and talk you through the process they expect from their style of work before any treatment.  

Acupuncture, in my opinion, is not for people who want someone to make their symptoms go away for them.  That is what pharmaceutical medication excels at.  Acupuncture is a profoundly transformative experience for people who want to change their lives in service of their highest truth and potential.  It can, and regularly does, change peoples’ lives in dramatic ways.  It is my experience that everyone, in their heart, craves that.