The Top 9 Reasons
Why we should try Acupuncture
1. It will open your mind.
Acupuncture requires us to think about health in entirely new ways. Despite noble efforts by many to find one, there is no biomedical equivalent for qi or meridians. Acupuncture turns mainstream medical tenets on their head. It will remind you that there are multiple ways of seeing the world.
2. It can help make you less stressed.
Acupuncture takes the edge off. It removes you from the perpetual state of sympathetic dominance in which so many of us find ourselves. By mellowing out the nervous system, acupuncture can help you feel less affected by and better equipped to manage the stressful aspects of life.
3. It will inspire you to get outside more.
In acupuncture theory, humans are viewed as microcosms of the natural world that surrounds them. Things like weather and seasonal shifts factor significantly into acupuncture diagnoses and treatment plans. When you start thinking about health in this way, realizing the intimate relationship that humans have with nature, it inspires a desire to get outside and commune with your natural habitat.
4. It can help give you more energy.
Although it’s common to find yourself in “acu land” — a somewhat dazed, blissfully-relaxed state — immediately following acupuncture treatment, the after effect is usually increased energy. Many people report having more energy in the hours, days and even weeks after acupuncture treatment. You may notice that you’re avoiding that post-lunch coma, feeling more motivated to hit the gym, or just sensing a little extra spring in your step.
5. It will clear your head.
In addition to the surge of physical energy that follows emerging from acu land, many people notice improved mental clarity after acupuncture. They’re able to make decisions faster with greater confidence. They feel more motivated and resolute about tackling items that have been lingering for months on their to-do lists. It’s as if the mental cobwebs have been cleared out. Suddenly, you will be out of your own way.
6. It will allow you to give yourself a break.
Acupuncture looks at how root imbalances affect the whole system. This means that when one thing is out of whack, it can affect you in multiple ways. Many of us are quick to beat ourselves up when we can’t muster energy for something that used to come easy, or when we fail to accomplish all the things we “should” be doing.
By thinking of yourself as a complex, interconnected system, it becomes easier to understand why you might be feeling incomplete or depleted. Acupuncture broadens your awareness of the things that can potentially influence your physical and emotional health. This, hopefully, will help you be a little kinder to yourself.
7. It can help you sleep.
Insomnia is one of the most common complaints seen by acupuncturists, and acupuncture can be highly effective at helping it. But even in people who do not recognize or mention sleep as a problem, acupuncture has a tendency to produce more restful nights. This often goes unnoticed until asked about on a follow-up visit. Many acupuncturists hear this refrain multiple times a day: “You know, now that you mention it, I have been sleeping a lot better since I started coming for acupuncture.”
8. It will help you embrace change.
Conventional medicine requires us to think in absolutes, to label things good or bad, black or white. We’re either sick or we’re healthy. Our numbers are too high or too low. We’re happy or we’re depressed. Yet in between these extremes, subtle yet significant shifts occur. Acupuncture works in this gray area and teaches us to reflect on the small changes happening within and around us all the time.
In acupuncture, this is progress.
9. It will make you believe in yourself.
The driving idea behind acupuncture is that we’re already in possession of everything we need to be well. Acupuncture does not add or subtract anything. Rather, it prompts the body to do what it already knows how to do. It reminds you that you have the power to heal yourself.
This does not mean that external interventions such as pharmaceuticals or surgery should always be shunned — in many cases, these are life-saving measures. But it does mean that becoming healthier, whatever that means to you, is within your control. When it comes to improving our physical and emotional health, most of us are capable of a lot more than we think. By using a therapy like acupuncture, which embraces rather than ignores our innate healing capacity, you’re making a statement that you believe in yourself.