Monday, October 15, 2007

Tears and Needles

The place I go for acupuncture is in the country just outside this "groovy" little town in the Russian River wine country. The place is small and tranquil. It has this almost other-worldly vibe to it. Laurel (the acupuncturist) has been doing it for over 20 years and her practice is almost exclusively dedicated to women before, during, and after childbirth. She's treated hundreds, probably thousands, of women over the years and is acutely attuned to what it is to be a woman and live in your body and its cycles.

I was her first morning appointment last week. We usually talk for a little bit, she sticks me with needles from my head to my toes and then leaves me to myself for the next 30-40 minutes. At this last appointment though, she stayed for a little while after the needles were in. She talked to me about my body and this child that I long to carry within me. She encouraged me to trust that life is unfolding as it should and to try and see this waiting as a gift. I'm usually just annoyed and turned off by this kind of thing, but for some reason it struck me differently that day. I started crying, and kept crying for the first 5-10 minutes of my session. It was the first time this had happened on the acupuncture table. I've heard that people can have all kinds of different emotional reactions during treatments, but I've always just felt relaxed and restful. I guess it was just time to cry.

6 comments:

Daisha said...

I don't understand acupuncture at all! It seems really scary to me. I think I'd cry at every apt.!

Maybe it's b/c I grew up watching Sci-Fi...
D

Drew Custer said...

I hope that the crying was a release of emotion that you and your body needed. I'm glad that you are having a good experience with acupuncture and I hope it continues to be a blessing.
Jamie

Nate, Maurine, Hannah, and Monroe said...

Jess- Love you can't wait to see you and give you hugs. I am glad your accupunctuist has such positive energy. Very important! Can we do some Yoga at Suz's?

To Daisha- I had accupuncture to help induce labor and it was actually very relaxing- There were a couple of spots that stug, but she repositioned the needle. I was amazed how relaxing and really virtually painless. You should give it a try sometime- just for mere curiosity if nothing else. : ) Mo

Josh and Marcie said...

Good for you Jess for letting out some emotions. That is so very important through the process. So many times I remember feeling that I needed to be tough. Sometimes you need to just break loose. It sounds like it needed to happen.

Anonymous said...

HI Jess,
I went thru the same a year ago (well I am still trying to get pregnant, I suffer from PCOS)
I had never imagined myself getting pierced with all those needles, but I did it, reason - HOPE
Take care and God bless.

Gioietta said...

(((jessicca)) hugs and lots of love~ miriam