What I find so inspiring about acupuncture and Chinese medicine is their ability to offer an alternative to the mainstream, Western model for health and healing. The model pushed by our current healthcare system and pharmaceutical companies encourages us to get rid of symptoms as fast as possible either by taking a pill, removing a body part, or using some other means of suppressing symptoms.
What if we had the opportunity to work through our illnesses, figure out the deeper meaning behind them, and actually get to the root causes?
Illness offers an opportunity for us to work on ourselves, not something to feel burdened by. Sure, it doesn’t feel great to be in pain or feel lousy, but these are some of the ways that our bodies communicate with us and let us know that something is wrong or out of balance. Illness and pain give us the opportunity to investigate more deeply, take better care of ourselves, and do some soul searching about what might be causing the illness to arise. Working through emotions that may be causing illness is a big part of Chinese medicine’s work. In Chinese medicine, we believe that mind, body, and spirit are all connected. Therefore, taking the time to work on each of those elements and bring them back to balance is imperative to improving our health. The beauty of acupuncture and Chinese medicine is that we have the ability to alleviate symptoms over time, but also to work on the deeper root causes of illness in hopes of preventing its reoccurrence in the future. When you get to the root cause of illness, you can make lifestyle changes that support growth and renewed health.
The next important part of healing is creating a healing relationship with your acupuncturist. As a team, you work to improve your life by making changes that over time alter our bodies and the way we relate to our illnesses. We get to know our bodies, and learn to take better care of ourselves. With this consistent inner work, encouragement, and support, real healing can take place. The best way to heal is to create a support system system and then commit to feeling better. We have to want to get better and believe it is possible to create changes in our lives. This is the highest level of healing. When we commit to regular acupuncture appointments and self care, the real healing can begin.