Why Acupuncture Should Be Part Of Your Self-Care Routine

Beyond its medical uses, acupuncture is also part of a wellness routine - especially for those living an urban lifestyle.

If you’ve never experienced the benefits of acupuncture, the idea of getting poked with needles to relax might sound like a joke. But committing to routine acupuncture appointments is actually a very easy, low maintenance habit that can help to heal pain and fight chronic stress.

The First Reason you should add acupuncture to your self-care routine is:

Acupuncture and sleep quality

If there’s one thing that everyone agrees on it’s that sleep is the most important aspect of good health. Poor sleep contributes to everything from the inability to lose weight to faster ageing.

Many people find acupuncture helps them sleep. Studies have looked at whether acupuncture affects sleep quality and melatonin production, and some people say they fall asleep faster and feel less stressed.

The second reason is:

Rest during a treatment

Lots of our patients ‘zone out’ for 20-30 minutes every time they get acupuncture. They say they go into a deep, sort of lucid dreaming state. After acupuncture, they slowly return from this relaxed state and feel balanced, grounded and fully recharged, as if they just returned from a week vacation.

Also,

Well-being and the emotions

Chinese medicine theory allows for the effects of emotions on the body to be classified and treated regularly. Each emotion has a corresponding organ.

For example, frustration, anger and irritability are emotions ruled by the liver.

Now, you wouldn’t go to your GP and say, “My acupuncturist tells me I have liver qi stagnation. Can you please check my liver?” It’s more the energy flow of the liver we are talking about. Basically, if you are having a stressful week and are starting to get irritable, then odds are your liver energy is becoming stagnant and needs to move! So your acupuncturist would focus the acupuncture on the points of the liver used to move the liver qi and break up stagnation.

In Chinese medicine, regular acupuncture is traditionally used to keep the liver energy moving, which is said to help with irritability and frustration.

Last,

Chinese herbal medicine

Another aspect of what acupuncturists do is herbal medicine.

Chinese herbs are a mostly plant-based medicine, traditionally used for PMS, hormonal acne, painful or irregular periods, hormone balance, menopausal hot flushes and digestion, among other things.

Some women who came to us with period pain, vomiting and nausea have told us their pain improved greatly over two to three months with a combination of herbs and acupuncture. Responses vary from person to person.

Many of our clients come to acupuncture weekly to support the immune system. If you haven't tried acupuncture in your life, it may be worth considering.

You may also like our articles on health and wellness with acupuncture, preventative health and the benefits of a weekly massage.