Please welcome Kristin Misik to the beYOU.tv blog. She is a licensed acupuncturist and will be a featured contributor from time to time. As a bit of a non believer (and someone who also happens to be afraid of needles), I was a bit skeptical going into my first appoint with her to treat some stomach ailment. But after noticing immediate results, I became such an advocate that it was something I felt I had to share with all of you. She also specializes in treating stress, pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia and symptoms related to those conditions. To find out more, please visit www.kristinlac.com/.
- Kareem Kouddous, President, beYOU.tv
Tune Your Dial With Acupuncture
Explaining the elusive and seemingly esoteric mechanisms of acupuncture is no easy task for today's acupuncturist. The most common question people ask is "how does it work?" I am constantly challenged to come up with a wonderful analogy that the masses can not only understand, but also believe. After 8 years, I think I have come up with an explanation many can relate to. Even if I fail at convincing you there are forces at work in the body which science can't prove or disprove, an acupuncture treatment is usually convincing enough.
As a practitioner, I easily accept the existence of qi in the same way I accept the existence of love. I don't need to see it to believe it. But for the majority of people walking through my door this concept is not so apparent.
In case you've missed the alternative health care language train which has been rolling through the media for the past few years, allow me to introduce you to qi (say chee). So what is this qi we hear so much about? Imagine the force or impetus which causes your heart to beat, your mind to think, and the force which pushes a flower against gravity up through the earth. That is qi. It exists within us, around us, in animals, our food, the universe and on and on.
So how can inserting a few tiny needles in seemingly random places in the body stop pain or increase energy? In the same way you can tune a radio to hear music or NPR. Imagine your body is a radio. The universe is the radio station. The acupuncture needles act like little antennas which transmit information to, from and through the body. The most simplistic and obvious way to determine the strength, balance and fluidity of your own qi is by asking yourself how you feel. If you are energetic, pain-free, emotionally balanced and generally without complaint, your qi is probably well "tuned."
If, for example, you are tired, can't sleep, anxious and suffer from chronic headaches, you need to "dial" in with acupuncture. Just as a radio antennae at full height helps create a clear sound, the little needles emanating from your body help to tune your qi to the correct frequency.
If you notice a lot of static on your radio, it's time to tune in with acupuncture.
Kristin Misik
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