Our Body’s Report Card

One unique aspect about Chinese Medicine is learning about a person, both physically and emotionally—in DETAIL. In order to create an effective treatment plan, the acupuncturist must understand minute details about the “chief complaint” as well as other aspects of a person’s health. To most people, this might feel like deeply personal information (or “TMI” as we often hear) but the truth is that we evaluate bodily processes in order to assess the body’s “report card”. Ideally, when the body is in energetic alignment, we feel good! We have enough energy to get through the day, our digestion works efficiently, our skin is clear, our emotions are balanced in accordance to what’s happening in our lives and women’s menstrual cycles are not a disruption to daily lifestyle. When these basic functions are not optimal, it is our body’s way of telling us something is out of balance. The difficult part is paying attention, right?!

More often than not, we get frustrated or scared when we’re not feeling well. Many patients come in for acupuncture and worry if their symptoms are “normal”. As acupuncturists, we are not determining whether a person’s experience is normal but rather try to tune into the cues the physical or emotional body are sending and how they’re manifesting for each person. A good example of this is sleep. In Western society, we understand that eight hours of sleep is ideal and as long as we wake feeling rested, life is good! In Chinese medicine, however, it is important to understand HOW someone sleeps—do they dream? Vividly? Scary dreams? Trouble falling asleep Staying asleep? The subtleties are a manifestation of how a person’s energy is in (or out) of balance and are the body’s way of reporting where things need to be adjusted.  When we’re able to pay attention to what the body is telling us, we’re able to gather the information and create a plan so that we can feel better! 

I invite you to consider your body as a positive feedback loop–where we can examine how we’re feeling, without emotional attachment, and LISTEN so that we can bring ourselves back into wellness. To book an acupuncture session, please contact our West Bloomfield office.