Tiny needles, inserted strategically on my body, made me look like a living voodoo doll. The mosquito-like pricks of pain quickly subsided, but I needed to be aware incase I accidently moved and dislodged one or two. I tried to relax into the moment, but it wasn’t happening.
The acupuncturist, Diane, is excellent at what she does. My current issues include: sciatic pain, neck pain, tingling in my right arm and hand. A nice midlife ala carte menu of dysfunctional parts. Diane put four—FOUR!—sets of Tens units on me as well.
She covered me in a thin aluminum sheet to retain body heat, and then added a heat lamp to keep me cozy. I felt like a burrito waiting for a waitress to pick up her order.
“I’m going to dim the lights and would like you to take a twenty-minute nap,†said Diane. I sighed as she left the room. Nap? Nope, wasn’t going to happen.
Immediately my mind began to tick down the list of things I needed to do once I left Diane’s office. I had errands, chores, and stuff. What was I going to make for dinner? There were calls I needed to make, writing I needed to produce. In what seemed like a moment the lights came back on.
“Are you relaxed?†said Diane.
“Yes,†I replied. I meant it. I thought I was.
“Then why are your hands in tight fists?â€
My eyes wandered over to those little betrayers. They were in tight fists. And now that I was paying attention, my shoulders were tighter than my favorite pair of Spanx. Huh.
Diane and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. So much for the body obeying the mind.
“Busted,†she said.
I took a few deep breaths and let them out. Okay, so I need to work on my releasing and relaxing. Like all good things it’s a work in progress. I’m a work in progress.
Having Diane guide me into better health? It was the best part of my day.
