In the cosmology of Chinese medicine, of which acupuncture is a part, there is no separation between the physical, emotional, psychological, and the spiritual. In this vein, all these components are connected, and to experience a full, balanced, and joyful life, they need to operate in harmony. If one or more is out of balance, it affects the others due to their web of interconnection. This being said, because one affects all, we can administer treatment of one in order to stimulate and facilitate treatment of the others.
This form of acupuncture is for issues with a long, cyclical span, once someone feels stable overall and is in the process of internally searching. Several experiences may bring someone to this place: they identify that physical symptoms maybe related to underlying emotional, psychological, or spiritual condition, they are at a place in their life in which they are not sure where to go from here and are looking for greater clarity or direction within, or if they are engaged in the universal process of recovering from traumas.
There is a strong tendency in our culture to stigmatize the word trauma, as if it were something to be ashamed of or kept secret. At Transcend Health and Wellness, we use an affirming and non-judgmental definition of trauma. Trauma is any big or shocking event in childhood or anywhere along one’s life cycle that was beyond your ability to contend with at the time. It also may be any experience that has left a challenging impression on you to this day regardless of how long ago it was or how trivial we think it is or should be. Within this framework, all of us have traumas, no matter how loving and functional our childhood, no matter how seemingly easy our life has been since. Life leaves its mark on us, and we are all healing and evolving, becoming more whole as we move in and towards our life’s path.
Part of our universal experience of being human includes inquires into one’s identity, purpose, family, loved ones, relationships, addictions or compulsions, fears, ways in which we limit ourselves or feel stuck in life, or behaviors, perceptions, and beliefs that are no longer serving us.
What all of these topics have in common is the innate desire to be free, and the movement towards discovery and integration of self and within community.
Here are some questions to help you determine if this form of therapy or change may be useful to you at this time:
- Does your current suffering or pain bring up issues from the past that have not been resolved?
- Do you experience seemingly unchanging patterns that are causing issues in your life?
- Are you in therapy or are doing somatic work, and want to compliment that work on another level?
- Have you experienced trauma and suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress, which gets in your way to enjoy life, thrive, or function?
- Do you seek more self-awareness and guidance at the current threshold or pivot point in your life?
- Do you have difficulty accessing your past or your wounds, and wish to be more open to them in the service of their resolution?
- Would you like to push your edge of comfort? Is there something(s) in your life would you like to change, to have more or less of?
- Is there a disconnect between your internal being and outer behavior or life circumstances? Do you seek to have your external life be in greater alignment with who you know yourself to be?
- Are you at or moving towards a key point in either your self-discovery process, of your process of letting go of self? Would you like support in either of these stages?