Traditional Chinese Acupuncture: A Jab Well Done!
What runs through your mind when you think of acupuncture? I, like many others, thought immediately of those long needles sticking into my skin resulting in a painful experience, unconsciousness from blood loss and regretting every moment during the process. Boy, was I wrong! Let me tell you my story!
I decided that it was time to try and take a step in the right direction and turn my health around. Of course starting off with a healthy diet and exercise is a great first step, but what about the pain and health issues that hold me back from being an active person? What if I am diabetic or have chronic headaches? High/low blood pressure, allergic rhinitis, painful menstrual cramps or sciatica? Yes, believe it or not, acupuncture treatments have been proven effective with these conditions and are even recognized by the World Health Organization.
After doing some extensive reading online through various medical blogs, there is some controversy on the ancient technique but the overall consensus was that it works. So, I had to see for myself.
I went to The Myo Centre Massage Therapy and TCM Acupuncture. It is a reputable clinic on 127 street and 135 Ave. I have gone here before for a massage (which was wonderful!) and after already experiencing and knowing the professionalism with this clinic, I decided to try their Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Acupuncture.
I first met Kenny Lau, an extremely knowledgeable acupuncturist who I ended up making my first appointment with. He is pleasant, informative and confident, which made for an easy interview and a comfortable first session.
Kenny began acupuncture in 2011. He got involved in the practice because he personally experienced the healing and recovery the treatments provided. He was in a car accident which left him in severe pain that was soon relieved after getting into the program. After living through those successes, he wanted to learn how to heal others the way he had been. Thus began his journey in the practices on TCM Acupuncture.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Lily Ren. She is a doctor of TCM, a teacher at Reeves College for the acupuncture program and a practitioner at The Myo Centre. She has 9 years of study including a few at Grant MacEwan University learning TCM Acupuncture and is now a successful and very passionate professional!
"TCM Acupuncture is about finding the the cause, not just treating the symptoms. We give a holistic and in depth approach to improving the symptoms while curing the cause.
...It works by stimulating the small spaces between the muscles, joints and nerves to remove blockages to make a whole body cure."
After learning so much about the process, I was delighted (and still nervous) to go through my first session.
I walked in fifteen minutes early to fill out the forms. They were quite extensive and thorough in their questions.
I was greeted by Kenny and taken into a room. It was clean and warm with a heater in the corner.
After checking my pulse, tongue, finger nails and some pressure points, Kenny went through my forms with me discussing my lifestyle, my personal health issues and offered advice with a lot of explanations as to why I could be feeling the way I do.
I am going to jump ahead a bit and say that everything that he said in that conversation was correct.
Now was the time of the needles! The needles themselves were exceptionally fine, and I did not even feel most of them. There were a few that I felt a sensation that wasn't pain but more of my body responding to it's presence.
Kenny said that "some people can feel pain depending on the clients conditions. If the body has problems it might be a bit more sensitive."
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