Five Things: Acupuncture

With Marise Henry Acupuncture – 

The Point
Acupuncture can help with most things, as it is a holistic health treatment. Whether it is treating pain-related issues, injury or on-going pain; women’s health issues such as painful, irregular or absent/heavy/non-stop periods; fertility concerns and IVF support; wellbeing issues such as stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, just not feeling ‘right’; it can usually be of benefit for a person’s sense of wellbeing. I recall a man telling me I shouldn’t just say women’s health because he found it very beneficial for his men’s health issues as well! It can be like a tune-up for on-going self-care and maintenance in our busy lifestyles.

Yin Yang
Acupuncture is definitely a holistic approach to wellness. There is no separation of body/mind/spirit, and so treatment incorporates all aspects as well. I solely practise Chinese acupuncture, meaning it is this theory that shapes my treatments. Chinese medical theory has its foundations in philosophy. The way I explain it to my patients is that it does not compete with Western medicine, but rather views from a different perspective, and speaks a different language. So there is the basis of the Wu-Xing and Yin/Yang in all things.

The premise that there is qi (“chi”) in all living things and in us, this qi essentially runs in and around the body through channels or meridians. The flow of qi through these channels are likened to the rivers of China – all linked in some way, and all able to affect each other in various ways. Sometimes there can be blockages, sometimes there can be deficiency or excess, and it is all about restoring a balance.

Balance is a dynamic concept, and not something that once you get it you keep it. We are in a constant state of flux, just as day moves through to night and then back to the day, so is the concept of balance- moving and shifting and adapting. The yin-yang symbol can express this – aspects of each in the other, and actually only separate to understand. They are like a continuum that can swing and shift and be influenced. Such as the continuum of temperature can fluctuate between hot and cold.

The interpretation of a person’s problems is that there are usually patterns that emerge. Sometimes it is very straightforward, such as in acute injuries. However I have found it common that people don’t go straight to acupuncture first and have tried other types of intervention or therapy and have not quite been able to clear the issue. It is here that acupuncture can be of great benefit as the interpretation of peoples’ conditions is inclusive of them and not just their body. It is ‘proper’ to treat the cause as strongly as the symptoms.

Every Body
Everyone can have acupuncture. Although there can be some caution used with certain medications and conditions, and a persons’ age, I cannot think of anyone that should be excluded. All people respond to the treatments in some way. I have [only] met two people who claim the acupuncture hasn’t helped them, and that may well be the case. No disrespect to them, but I do wonder on their expectations, as both had just one session and had quite complex problems! But it is not for some people. [If] children are not that keen you can use a laser or pressure on the points. I think younger people are not always as good at lying still and relaxing but as people grow older I think they appreciate the lie down and can zone in to that a lot quicker!

Clothes On
Usually the areas being needled need to be exposed, particularly when it is for pain. So, for example, the back will need to be exposed but your buttocks will be covered, just like in a massage. The points used are not always near the areas or things being treated. A lot of men and women fear treatment for fertility will be near their genitals – not so! (I don’t need to see that!) For systemic treatments there are a lot of powerful points below the elbows and knees and other areas that are exposed anyway, a great point being on the top of the head. A lot of treatments allow the patient to remain fully clothed, with just rolled up sleeves and/or trouser legs.

Just Breathe
For a lot of concerns it is common to have tried something else before acupuncture, as Westerners aren’t that keen on needles. And people don’t believe me when I say that I don’t like needles either! We have a perception that all needles are like the ones used for blood tests and vaccinations. Acupuncture needles are a lot finer, and are more like pins. They go in very fast as it is really the skin that is painful. Usually I breathe the person in to the points so there are no surprises, and I try to get the first one in fast so they relax and realise that it’s not like a series of injections at all. I also take it lightly the first time so I can gauge how the person responds to the needles. Some people are very sensitive so the needles are not left in long and there are not too many of them. Other things I have encountered is just the sensitivity to the treatment so [I make it] a shorter treatment, not leaving the person alone for the first few times, unless they are fine to drift off into that lovely place…

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Thanks so much, Marise!

Marise is an Acupuncturist and Physiotherapist. Her interest in acupuncture and eastern philosophy began in the late 1990’s when she began studying martial arts, and she trained in Traditional Chinese Acupuncture through the AUT postgraduate programme in 2008.

I’d had a couple of acupuncture sessions before I was first treated by Marise but it was her approach that completely won me over. I particularly loved her passion for Chinese acupuncture as a way of promoting health and wellbeing. She was beyond generous with her knowledge, and her view that body and mind are integrated was in line with what I was learning daily through my yoga practice. Never did  I imagine being so comfortable I’d be dozing off with needles all over my back and head!   

 If you’d like to get in contact with Marise for treatment (in Auckland) you can email her at: marisehenry@yahoo.co.nz

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© The Yoga Connection 2015