sticky situation

Art imitates life. Not sure who originally made that statement but for the past couple of months I’ve been pondering it in reverse as I work on a project I thought I had enough experience with to actualize my vision. That is until pain that made it impossible to think straight or focus on the smallest task began to give me a fresh and immediate canvas on which to build.

During the time I lived in NYC, I made the decision to opt for more holistic treatments to manage crippling back pain when medicine and routine visits to an MD failed to provide relief. Already a spa baby who had my favorite masseuse on speed dial, I programmed the chiropractor into the phone after my first adjustment, a moment that solidified the quest for a more creative approach to illness. That pursuit continued here in DC when I fell and injured my knee. A virgin to the needle who was quite curious about multiple punctures, I asked both a yogi and massage therapist that I trusted if they could recommend an acupuncturist. My first visit took me to a small office with minimal furnishings three flights up from DuPont Circle. Feeling a little like the bride of Frankenstein in the making, I was strangely relaxed as Max inserted tiny needles into various points all over my body. That is until he stuck one in my forehead; in subsequent visits, my entire face  resembled a mask from any given futuristic movie as we worked on sinus issues. In less than two weeks, knee and nose felt like they had been reborn (I did have to consume what I referred to as the stinky drink twice a day for those two weeks) with no side affects.

For me medicine provided relief when I was on the mend, however it masked the pain. I never knew quite where I was in the healing process, was too delirious to do much more than sleep, and the rebound affects of some medications were worse than the pain they were supposed to relieve. On the other hand, acupuncture eliminates my pain, I can function through the healing process, and though I sometimes experience discomfort as the flow of blocked energy shifts, the relief I crave is a good nights sleep away. I realize acupuncture and other forms of the healing arts are not for everyone but they give me my life back when pain consumes me and pain this time around served as the backdrop for a new approach to an artistic endeavor that I might have missed so I remind you to always…

keep your peepers open!®

ps - the needles used for acupuncture are MUCH smaller than the one in the picture, I just don't have any of them around the house to photograph :)

If you live in the DC area and are curious or in need, try Frank Neely at District Wellness in Washington or Elizabeth Baer at The Still Point in Takoma Park...very different ambiance at each location, practitioners are quite skilled, knowledgeable and easy to talk with however, they each have their own unique approach and specialties (click on orange titles to read more). My body's needs determine where I go but both Frank and Elizabeth can make me a happy girl!