To be honest, before I started acupuncture, I didn't have much of a clue what acupuncture was. I knew that it involved needles, but, beyond that, I was pretty clueless. I told the doctor at first that I was very nervous because I was sort of needle-phobic. She told me that "it wasn't about the needles" and that I wouldn't feel them very much.
Well, that wasn't true. I can certainly feel them! (But I quickly got used to that.)
Acupuncture centers around the idea that inside all of us is a flowing force called "chi," which I'll write about more soon. Ideally, this chi should flow through the body easily and freely. When it doesn't--when it goes "stuck"--it needs to be made un-stuck so that health can be restored. In other words, illness (or any sort) is due to the chi not flowing correctly. The application of needles to key pressure points in the body helps to free the stuck chi so that it can be returned to it's free-flowing ways and thus return the body to health.
Because the body's chi system is complicated, it requires careful application of pressure at various parts of the body to get the desired effect. For example, needles in the foot can influence the flow of chi in the shoulder as the two (I think) are connected by a chi passageway. An expert acupuncturist knows how to manipulate the body's passageways to enable the free-flow of chi.
I'll stop here. It's a lot to chew over.
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