February 9, 2018, 12:30 p.m.
Sophie was running a few minutes late today, but she did arrive and got us all settled. I moved my chair back against a wall so I could lean my head back against the wall. She started on the other side of the room and I was the last to get the needles, so that meant I would have 30 minutes of “needle time.” She reminded us that she would not be here next Friday because of Chinese New Year. Then, as she inserted needles, she talked about Chinese New Year and China and how it was for her growing up in China.
I started my breathing before Sophie got to me and made sure I scratched all the places on my face and head and arms that usually itch. After I got my needles in, I continued the meditation with a beach scene. Whenever I felt an itch, I approached it with my own adaption of Dr. Arlene Taylor’s famous phrase, “Your opinion is none of my business.” I said to my itch, “You are none of my business,” then I focused on somewhere else on my body that didn’t itch. It must have worked; I think I even dozed off a couple of times. Even though it was only 30 minutes, I felt very refreshed and extremely relaxed.
