April 23, 2018, 10:10 a.m.
Today is the long-awaited appointment with an individual acupuncturist (not a group of a dozen or more patients!). The assistant took me into a regular doctor’s office, small, with chairs and a patient table. Paul Simon had already looked at my medical records so he already knew everything I told him. He even actually remembered me as being one of the group acupuncture patients from January 17!
I told him upfront that, in addition to acupuncture with him, I am very interested in pursuing acupressure. He showed me two places on my right hand where pressure points for neck pain are, and he placed a small sticky on each spot. He also showed me three places on my left ankle that were pressure points to relieve pain on the right side of my neck.
He did some explanations of meridians and energy, which I appreciated. For the today’s acupuncture session, he asked me if I would be more comfortable on the patient table or a massage chair. I told him whatever would provide the best support for my head. He left for a moment and came back with a portable massage chair, had me sit on it, and made some adjustments.
He placed needles in various spots on my head and neck and two on my arms. I was thinking the right arm needle must be in a small blood vessel because it was pulsating with my heartbeat! The left arm needle didn’t do that, but there was no pain in either needle nor with any of the other needles.
I have learned how to stay extremely still, not even twitching a nose!, during an acupuncture session by practicing mindful breathing and meditation. Mr. Simon left the room, and there was soft music playing so the ambience was perfect.
Fifteen minutes later, he came back into the room and asked me how I was doing. “Just fine,” I answered, not moving a muscle. So he left for another 15 minutes when he came back in and removed the needles.
How do I feel? Very relaxed and refreshed, as I did after the last two group acupuncture sessions with Sophie.
Before I left, he scheduled my next appointment for May 17.
