Chinese medicine, basic western medical knowledge, a complete pharmacopeia of 300+ Chinese herbs, and western pharmaceuticals and pharmacology. That’s 5,000 years of wisdom wrapped into a four year, year-round program and although Board Certified and Licensed if you ask Portia, she’s still “becoming” an acupuncturist. Dedication, indeed.
Although I had two community acupuncture sessions down in the books, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of my private session with Portia. Because I was technically a new client, Portia sat me down and inquired about how I was feeling and what ailed me. What I liked most about this part of our session was that she actually schooled me on what was going on with my body.
I’ve had issues with back pain for years, but I never really considered that some of my issues might be caused by emotional imbalance and stress. “Acupuncture is a medical system at the intersection of science, art, medicine, and nature.” Not only will it help address back pain, but it will also alleviate anxiety, assist with emotional balance, improve sleep and relieve trauma. That’s just the shortlist.
Now, depending on the areas of concern, your acupuncturist will either have you lie on your back or face down. From previous experience, I knew that the needling would be painless. Before I knew it, all the needles were in place. Portia left me to relax for about twenty minutes before returning to draw out the needles and commence with the cupping.
Portia does a version of cupping called Fire Cupping. Believe it or not, it doesn’t hurt. It actually feels like a massage, but instead of applying pressure to the muscles, the suction from the cups pulls the skin, tissue, and