Yesterday afternoon found me at Costco, and like all other Big Box stores, Costco has aisles that seem to go on forever, the pharmacy is no exception. While looking for Vitamin D I found myself in what must have been the gastro-intestinal aisle. There had to be a hundred different items there, something to address every segment of the alimentary canal. At least a half dozen offerings for heartburn, or gastric reflux. Further down the aisle there were pills, tablets, and liquids promising relief from bloating, gas or distention. Then, those for constipation, or diarrhea. When I finally reached the end of the aisle, I laughed to myself, and wondered if it was a wise pharmacist who had designed this area, because there at the end were items specifically for the tail end of our wonderful alimentary canal, hemorrhoid creams and ointments, suppositories which promised quick relief!
Having long been a fan of gratitude, I allowed myself to celebrate the blissfully healthy state of my gut. Then I thought how very fortunate I am to be able to offer relief more permanent, and natural than all the assortment the aisle held! And, the capacity to do this by enlisting the bodies natural healing capacity through the ancient Art of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture.
Thought of the woman who came in one morning looking rather haggard, and sad. She stated she’d been awake all night with stomach ache. A handful of needles, she fell asleep. An hour later when I’d removed the needles she sat up, and had a sweet look of incredulousness on her face, and she said she couldn’t believe how much better she felt!
Or the fellow, who came to see me as he had heard Acupuncture can be really helpful for lumbar pain. While completing the intake form he saw hemorrhoids listed under the Stomach and Spleen section of the form. He looked at me with a truly surprised look and said he had almost cancelled his appointment that day because he was in agony with hemorrhoids which were actually bleeding, “Can Acupuncture really help hemorrhoids?” he asked, I treated the lumbar pain, but also this more troubling condition. The next day he called me to say his back felt much better, but amazingly, the hemorrhoids were gone!
Then there was the young pregnant woman who constantly had heartburn, well into the fifth month of her pregnancy! Again, quickly resolved!
George Bernard Shaw once wrote, “This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose, recognized by the self as a Mighty one!….” It is indeed a joy, and a privilege to be able to use skills I have learned to help people with a myriad of conditions feel better. Not a day passes where I don’t say a silent prayer of thanks, that I have chosen a path of healing that is able to restore a person to a state of wellness naturally.