Today, on our way back from lunch, we walked down the sidewalk of Magnolia Street, and this sign caught my eye. Neither Stillmog or I had ever done acupuncture before, and it seemed adventurous to walk in off the street for a free session, so we decided to give it a try. We walked into the office of Pam Durham, the acupuncturist for Acupuncture Wellness Community Clinic. Water Boy was of course with us, and we were at a loss as to what to do with him while we got prodded and poked. Terri came to the rescue, though, easily entertaining him in the area they actually have set up exclusively for children. That’s a major plus right there! I was very pleasantly surprised by how patient she was with him, and we were both able to relax a little and enjoy the experience.
There is a circle of six recliners in the main front room where the community acupuncture comes into play. You watch others get their sessions while you sit and talk and listen, a very relaxed and open setting. Pam has a comforting and familiar Texas drawl, and an easy way of talking with her clients that makes you automatically comfortable. A full group of the six of us listened to Pam while she gave a brief overview of the practice and what she would be doing, including mentioning the twelves special points in the body that are important in Asian Medicine and the flow of Chi. She walked around the circle, showing one of the tiny, thin needles to each volunteer. They’re actually very flexible and almost invisible, slightly reassuring to someone who might be, ahem, nervous about needles.
Another husband and wife duo were participating, the wife being the instigator and the husband being very much against the whole idea. It was actually pretty funny how very disdainful he was being about it. Pam was very tolerant and tried very professionally to put him at ease, although he stayed pretty resistant the entire time. She started the procedure at the far end, working her way around until she came to me. The first needle went into the section on the back of my hand between my thumb and pointer. The sensation was interesting but not painful. Eventually, I had a needle in the top of each foot, the inner wrist of my right arm, and in my brow, just between my eyebrows. The only time I felt any pain was during the insertion on my right foot, the liver line. Apparently, I had some liver blockage going on, feeling a sort of prolonged, sharp pain that eventually dissipated into a spreading warmth over the top of my foot, the sensation of the blockage smoothing out.
We sat back in the recliners and listened to soft music and breathed deeply, relaxing. This was only made slightly more difficult by the sounds of Water Boy in the background, and his concerned face when he walked up to look at us and say needles sticking out all over. Next time I go, I’ll make sure to leave him with someone, but I actually did enjoy the experience. Stillmog is still a little skeptical, although I do think he’ll try it again just once more to see if he gets anything out of it. I myself was very impressed by the lack of pretension and the sheer friendliness of the staff. I called my mom after we got home and she went up there to try it out. Pam managed to get rid of a recurrent sinus headache, converting my mother immediately. The prices for full sessions are very reasonable, ranging from 20 to 40 dollars on a sliding scale. This is a beautiful little place, and I really recommend it to those in the area looking for a interesting experience and a relaxing hour or so.
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Check out their website AcupunctureOnMagnolia or email them with questions at AcupunctureOnMagnolia@gmail.com
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Brian
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