•      Patients ask me all of the time how acupuncture works and how do we, as practitioners, pick which points to needle. I see each acupuncture session sort of like a piece of music played by an orchestra. Each acupoint has its own qualities and actions or job sets. They are kind of like notes. When you put different notes together, they create a melody which when played by different instruments, creates a unified resonance. In the same way, an acupuncturist chooses a group of acupoints that will work together to create a unified strong message to the body. Like a conductor of the orchestra giving the signal to play a particular part Pianissimo, Grande, or with Crescendo, the acupuncturist manipulates each needle, considering both depth and movement of the needle. We take into consideration whether that acupoint needs to be tonified (bringing energy to the area) or dispersed (releasing a blocked area that holds too much energy), as well as what level of tissue we are trying to affect. When well “composed and played”, the resonant message continues to “play” well after the session is over kind of like continuing to hum the tune well after leaving a concert.

Throughout my years as a practitioner, I have seen and experienced different ways in which bodywork releases tissue and how different styles have different effects. Although there are many techniques that work, there is an underlying principal that can be applied to all of them. Some people ask specifically for Deep Tissue massage and others dread it due to bad experiences. In either case, it is a general term used for any technique that works to open up the deeper layers of tissue. There are different ways to achieve this. Some people feel that the old saying “ no pain no gain” is what they need to experience to get benefit from the work. In my experience, if you have to hold your breath or tense up to be able to “handle” the pressure, it is way too much. This is the point where tissue damage can occur and your body responds by trying to protect itself from being hurt. Deep Tissue work CAN sometimes be intense, but it should always be something can you can easily breath into. There are many layers to our tissue/muscles and, like peeling away layers of an oinion, one must first open up the superficial layers to reach the core or center. If you can imagine the sand on the beach right near the wave line, it feels very compacted. If you try to tap your foot down on it, it resists and feels like cement, however, if you sit there with your feet in one spot for any length of time, you will notice that the sand becomes soft and your feet begin to sink into it. Muscle tissue is very similar. If you dig in to it forcefully, it will resist you. You can “force” the tissue into submission, but I have found that this typically just pushes the issue deeper into the body. If, however, you are patient, the tissue will open up and soften underneath you.