So this summer I took a quick trip to Phoenix – now I know why you’re thinking, “Girl are you nuts? Phoenix in the summer is SO HOT!” yeah, I get that, but hear me out –
While Phoenix does have a pretty hot summer, it also has some of THE BEST wellness spas in the country. I have posted about my experiences at some of them in the past, but this time I went somewhere different and got a treatment I’ve never had before.
I told this in a little story time over on episode 005 of the Glam Latte Beauty Podcast, and I also did a vlog of the entire trip on youtube, but I want to give you a recap because I think it’s such an under talked about, under rated treatment that I think can help a lot of people!
TRYING SOMETHING NEW
So I for this trip I stayed at the Fairmont Princess Scottsdale which, OMG this resort is so so beautiful. I was checking out their spa menu and I was really leaning toward getting a massage, but then as I scrolled down I saw acupuncture and when I read the description – ‘helps with stress and anxiety’ – I knew this was what I wanted to do. It’s something i had always wanted to try and if I needed help with anything, it was stress and anxiety.
Here’s what I knew: acupuncture is an eastern medicine technique, where they stick needles into pressure points to alleviate pain. While this is true, I went on to learn that this is only part of the story. (Did I mention, there were needles?)
So there I am in the waiting room, lights are dim, I’m in my luxurious plush robe, sipping cucumber water, sitting in a gravity chair, just zenning out, when I hear my name called and I look up and this man was standing there waiting for me. He introduces himself as Steve and I can immediately hear the NYC accent.
In my head, I was thinking that the Dali Lama was going come out and instead it’s Steve from NYC (who has a PHD in acupuncture btw, which – I had no idea that was even a thing!) which just goes to show how mainstream acupuncture has become. I am assuming this is because of how well it works.
THE EXPERIENCE
So I get into the room and he proceeds to ask me about my medical issues and why I want to do acupuncture. I start out by telling him stress and anxiety (I mean it was on the menu) and then as we get to talking, I got into some other issues I had been having lately like difficulty sleeping. Then we got even deeper and talked about other medical stuff, like my hyperactive adrenal gland, insulin resistance and extremely short menstrual cycle.
When we were done, he basically told me that acupuncture could help with ALL OF IT. So he told me what to expect, he would place some sterile, disposable stainless steel needles in, I would sit for 30 minutes and then he’d me back. So he placed 40 needles in and I literally didn’t feel a single one. (Bonus!) And then I sat there in a massage room, lying on my tummy, with dim lights, that soft spa music and just relaxed.
THE RESULTS:
30 minutes later he pulled out the needles (still didn’t feel a thing) and told me this is what to expect:
- I would sleep like a baby that night. (I did!)
- He targeted my adrenals so my stress levels would be better (they were!)
- My anxiety would decrease (yep)
- My cycle would change ( I was so skeptical on this one BUT…read below.)
So fast forward about a week and my P & O tracker app I use to track my cycle was predicting my period was about to show up any day, except it didn’t. My average cycle was coming in at 16- 18 days (yeah, tell me about it) and by day 21, still was no where to be found, nor was it day 22, 23, 24 or 25…it wasn’t until day 30 that it arrived and I couldn’t freaking believe it. It was the longest cycle I had had in a very, VERY long time.
So the title of this post mentions 5 things, and so far I’ve talked about 4. The 5th thing that acupuncture can help with is weight loss. Now I haven’t put this to the test (yet) but Steve has me sold on it. Here’s what he said:
When he got his PHD, he did his thesis on the connection between acupuncture and weightless and had a group of test subjects consisting of both men and women, get treatments 3x a week. He instructed them not to change any of their current diet or exercise habits. He told me that each week the women lost 1.5lbs and the men lost 3lbs and that by the 3rd week the women caught up to the men in total pounds lost. He also said he found an interesting side effect; although he instructed them not to change their diet or exercise, they actually wanted to. They reported they had more overall energy and were motivated to make a lifestyle change.
I found this SO fascinating and something I am definitely planning to put to the test.
ALL THE WAYS:
So to recap the 5 health issues acupuncture can help with is stress and anxiety, sleep issues, adrenal issues, hormones and weight loss. But guess what? There’s MORE! It can also help with: gastrointensital issues, headaches, back pain, allergies, arthritis, mood, cancer and chemotherapy recovery, immunity and Parkinson’s and cognitive function. So that’s like 14…
I’m sure there’s other ailments I’ve missed, but I bet if there’s something you are dealing with not on that list, there’s a pretty good chance acupuncture can help.
I hope my experience helps shed some light on acupuncture as a medical treatment. Let me know if you’ve tried it and what your experience was!
XO,
