TIMES HAVE CHANGED BUT HEALING IS TIMELESS

Like so many of our affairs this past year, the way in which we receive and experience healthcare has undergone some significant reimagining. As an acupuncturist, my hands ache to engage with bodies unencumbered by the obstruction of artificial layers of sterility; to sit face to face with my patients in vulnerability without the added weight of fear denying the fullness of that beautiful exchange. 

And yet, I know that human connection - and the process of healing it engenders - possesses an intrinsic magic, inalterable and enduring against all odds.

The beauty of energetic medicine, such as acupuncture, is that it travels well, even across the (webs of light and radiation and fiber-optics that constitute the) landscape of the virtu-sphere. Despite its obvious shortcomings, virtual medicine has much to offer. If you are in need of support, it can be found in the very place you are now reading these words. You might be wondering how the benefits of acupuncture can be derived without needles, and it’s a perfectly reasonable doubt to harbor. You’d be surprised to find, with a little guidance, how much healing is available within the comfort of your own home and the medicine you carry within your own hands.

A FRESH (and informed) PERSPECTIVE

Even for those of us who pride ourselves on prodigious self-awareness, an intimate understanding of our own bodies, and a loyalty to “guerilla medicine” (i.e., our bevy of home remedies and self-generated healing techniques), it can be challenging to see oneself with expansive objectivity; to carefully analyze the habitual tendencies and operations of our own bodies and minds in order to generate and embark on a new way of being - one that cultivates radical vitality. And so, we seek the spacious perspective, experiential wisdom, and revelatory reflection of another, whose intention is to shed a compassionate light on that which escapes us in our quest for healing and growth.

WE’RE BETTER TOGETHER 

If you find yourself under the weather during these unprecedented times, it can feel more unsettling than usual given the now ubiquitous concerns about the global health crisis and the limited access to the healthcare you might have grown accustomed to. Indeed, many (if not most) physicians are asking folks to stay home if they have active symptoms. But you mustn’t suffer in silence or solitude, thanks to virtual medicine.

It’s more important than ever to prioritize your wellbeing, and having a dependable support network in place is essential. There are practitioners, near and far, with a plethora of resources and modalities in their repertoires to benefit your abiding wellbeing. Furthermore, thanks to the gravitation toward virtual medicine, your pool of potential practitioners has widened appreciably.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A VIRTUAL APPOINTMENT

You might have doubts about the efficacy of meeting with your acupuncturist or herbalist in the digital ethers, but rest assured, this approach has much to offer that you may not have considered yet. Virtual sessions can empower you with customized health plans to support your immunity, resolve active infection/injury, prevent future illness, and address any additional health concerns with a variety of valuable therapies.

For example, a Virtual Consultation with a Chinese Medicine practitioner may include any combination of the following:

• Tools and guidance for staying healthy, present, grounded, and connected during triggering times
• Herbal medicine & Supplement regimens 
• Acupressure and ear seed point prescriptions
• Tui Na (massage), guasha, and cupping tutorials
• Nutritional modifications
• Lifestyle adaptations (exercise, sleep, time in nature, relationships, work/purpose, creativity, and psycho-emotional wellbeing)
• Guided meditation and breathwork practices to calm and strengthen your being
• Immune system support protocols (including a combo of many of the above)

GETTING RESOURCED

Aside from the empowerment of a supportive ally (which in and of itself can be the spark of healing), a virtual consultation can provide you with practical insights and tools to aid in your recovery. In addition to the very prevalent concerns around preventing/treating various symptoms, pre-existing chronic conditions, allergies, pain, anxiety, insomnia, etc. are not likely to have magically disappeared during this time. In fact, the heightened stress and fear in our environments can often exacerbate or instigate such conditions. 

At the same time, this relative pause from the chaos of doing can be a profound opportunity for healing if you choose to embrace it as such. While many of us may find ourselves pining for the days of mask-less affection, we are also discovering our exquisite capacity for creativity, resilience, and adaptability when faced with the challenge of finding new ways to meet our needs. And, if we are paying attention, we can feel the magic, even in these strange and distant forums.

Hannah Fries is a California-based licensed acupuncturist and herbalist (L.Ac.), writer, and Integrative Body Psychotherapy allied professional. She seeks to discover & alchemize the psycho-emotional and spiritual roots of disharmony in the physical body to help her clients transform the obstacles that interfere with their innate healing capacity. Find out more about Hannah and her work on her website at https://www.friespirit.com or on Instagram @friespirit.