What to Expect

We understand your first treatment might be a little nerve wracking, especially if you’ve never had acupuncture before! So, here’s what to expect during your first visit with us.

When you arrive, you’ll meet your practitioner for your session. First, the two of you will sit together and discuss, not only what brought you in, but other symptoms you might be experiencing. Everything in the body is interconnected so it’s important that we know your medical history, how your digestion is, how you sleep, if you are in any pain, etc —we want to know everything about you all the way down to what you like to do for fun! It may seem like prying but it’s actually how we assess what organ may be out of balance from a Chinese medicine standpoint. From there, we will take your wrist pulse, unlike Western medicine, we evaluate three different places on each side, searching for intensity, pressure, size and rhythm. Finally, we will look at your tongue, again noting the size, color, shape, coating and a few other things. After our assessment, we can then make a diagnosis. Our diagnosis will be very different from Western medicine and we are happy to share a basic understanding of what it all means.

After a brief explanation of findings from a Chinese medicine perspective followed by a mapping out of your treatment plan that will give you the best and most rapid results, we will then head into a treatment room and help you get comfortable on the table. We will then begin needle insertion. Now, we know some people can be a little nervous at first and we do our best to quell those feelings by going at a pace that makes you the most comfortable, so please communicate that if we are going too fast. It’s important to note, our needles are only the width of one hair on your head, so quite small, most people equate the insertion of needles similar to a mosquito bite.

After all needles have been inserted, the healing process begins. We offer noise cancellation headphones (with a special track that will enhance your meditative state), an eye pillow and heating pad in case you get chilly. We will also give you a bell to ring in case you need us at any point during the treatment.

From here, you will have 35 minutes to rest deeply, meditate or fall asleep. Most patients lose track of time and some don’t want to leave. Patients wake up feeling grounded, relaxed and overall balanced!