Preparing for your first treatment
It is best to eat a light meal or snack before you receive acupuncture. That gives us more energy to work with. Please wear loose, comfortable clothing that will make it easier to access the points. Drink plenty of water before and after your treatment.
Please give yourself enough time to get to the clinic so you don’t have to rush. It allows the clearest picture of your energy when you are calm and present. Please arrive five minutes early to complete a small amount of paperwork. Or you may download forms here.
What to expect
Your first treatment will last 90 minutes. The first 30-40 minutes will be spent learning about the whole picture of your health. You can expect to have needles in for at least half an hour, up to 45 minutes. Sarah may be in the room working with you the whole time, or she may leave you to rest. You may have anywhere from 10-30 needles and you may receive other therapies included in Oriental medicine that do not involve needles such as intuitive medicine, guided meditation, cupping, moxa, electrical stimulation, or shiatsu.
If you are particularly nervous about the needles please realize that our needles are very small and nothing like ones used for blood draws or shots. We do not necessarily need to use needles in our treatment at all if you prefer not to. The Japanese style of acupuncture is very gentle and uses shallow needle insertion, sometimes the needles will be inserted only 1 mm deep, and minimal stimulation.
At the end of our session we will establish a treatment plan that will outline a timeline for our course of treatment as well as recommendations for herbal treatment, diet, and lifestyle to help you achieve your health goals.
It is important to note that unwinding deep rooted, long standing energetic patterns can be quite profound to shift. It can be the case that patients experience an uncomfortable integration period of a couple days to a couple weeks. If you become emotional or feel fragile or ungrounded after a treatment, please let Sarah know and she may be able to work with you remotely to ease the experience.
You may experience relief immediately or it may take a few days or several weeks. Please be aware that acupuncture, energy healing and herbal medicine will likely not “cure” you immediately. This is energetic medicine and it takes time to re-establish patterns that have developed over time. Sarah recommends patients come about once per week for 4-8 weeks, depending on the patient and the severity and longevity of their complaint. Though some patients find relief after only one treatment! Sarah’s goal is to improve your condition so that we start to reduce frequency of visits as soon as we can until you only have to come in on an as needed basis, or even not at all.