Why Healing ❤️‍🩹Looks Different for All of Us

If you know me, you might know that I’m somewhat excessively organized. Though I would like to think that I’m amazingly relaxed in certain contexts, I’m also prone to overplanning, and I definitely identify as a recovering perfectionist. 

Additionally, I have a habit of being perhaps obsessively on time, which sometimes generates excessive anxiety in executing logistics, like taking septa (which I am both fond of but also completely untrusting of in recent times) super early to the train station to go to the acupuncture apprenticeship group I’ve been attending. 

Some of the dates for these workshops are preset way in advance and some are popping up more spontaneously. This means I’ve been all up in the Amtrak app trying to get those $15-25 tickets. 

Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Though this was frustrating at first, knowing that I’m in this for the long haul, and knowing that there’s just no way that it will always be convenient, means that I’ve had the opportunity to relax a little bit and to pivot and adapt. 

After a recent Amtrak frustration, a friend encouraged me to pay the extra $2 or so for the “flex fare” to get the fully-refundable tickets. I initially balked at this idea thinking that I didn’t “need” that option, given how obsessively I tend to plan, but now I’ve embraced it whole-heartedly. 

If I decide to stay late in NY or take myself out for a more leisurely meal, I can cancel that ticket and hop on NJ Transit/SEPTA home instead. I’ve been loving having that freedom to decide more in the moment what I need and how I’m feeling. 

The photo above is me arriving BOTH triumphant AND 20 minutes late to an acupuncture workshop in midtown Manhattan a few weeks ago. I had the choice of being either 2 hours early and wandering Manhattan or being AT LEAST 20 minutes late, maybe even significantly late if the train ended up delayed. 

In the end I prioritized more sleep for better learning and booked the later train without a lot of fuss. I didn’t even tell my fabulous teacher ahead of time. I waited till 10 minutes before the start of the event when I had more information about when I would actually arrive. 

Arriving late on purpose and being ok with it is a real triumph for me. 

Progress in healing can look different for all of us. Maybe you’re more Type A like me and it would be incredibly healthy for you to relax and let go. Or maybe it would be healthy for you to arrive early intentionally and to be there on time, maybe even to be there before the door is unlocked. 

Learning our own patterns and tendencies helps us see where we can refine and shift. 

Summer is the season associated with the fire phase, with relationships and connectivity, with the organ and channel systems of the heart, the pericardium, the small intestine, the triple warmer. 

The small intestine in Chinese Medicine overlaps with its Western Medicine component of nutrient absorption. In Chinese Medicine, a major job of the small intestine is to help separate the fluids into clear and turbid. 

Sort of like wringing out a mop head and removing the dirty water so that only the clear essence rises to the heart. 

If you often feel muddled and would love to fine-tune your clarity, acupuncture can help you relax your nervous system and rebalance your body, mind and spirit so that you have the space to be the most wonderful version of yourself. 

If this sounds like something you’re craving, or a practice you would like to return to, please reach out to book an appointment or schedule a free consult so that we can connect and take care of you. 

Seasonal shifts, like this recent wave of heat, are an excellent time to reset with a seasonal acupuncture treatment. 

I would love to support your heart in sensing more space, more possibility, and more joy this year. 

May you empower yourself to know your own patterns and to identify when and where to adapt!