Before the visit
DO:
Come in the mornings when addressing organ function - the rising yang energy helps to support your treatment
Ensure the stomach is neither empty nor full. A light meal two hours prior to your visit with lean or vegetable protein with leafy greens, oats with yogurt and a medium sized fruit will suffice
Hydrate - A full two cups of warm ginger water upon waking before leaving the house helps to rehydrate from sleeping overnight.
Wear comfortable and loose clothing
REFRAIN FROM:
Using perfumes, aftershaves, and other scented products
Applying make-up if you are receiving cosmetic treatment
Consuming caffeine or taking other stimulants for a couple of hours before acupuncture
Drinking alcohol
Exercise, sexual activity
For women - Do not come during your menstruation, unless we are treating menstruation pain.
IS THIS TREATMENT COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR CURRENT STATE OF MIND?
Minimal and localized bleeding is a normal response and occasional occurrence when removing needles. This is potentially part of the treatment as with clearing stagnation and excess heat in the body. Please seek another practitioner better suited to your needs if you cannot accept this.
Some individuals compare the initial needle insertion sensation to that of a mosquito bite. With precise needling, you will feel a type of numbness, a little ball protesting the tip of the needle, or even an electrical surge radiating along the meridian. This is called "getting the Qi". Metta Medicine aims to offer mindful, heart-based, yet strong and effective treatment to help support your body. Do not come if you expect a pain-free, relaxation-type therapy.
During Your Visit
Is this our first meeting? Please allow an additional 15 minutes to fill out the intake form, for case taking, and to have a short discussion about your unique case prior to receiving treatment. You are encouraged to share everything you feel is relevant.
Second visit and beyond? Expect a treatment time roughly totalling an hour. During this time, I will ask a few questions, begin your treatment, and return to remove needles after 40 minutes or so.
The mind is powerful - a relaxed, trustful state helps with maximizing treatment effects. During the session, it's best to observe how your body feels, meditate, or even allow the mind to rest and sleep.
You may or may not experience various sensations during the session. Tension release, pulsations, warmth, energy flow, etc... these are common sensations that are best observed and acknowledged. Relax and allow the needles to stimulate the body. Just as it can be intense when tension builds and calls for attention, shifting and letting the blockage subside can be demanding. If you feel emotions rising up, lean-in, allow, and surrender rather than resisting this state of mind.
When being treated in a seated position, dizziness or feeling ill may indicate low blood sugar levels. Let me know immediately if you're feeling unwell while being needled.
After Your Visit
Varied as fingerprints, your post-treatment experience is highly individual. That said, some commonly noted ones include feeling relaxed, sleepy, or leaving with higher energy levels than when you came in. Other patients have reported feeling joyful, "high," and seeing brighter, more vivid colours.
When considering the mind-body connection where mental discord results in physical imbalance, you may recognise that along with addressing physical illness, emotions may surface. In other words, the treatment has the potential to work on many levels. The current shifting mind and body allows previously buried or stored emotions to release.
Metta Medicine holds a quiet, safe, and comfortable space for you to note these shifts. Allow for a gentle transition by helping yourself to a tastefully curated cup of rejuvenating herbal tea in the chilling area. Take as much time as needed, and try to connect with this sense before proceeding with your day. Staying mindful and present with any heightened sense of awareness will enable you to process both mental and physical shifts.
SAY NO TO:
Chilli, red pepper, cucumber, watermelon and anything below room temperature during your treatment period.