Upon the upheaval of the “wellness aesthetics” on social media in the past few years, a form of therapy that I see being neglected amongst the meditation and consistently journaling, is acupuncture. Acupuncture is a supplemental therapy used for holistic and physical purposes. The skillful precision performed can treat anything from sleep, constipation, soreness, and even anxiety or depression. To give a brief history on the practice, acupuncture originated in Ancient China over 3,000 years ago. It eventually spread to Europe and America between the 16th and 19th centuries. Fast forward to the present day, acupuncture has been researched by scientists to evaluate the effectiveness of physical and mental applications. The process involves a doctor inserting sterile needles ever so slightly into the skin with a cylindrical plastic shape to guide the needle, the size and material of the needle may depend on the needs of the patient or the country you get acupuncture in.
Usually the process can take around 30 minutes to an hour as the patient is supposed to lay or sit down for the duration after all the needles have been inserted. This part of the process is often the most favorable amongst patients as it gives them time to relax or sleep often with a heat lamp projected over them to make the experience even more pleasurable. After the time is up the doctor will come back and swiftly remove all the needles from the patient’s body. This is very satisfying since your limbs are easier to move again and in my experience it feels as though your whole body is brand new.
Now to talk about the benefits of acupuncture. As I mentioned previously, acupuncture can help treat a variety of things pertaining to the human body, physically and mentally. Basically acupuncture can treat these health problems by focusing the needles on certain parts of the body. For example, If a patient is having trouble sleeping the doctor might place needles on the top of their scalp or around the ears. Same thing goes for stomach issues, the doctor would place needles on a patient’s abdomen area to help with constipation, involuntary bowel syndrome, etc. These examples only scratch the surface of the true capabilities of acupuncture.

Overall, the possibilities of acupuncture are limitless and its highly educated practitioners serve as much purpose in the wellness world as masseuses and estheticians in my opinion. So if you’re looking for a way to upgrade your wellness routine or even just help take care of your mind and body, acupuncture is a great place to start. My personal recommendation for holistic acupuncture is the Graf Center of Health and Wellness at the Englewood hospital where some of the top acupuncturists in the county practice.
Acupuncture has been used since the beginning of time; it was one of the first anesthetics– acupuncture anesthesia. Most people are generally afraid of acupuncture because they are afraid of needles. However, a common misconception is that needles used for acupuncture are the same as those of actual needles. Most of the time, you won’t even feel it going in because of how thin the needles are. The way acupuncture works is quite interesting– in the same way people promote “pulse points” for perfume applications, there are certain “points” in people’s bodies that help stimulate the nervous system and ultimately release chemicals in your body. Many, however, are skeptical of this process; they think that it is merely a placebo. An anonymous student at Cresskill who regularly goes to acupuncture appointments says, “I don’t really think that it’s a real thing– it helped me a lot with myself in a more mental matter than a physical one. I mean, you’re kind of forced to meditate. You’re placed in a quiet, dimly lit room all by yourself with a bunch of needles in your body. Tensing up is only going to hurt you.” More research on acupuncture is to be published in the future.