What to Expect During Your Community Acupuncture Session

• During your first visit, please arrive 15 minutes early to complete paperwork, having eaten about an hour beforehand. Your acupuncturist will meet with you privately before your first treatment to discuss any concerns. We will also take your pulses, look at your tongue and ask a few questions to help us decide on a course of treatment. The number of treatments necessary will depend upon your condition and your general health.


• We will then walk you through our system for payment and scheduling. Please bring a check or cash for payment (debit and credit card payments coming soon!).


• Next, you will go into our serene, community treatment room and pick a recliner. Take off your shoes and socks, roll sleeves and pant legs above elbows and knees, sit back and relax.


• Your acupuncture treatment will likely include points on hands, arms, feet, legs, head, ears, and neck. Please wear loose clothing that allows access to these areas. Acupuncture channels flow across the entire body, it is therefore possible to treat back problems, for example, by needling your hands and feet, rather than directly on your back.


• Acupuncture needles are sterile, stainless steel, and hair-thin. They are nothing like needles used for injections! Most people feel no or very minimal discomfort as the needles are inserted. While you are resting with needles in place, you may feel some slight tingling, heaviness, or other sensations of energy movement. If anything is uncomfortable, be sure to let us know, and we can make adjustments to the needles. We want you to be comfortable!


• You will relax with your needles in for anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour. Your body knows best. When you feel “done,” simply make eye contact with your practitioner. We will come over to check on you, and pull your needles if you are ready. If you fall asleep, you are “done” when you wake up. After treatments, some people feel energized, while others may feel relaxed, and still others may feel hungry. This can change for you from treatment to treatment. Try to set aside some time after each treatment to rest.


• The soothing atmosphere in the community room exists because patients create it by relaxing together. This kind of collective stillness is a rare and precious thing in our busy world. Please help us to maintain that by speaking in whispers and refrain from socializing while in the room.


• Part of the success of this clinic lies in patients learning "the routine" and taking responsibility for appointments. Re-scheduling and making payment happens at the front desk before each session, so you can relax and enjoy your treatment. Please take all personal belongings with you into the common room, and please turn off your cell phone before entering the clinic.