Moving the Needle of Relaxation
An Acupuncture Session Restores Ease
As someone who has never gotten acupuncture, the first question that popped into my head was: Will it hurt? After all, getting a bunch of needles stuck in you doesn’t exactly sound relaxing. But beyond the initial nerves, I really wanted to understand how acupuncture can help the body –The ancient healing practice has been around for over 3,000 years and is still popular among athletes. It’s not just for your basic “I slept on the wrong side of the bed” aches, but can help treat carpal tunnel, arthritis, migraines, and – as in my case – chronic pain and stiffness, an ongoing battle in my back and neck.
Dr. Lissa, our acupuncturist, has over 25 years of experience. She explains, “[There are] points that connect to different organs and systems in our body. Acupuncture works by stimulating these specific points to restore balance and get the energy flowing properly again.”
Gables Optimal Health has been here better than two decades, located right on Giralda Plaza. Walk through the door and up to the second floor, and you’ll find treatments ranging from cupping (a popular practice among athletes) to vibrational healing. Inside, the front desk sits to the left, with shelves full of energy sprays and gemstone sets. Dr. Lissa walked me into a cozy room with a treatment bed on one side and her desk on the other, where neatly arranged tuning forks used to stimulate acupoints lay ready for use.
She asked about areas of discomfort and past accidents, jotting everything down. Then she looked up and noted, “You seem a little dehydrated.” I usually keep my water bottle close, but that morning I’d been slacking on my liquid intake. The moment Dr. Lissa recognized that, I knew I was in the right hands.
Once I laid down, she began by massaging my back and neck for about 20 minutes, applying gentle pressure to work through tension. Before starting, I had noticeable knots – no surprise, considering I sit at a desk for over eight hours a day. Once my body was more at ease, she cleaned my back with an alcohol swab in preparation for treatment. The needles used for acupuncture are incredibly thin, almost hair-like in width, and she reassured me they wouldn’t hurt. When she inserted the first one, I felt a slight tingle, like a tiny pinch. After that, I barely noticed the others. She started from my neck, worked her way down my back, and placed a few on my legs to restore imbalanced energy flow.
In the background, a soothing fireplace sound helped my body become more relaxed by the second, melting away remaining tensions. After 10 minutes, she returned to gently remove the needles and then used tuning forks to create subtle vibrations along my spine. I could almost hear them, the quiet hum moving through my body as she explained how they help restore balance and calm. At the end of my hour at Optimal, the change was highly noticeable; I left refreshed. Treatments here start at $200, with follow-up sessions beginning at $100.