There is nothing quite as exposing as gently sobbing, half-naked on a massage table while needles are stuck in your back by a total stranger.
That was the vulnerable position I found myself in on Tuesday afternoon after deciding to visit the Stepping Stones project in Hackney. Amelia Christie decided to set up the business in 2008 so that she could offer other people the treatments that had inspired her to become an acupuncturist.
Amelia’s office is in the basement of St. Peters church in De Beauvoir, Hackney. Her office is covered in academic texts which unpack acupuncture in greater detail, with titles like A Guide to Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Vol. 1. She walks in, offers me a cup of tea and starts asking questions. Her voice is soothing, the tea is warm, I am nervous.
Acupuncture on the NHS
Acupuncture originated in China and predates any written history. It is used to channel the energy (or Qi) that flows through the body to ensure physical health. There are many benefits to acupuncture, it can release tension and ease chronic pain. Fairly recently the NHS started providing acupuncture after acknowledging the medical value of this ancient practice.
The Stepping Stones’ multibed acupuncture costs between £25-50 (based on how much you are willing to pay, not the treatment) while a one-on-one session costs around £60. According to Amelia, multibed practices are common for acupuncturists today. “Usually there would be three or four people in one room getting acupuncture at the same time,” she explains. “But since we have a bit more space today, I am going to put you in the adjoining room. This is your first time, so hopefully this will put you at ease.” It does.
I walk into the side room and have horrible flashbacks to the first time I got a massage. The masseuse told me to take my shirt off, before leaving to give me privacy. Instead of undressing and lying on the table (as she intended,) I naively stood waiting for her, topless and confused. Her shock is still seared into my mind. I lie on the table.
“Freeing” channels of energy
Because I have had a back injury, Amelia is trying to locate the channel of energy which needs to be “freed” to limit the concentrated pain in my lower back. Needles are “tapped” into my ankles, back, shoulders and wrists. Thankfully, feeling the needles go in is comparable to a light pinch, rather than the sharp ache I was anticipating.
After Amelia finishes inserting the needles (12 in total,) she surprises me by calmly announcing that she will be in the adjoining room for the next 25 minutes.
25 minutes? Anything could happen in 25 minutes! I anxiously raced through all the unlikely scenarios which I could face in the eternity that was 25 minutes. What if the ceiling caved in? What if the heat lamp, currently loosening the muscles in my back, exploded and the towels around me caught fire? What if the fire alarm went off and I had to hobble out onto the public street with my jumpsuit around my waist and needles protruding from my back like a half-dressed hedgehog?
Held my toes
“Um… Amelia… um…” I choked out. “Are you nervous Anna?” Amelia replied wisely. “A little,” I replied. And then, embarrassingly, I started to cry. Most of my limbs were decorated with long, thin needles so Amelia comfortingly held my toes. “There is nothing to be afraid of here,” Amelia reminded me. We made an agreement, if I needed her I could call to her and she would immediately remove the needles.
I tried to focus on anything besides the needles scattered across my body. I thought about the heat radiating over my lower back, about what I should make for dinner, about the various merits and faults of The Irishman.
“Anna? Anna? How are you feeling?” I had drifted off to sleep and woken up to Amelia carefully removing the needles. “A lot better, thanks,” I responded, in a daze.
As I was leaving Amelia comforted me with various assurances – “it is not uncommon to shed a tear.”
How to be vulnerable
Acupuncture is supposed to engage the central nervous system and stimulate natural healing abilities. It can energise you or relax you, it can calm aching muscles or loosen tight limbs. I mostly walked away on Tuesday tired and confused. But as I reflect on that tumultuous afternoon, I recognise that I did learn something about how to be vulnerable, about how to temporarily sacrifice control. Also, my back feels a bit better, so that’s something.
