BECOMING AN ACUPUNCTURIST
At the age of 19, I was a pre-medical biology major at a prestigious New England 4 year college. I was confident, intelligent, and determined. I had come to a New England boarding preparatory school on full scholarship from Houston, Texas through A Better Chance, Inc., and I knew I would go on to a top tier medical school. I was deeply committed and unflinching in my desire to reach a particular definition of success.
I had been exposed to alternative medicine, through my dad who practiced Shiatsu. I didn’t hold much store in it, as I was dedicated to allopathic medicine and the study of biology. I had never tried acupuncture. I didn’t know or understand what acupuncture was for, or what its benefits were. I didn’t even care. I was a scientist.
The summer after my first year of college, I returned to Houston to find out my mom had stage 3 breast cancer. I returned unwillingly to college in the fall, leaving her behind to deal with cancer treatment alone. I became depressed. I came out on the other side and found joy. I lost focus in my premed classes, falling behind and losing interest. I found a new interest in health and wellness, broadening my course of study to include History, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, and Religion courses that pertained to wellness, health, healing, or medicine.
I got a job after graduation in the public health division of a community organization. I knew almost immediately I wanted to advance my education, even if it wasn’t directly to medical school. I looked at graduate programs in public health, social work, nursing. Nothing seemed right. An internet search in late 2000 led me to find a graduate program in Acupuncture. I found the program fascinating with its study of acupuncture, medicinal herbs, bodywork therapy, and internal martial arts. I won’t lie - the fact that it came with a Master’s Degree was half the appeal. I applied, got in, got some financial aid… and I had never even tried acupuncture. I still look back at that time of my life, wondering about the roll of the dice I would base my decision on - a time where I was debating staying in my job, getting an MPH, going to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for a year long public health program, or going to acupuncture school in Austin, Texas. In the end, for a myriad of reasons, I chose acupuncture school.
I arrived in Austin simultaneously excited and cynical. I wept on my first drive by the school, the first lesson in humility I would learn in those buildings. I had studied in upper echelon academic institutions in New England. I went to school with gothic chapels and castles on lakes with exquisite landscaping and stellar reputations for excellence. I could not reconcile the disappointment I felt in my unconventional chosen path to a trade school in a Texan mini-plaza, sandwiched between a bridal shop and a Mexican restaurant. It took me nearly an entire year to actually buy in. I argued my way through Philosophy class. I was completely befuddled by Point Energetics class, and I was the very last one to insert an acupuncture needle into myself during our first Practicum class. I worked during the day at a community organization, and went to school at night. But towards the end of my first year, it all started to click.
I was driving home from school one rainy night when the cone of light from a street lamp struck me in a eureka moment to understand the Tao, the concept of the yin and yang upon which Traditional Chinese Medicine rests. At the end of my first year, a fellow student, already in her third year, looked at me with sudden understanding. “Oh! I get it now,” she said during a clinical rotation. “You’re trying to find the science in a medicine that is not based on science. That, in fact, predates science. That science has not yet caught up to. Become a researcher if you want to advance the scientific understanding of how this medicine works,” she continued, “But learn the actual medicine first. This medicine is based on a metaphor. It just happens to be a 5000 year old metaphor that works.” This was helpful to me, still struggling with concepts like ‘damp-heat’ and ‘wind invasion’ as pathological factors in the body.
I left my job to focus full-time on my studies, and by the time I graduated I had clocked over a thousand clinical hours, taken a study tour in China, and learned first hand the incredible healing benefits of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, both for myself and for my patients. I work with the mind/body/spirit connection - the intersectionality of the physical body, the intellectual mind, and the emotional/energetic body. I believe that allopathic medicine has a beautiful purpose, just as traditional medicine practices have a beautiful purpose. Sometimes one system works better than the other. Sometimes you need both simultaneously for the best effect.
I have been an acupuncturist now for over 20 years. I had three children, now ages 17, 14, and 6, and found my calling as a working mother so dedicated to my children and my practice that I wanted to help other women achieve motherhood. As my children have grown, my clinical interests have also expanded from fertility and pregnancy to all aspects of maternal and women’s health. I kept my practice small to focus on motherhood while I had children younger than school age. Now I look forward to seeing Mother Wisdom Acupuncture grow to help more families in Central Massachusetts!
