Why the Summer Is the Perfect Time to Start Getting Acupuncture

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If ever there was a time to embrace acupuncture, it's now. In Chinese medicine, summer is considered the season of abundance, the time of the year when energy is at its peak, the warm weather and extra sunlight permitting us more time to bring our bodies back into balance through restorative and uplifting activities. Between the change of season and lockdowns easing, here’s why acupuncture is one ritual worth adding to your regimen now, and for the foreseeable future.

It’s a 2,000-year-old practice

An ancient practice of integrative medicine, acupuncture entails pricking the skin with thin needles at strategic points to alleviate pain and treat various physical, mental, and emotional conditions. It’s designed to balance the flow of one’s life force energy, also known as Qi or Prana in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicines respectively, through specific pathways of the body known as meridians to “create equilibrium and harmony,” says Juhi Singh, an acupuncturist, Oriental medicine specialist, Chinese herbalist, and founder of The Juhi Center in New York City. “If you don’t fix an imbalance, you can’t fix the problem because all you’re ever doing is masking it,” explains Singh. “Acupuncture ensures that energy is moving evenly through all of its channels by removing blockages and correcting underlying imbalances that have been sitting in the body for many, many years.”

It’s a natural way to manage pain

“Acupuncture is beneficial for any kind of inflammation,” says Singh, “because when you insert a needle into a specific location of the body, you’re causing the release of endorphins, which are the chemicals that your body produces naturally to promote self-healing.” As it activates the body’s natural pain-killing hormones, the treatment is used to treat a wide spectrum of acute and chronic health conditions, including back pain, osteoarthritis, headaches, and indigestion. When pain is acute, like if someone has thrown out their back, acupuncture can produce fairly quick relief, Singh explains. “But when it’s a more insidious condition, like migraines or Crohn’s disease, it can take longer [to see results].”

It will increase longevity

Acupuncture can also be used to prevent pain and stop illness before they happen. “Oftentimes, patients will say to me, ‘There’s nothing wrong, why do I need it?’ and I say, ‘That’s exactly when you should do it.’” Likening acupuncture to exercising or taking vitamins, Singh believes it’s just as much of a tool for better health and longevity. Not to mention, it can be more holistic and customized at a time when many feel that healthcare is lacking personalization. “It’s a precise science that’s never a one-size-fits-all approach,” she says. “No two people will ever get the same treatment. It’s a very tailored approach to health care.”

It will make you more relaxed

Acupuncture doesn’t just calm the body, but the mind and spirit as well. In a 2013 study conducted by the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies, students who underwent a 20-minute acupuncture session were found to have reduced anxiety and better memory immediately afterward than those who didn’t. “Whether treating anxiety, depression, or insomnia, acupuncture is one of the best tools to help train the mind to be as clear and stress-free as possible,” explains Singh. And while acupuncture is only one piece of the puzzle, it’s an all-important one now that chronic work stress has officially become an occupational phenomenon.

It will make your skin glow

“In traditional Chinese medicine, we look at the face as a reflection of what’s going on inside,” says New York City acupuncturist Shellie Goldstein, M.S., L.Ac. “We look at your internal well-being to decipher what’s going on. From the inside, we will make that change, and it will be reflected on the outside.” Over time, acupuncture can help you achieve a smoother, brighter complexion both directly—by triggering local healing processes in the face at specific points—and indirectly, by recalibrating bodily systems. In addition to targeting issues such as rosacea, dullness, and puffiness, it can help treat the deeper tissue muscle to tighten and tone.