Although long intrigued by acupuncture, I had never felt a strong enough pull to seek out an acupuncturist. I have friends who swear by them, so this added to the intrigue. But that all changed when I met Acupuncturist Sarah Bristow at a networking event in Lewes.

Lewes Chamber of Commerce

Earlier this year, I went to a local Chamber of Commerce event. It was there that I met Sarah. Sarah was looking for someone to give her some advice on social media. We had a chat and decided to do a service swap. She booked in for one of my SOS Power Hours, and in exchange I had an introductory Acupuncture session at her home in Lewes.

What is acupuncture?

Like me, you may’ve heard the word ‘acupuncture’ bandied around wellbeing circles, but perhaps you’re not sure what it is.

In short, it’s a treatment born from ancient Chinese medicine. Acupuncturists use fine needles and insert them into specific points on the body. The needles are placed specifically to help treat existing medical concerns or as a preventative measure.

Sarah explains:

Essentially, as an acupuncturist I treat you, you as all you are, including a wide range of common health problems. Your specific complaint will be addressed, as well your over-all health and well-being.

As a general rule, people typically sign up for a course, or bundle, of acupuncture sessions. This is because it can take multiple sessions before the benefits kick in.

My experience with acupuncture

I booked my introductory session with Sarah just a few days before I was due to go on holiday. It seemed like the perfect excuse to ramp up my self-care routine.

I was already familiar with Sarah’s treatment room as we had met there the week before for her SOS Power Hour. It’s a small, welcoming room, displaying Sarah’s beautiful artwork, as well as housing a treatment bed which sits in the centre of the room.

As this was an introduction to acupuncture, the structure of the session would be slightly different to a session that would be part of a regular course of treatment.

Sarah had booked me in for an hour and a half, whereas regular treatments would usually last about an hour. I filled in a form permitting Sarah to treat me, and she then sat me down, ready to go through my medical history.

Therapy – Take 2!

Whilst seated, we then went through each part of my body, flagging any past or present complaints in that area.

Even before Sarah began the acupuncture, I felt a weight lift from my anxious shoulders. Sarah put no pressure on me to go deep, but I found myself opening up. I had flashbacks to sitting in a chair opposite the psychotherapist I had sessions with a few years ago – in a good way, not bad. I wanted to get the most from the experience. And by being open with Sarah, I felt I would get that.

Other than my anxiety, I’m in pretty good overall health, although one or two things came up which made Sarah raise an eyebrow. Although I live an active, relatively healthy lifestyle, there’s no getting away from the fact that I’ve been unable to shed the weight I’ve put on over the last 10 years. I also suffer with a red complexion (maybe rosacea, but never medically diagnosed) and have suffered with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), water infections and poor gut health over the years. Sarah’s obviously not a doctor. But Sarah raised an interesting point – perhaps these issues were all linked to medication I had been taking for years.

It was something both she and I said we would look into a bit more following our session.

Pins and Needles

After our dive into my overall health, only a short time remained for Sarah to perform the acupuncture itself. Sarah asked if there was anything in particular I wanted her to focus on. I suggested she focus on my anxiety, as after offloading for just over an hour, I wanted to make sure it didn’t send me into a spiral, as helpful as it was!

At this point, Sarah invited me to remove my shoes and to lie down on the treatment bed. She then started to insert the needles. I have to admit – I hadn’t seen the needles before Sarah popped them in! They felt huge compared to their actual size! It caused an interesting sensation, but it wasn’t painful. She placed needles into the tops of my ears, my shins, my hands and my feet, with one also being placed between my eyebrows. When the needle was inserted into the top of my left ear, the pressure I felt being let out was quite something! Although my eyes were firmly closed throughout, I managed to convince myself that my shin was bleeding, but of course, it wasn’t.

Moxibustion

Sarah is also qualified to use another ancient Chinese medicine called Moxibustion. She incorporated this into my treatment, which was a unique experience. Moxibustion is a technique used during acupuncture whereby a cone or stick of moxa is burnt on or near the needles (Moxa is dried Mugwort). I always have a strong reaction to anything near my feet – perhaps because I’m not always the most grounded person in a wellbeing sense!

As the session drew to a close, Sarah carefully withdrew the needles. I was pleased to see that other than a slight mark on my hand, I wasn’t bleeding, and I was still very much intact!

Let’s wrap up Acupuncture

It’s tricky to know whether the treatment was effective, as I only had one session. At £70 per hour, it’s not the most affordable wellbeing treatment I’ve ever had. But, after doing some research, £70 does seem to be the average price for an hour of acupuncture. And Sarah was good. She was easy to open up to and knew her stuff.

So, would I go again? Yes, I think I would. But perhaps I’ll wait until I can invest in a bundle of treatments next time.

Special Offer

If you’re a holistic health practitioner and interested in an SOS Power Hour with me, I’m opening up my diary to offer 1 service swap* every month until the end of 2025.

Contact me to find out how to book or click on the ‘SOS Power Hour’ button below to discover more.

*Any additional power hours after your 1st session will be on a paid basis. The purpose of this service is so that a different business benefits from a power hour each month.