Awakenings Health provides complete performance stimulating and rehabilitative care through an East meets West philosophy.

Acupuncture is one of the most ancient and effective healing arts in the world. For several thousand years acupuncture has been used to treat a wide variety of symptoms, conditions, injuries, and diseases. To this day, it remains one of the most continuously practiced medical techniques in all of human history.

Although Acupuncture has been utilized as a complete form of medicine for thousands of years, we have built our acupuncture program to be integrated into all other aspects of your current healthcare regimen. Our practitioners are able to discuss your condition with any of your health care providers to form a team approach aimed at maximizing your health.

Awakenings has adopted a well-rounded approach to providing acupuncture for our patients. We always makes sure to address the health of your body, mind, and emotional state.

In America, most practices focus entirely on private acupuncture sessions. Some people are more comfortable with this style of acupuncture because patients are free to engage in an emotional response to treatment without other people seeing it. They may also be more open while discussing their medical history and symptoms.

During a private acupuncture treatment, the patient usually removes most of their clothing and lies on a massage table for the duration of the session, draped with towels. The practitioner can access acupuncture points all over the body, including the abdomen, back, thighs, and upper arms. Because sessions are longer, there is time for the practitioner to utilize multiple modalities to enhance your treatment, including cupping, moxibustion, reiki, massage, and traditional Chinese herbs.

But private acupuncture comes with a price tag, and some patients may not be able to afford to come as frequently as they really need.

Enter community acupuncture.

This is a return to acupuncture practiced in a group setting, as is common in East Asia. One of the main agendas of community acupuncture is to increase accessibility to acupuncture and eliminate the barrier of cost by sharing space. This low-cost form of acupuncture is great when you don’t have time for a private appointment, you need to treat something less complex than many chronic conditions, or you need to be seen more frequently than your budget will allow for private sessions. This is an excellent way to supplement your current treatment schedule.

In community acupuncture, you remain clothed and needles can be placed on the head, arms below the elbows and/or legs below the knees. The needles remain in while you lay back in a zero-gravity chair and relax for about 30 minutes. Street clothes are fine, but clothing that allows for easy access to arms (elbows to hands), legs (full knee to feet) and head (down to shoulders) works best.

If you’re looking to supplement your existing acupuncture schedule or are on a tight budget, community acupuncture can be a great resource.

So which is right for you? Let’s compare.

Private acupuncture:

• Private room for just you and your practitioner, which can be an advantage when emotion needs to be released
• Patient is on a massage table for the treatment that lasts an hour to an hour and a half
• Patient removes most of their clothing and is draped with towels
• More acupuncture points can be accessed, including the abdomen, back, upper arms, and thighs
• Appointments involve more discussion of medical history and symptoms, as well as emotional contributors to physical symptoms
• More treatment modalities can be used, such as cupping, moxibustion, reiki, massage, and traditional Chinese herbs
• Treatment costs between $110-$195 per session

Community acupuncture:

• Group room has multiple patients being treated at the same time, which can foster a community spirit, and friends and family can be treated together
• Patient is in a zero gravity chair for the treatment which lasts 30 to 45 minutes
• Patient remains fully clothed, though sleeves and pant legs will be rolled up to the elbow and/or knee
• Acupuncture points are accessed in the head, lower arms, and lower legs
• Treatment costs $40-$50 per session

When you’re ready to give either kind of acupuncture a try, visit our website at www.awakeningshealth.com and book an appointment!