I Love Being This Relaxed

I shut my car door and walked across the street. Within minutes, I was standing in front of the Acupuncture Clinic. The door was locked, as I knew it would be. On my first visit, I had forgotten to write down the code that would open the front door. This time I had found the code and committed it to memory. 

After unlocking the door, I took a seat in the waiting room. I noticed the wide array of artwork. There was a picture of a woman in a olive green peasant dress. She had two heads! An abstract picture of a mother and baby and a five-foot red, black and yellow tiled piece caught my eye. To my right, there was a plant with hundreds of orange and black fronds.

The office ceiling had been removed allowing all of the exposed pipes to become pieces of art. Above the pipes the new ceiling was painted black. How in the world had I missed all of this on my first visit? All I had seen when I entered the office the first time was the acupuncturist sitting at the desk. After signing consent forms, I had gone into the treatment room without noticing the building was filled with art.

After marveling at the artwork for a few minutes, the acupuncturist greeted me and took me to the treatment room. I, with great pleasure, told him that both my blood pressure and my digestion had significantly improved following my first session. I was excited to see what would happen this time.

He began to place the small needles. Twice they stung as they were tapped into my skin. Soon, my body began to relax and I started to breathe deeply, filling my lungs with oxygen. I love that sensation. This was so different than my normal shallow breathing.

As I breathed, I relaxed deeper and deeper. The doctor came into the room several times to check on me. All was well. I relaxed deeper and deeper. I drifted close to sleep. Before long, I noticed the sounds outside my room. People were walking and talking in the hallway. Had those sounds been there the whole time?  Moments later, the acupuncturist came into the room and removed the needles. When I looked at the clock I saw that more than an hour had passed. Oh, I could get used to being this relaxed!

 

Written for Writing 101 Assignment Day #8

12 thoughts on “I Love Being This Relaxed”

  1. I can’t believe that in two days I have come upon two posts about acupuncture. I’m convinced it’s a sign. I liked the use of your end paragraph sentences – they illustrated your feelings and thoughts that went with your descriptions of the art, the office, the treatment. I could get used to being that relaxed as well.

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    1. I lead psychotherapy groups. Last week two group members said they were starting acupuncture. None of us knew each other were doing it. Must be in the air!

      Thanks for your feedback about my post.

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  2. I was looking forward to reading this after your visit. Great descriptive writing. I loved, too, how you noticed more the second visit because you were on alert with the writing assignment. I love how developing our writing makes us more aware of what is happening (or not happening) around us.

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    1. Most of the needles don’t hurt at all. Some I didn’t even feel him put in. If there is a lot of energy blocked in a place then it can hurt. If it hurts a lot they take it out, but in most cases it passes quickly.

      I thought of you while I was there. I definitely think it is worth your doing. I hope it helps a lot. Let me know.

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  4. It’s amazing how imposing a few rules can change writing styles. I like your regular writing style – it’s warm and reflective. This piece feels like it shines outward more than inward. To put it another way, your usual writing is the color black where you pull light in and internalize. This piece feels more like the color white where you reflected light off you to illuminate your surroundings. Also, I’m more relaxed after reading it. 🙂

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    1. I love the way you put words together. Your reply is beautiful. Thank you. I hadn’t noticed the difference in style from my normal but I get it when you point it out. I’m glad you feel more relaxed as the result of reading it!

      I don’t know what to do with today’s assignment. That is REALLY different than my normal style. I’ve said I couldn’t do some of the other ones and have, so I will assume that something will “come”. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.

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