How an Acupuncture session is somewhat like a piece of music

Patients ask me all of the time how acupuncture works and how do we, as practitioners, pick which points to needle. I see each acupuncture session sort of like a piece of music played by an orchestra. Each acupoint has its own qualities and actions or job sets. They are kind of like notes. When you put different notes together, they create a melody which when played by different instruments, creates a unified resonance. In the same way, an acupuncturist chooses a group of acupoints that will work together to create a unified strong message to the body. Like a conductor of the orchestra giving the signal to play a particular part Pianissimo, Grande, or with Crescendo, the acupuncturist manipulates each needle, considering both depth and movement of the needle. We take into consideration whether that acupoint needs to be tonified (bringing energy to the area) or dispersed (releasing a blocked area that holds too much energy), as well as what level of tissue we are trying to affect. When well “composed and played”, the resonant message continues to “play” well after the session is over kind of like continuing to hum the tune well after leaving a concert.