by Sheerlie Ryngler, writer & owner of Belly of The Sun
Like too many people in my social circles, especially women, I have a long history of “mysterious” health issues for which conventional medicine has not only provided zero treatment, but also completely disregarded. It’s almost become a joke to lament the conclusion so many of us have received from our doctors: your test results are totally normal. If that’s true, then why do we feel so horrible and struggle just to function in our daily lives?
It's worth briefly mentioning that I do believe this issue deserves a much wider context—namely, that we as modern humans are largely severed from the lifestyles that would support our innate biology, and that as microcosms of a pillaged Earth, our internal experiences mirror that of the world we are formed by. Some of us are more sensitive, and therefore experience these imbalances more acutely. However, I also believe that any healing we as individuals experience in turn brings some healing to the Earth, so tending to our personal vessels and healing journeys is never in vain. Of course, we would all feel much better breathing clean air, drinking pure water, and eating unadulterated, nutrient-dense foods, but it’s no coincidence that the healing we seek often leads us to reestablish connections with all that is truly life-giving, including our own selves.
Throughout my long and winding healing journey, which really started with various doctors shrugging before dismissing me, I have experimented with countless diets, modalities, lifestyle changes, and personal practices. Some of these explorations yielded no perceivable results, while some helped for a specific phase or issue, but there’s one I have always been able to count on throughout the years, no matter the situation: acupuncture. Traditional Chinese Medicine has reminded me time and again that we have an inherent capacity to heal. In my experience, healing is not a destination, but TCM has helped empower me to understand it as an ongoing process of coming back into balance by having a finger on our pulse. In this way, acupuncture can be both preventative medicine and help remediate acute situations, always bringing me relief—if not from my affliction in totality, then at least enough to keep going. When you’re dealing with long-term chronic health issues, that is huge; we need that kind of replenishment and hope-in-action when we are doing the hard work of searching and experimenting... and remembering.
As someone who has rarely received the direction or validation that a diagnosis provides, the TCM concept that any manifestation of dis-ease stems from an imbalance requiring treatment on a truly individual basis has been a tremendous source of comfort. No acupuncturist has ever even implied that what I’m experiencing is invalid, seemed baffled by the mysteriousness of my predicament, or told me that my “test results are normal.” Quite the contrary; every acupuncturist I have ever seen has validated my process with deep concern and support, treating me with a level of care that cannot be underestimated on a journey through the unknown, existing in a society that would have left me behind long ago.
During my latest health crash, I was lucky enough to receive guidance from bio-resonance scans and discovered that some of the issues at hand are mold toxicity, a Lyme disease co-infection, and candida overgrowth… but that my liver, kidney, and lymphatic systems are so overburdened that a detoxification course is not possible—until my body is strengthened enough to be able to process it. I was advised to seek out acupuncture to relieve this stagnation and could not have landed more softly than I did in Danielle Boucher’s care. Her empathy, compassionate care, and incredible stores of wisdom have been deeply healing on this challenging journey that has left me feeling uprooted in many ways. Danielle has gone above and beyond what I ever could have expected, offering so much helpful guidance and a safe, extremely non-judgmental space to experience myself in this iteration, all the while encouraging brave decisions in the support of my evolution through this initiation.
The dead end of conventional medicine that many of us have experienced actually holds a window to a whole new way of being. There is much empowerment in exploring new pathways, remembering traditional lifeways, creating our own meaningful connections, and realizing that perhaps society’s expectations of us are neither possible nor personally desirable. If you are weary from the journey, never underestimate the power of an acupuncture nap; few experiences have ever helped me feel so rested, replenished, and ready for whatever lies ahead.