I Tried No-Needle Acupuncture To Improve My Sleep
This story is a member-exclusive for Oprah Daily Insiders.
I can appreciate, intellectually, the benefits of acupuncture. Studies suggest the ancient technique, a core tenet of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), can treat all manner of discomfort, from headaches to back and neck aches to menstrual cramps. But I’ve yet to try it: No amount of research has been able to alleviate my squeamishness at the thought of having lots of tiny needles stuck into my skin.
So when an email with the subject line “Acupuncture Without the Needles” popped up in my inbox recently, I thought, Now this I could do! As it happened, I’d been feeling pretty stressed out and was experiencing bouts of insomnia—two other conditions acupuncture is believed to help. Which is how I ended up, a few weeks later, on a massage table as naturopathic doctor and licensed acupuncturist Hector Trujillo demonstrated tui na on my back.
Pronounced twee-nah, the practice, like acupuncture, dates back thousands of years, and combines acupressure with the kind of bodywork you typically associate with massage. “The movements are similar to Thai and Swedish techniques; we’re pushing and pulling the muscle and the myofascial tissue surrounding the muscles,” says Trujillo, who performs several traditional Asian wellness experiences at Seyhart, an East-meets-West spa-like sanctuary in Santa Monica, California. “That’s what tui na means—pushing and pulling.”
But these actions are also rooted in the basic principles of TCM. “In Chinese medicine, good health depends on the movement of qi, or energy, along with blood and fluids,” explains Chinese medicine expert David Melladew. “When they’re not circulating properly, your organs won’t function properly, and pain and disease follow.”Tui na promotes that flow.
As I lie facedown, eyes closed, Trujillo focuses in on two meridians, or energy pathways, that run along my back and side; he detects several blockages in the form of knots. He uses a gua sha stone—a curved quartz massage tool—to really work out some of those stubborn kinks. I tense as he bears down, but afterward, I do feel unblocked—and relaxed enough not to be bothered by anything. Except the thought of those needles, of course.
That night I slept soundly for the first time in a couple of months. I’m ready for my next session.
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