This morning I went to--or rather I went back  to--an acupuncturist I'd gone to over six years ago. I initially sought acupuncture treatment for allergies after having very little success from years and years of seeking treatment from Western-medicine practitioners. Those years ago, I met with Dr. Leyun Shao , and we did an initial consultation. She told me about her treatment method, which combined acupuncture and energy healing from Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM. The specific allergy program is called NAET, which stands for Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques (more about the origin of NAET here ). From her practice's website : NAET - a program which treats allergies or sensitivities to any substance that the body reacts to, such as foods, pollens, dust, animals, chemicals, etc. NAET is also effective in treating chronic disease states such as MS, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Other treatable conditions include Irritable Bowel Syndro...

I don't pretend to know much about Reiki . What I knew before going into this session was that it was a form of energy healing of Eastern origin, based on the body's chakra system . Throughout my injury, I've done every kind of hands-on treatment I could think of or read about, but it occurred to me that there was another source of healing I hadn't tapped into: energy medicine. Actually, my aunt Pattie is the person who suggested Reiki early on in my injury when I posted about it on Facebook. Only later did it occur to me that I had a friend who was a Reiki master and practitioner. So I asked her if she'd be able to give me a session. She happily obliged, and we set a date. I had my session a couple of hours ago, and this is what my experience was like: First, it was a casual meeting, as Melissa and I had known each other for years, and we met in my office and closed the door. She sat across from me and put her hands up, palms facing my body, and pretty much s...