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The cure had the word `puncture' in it, but beauty through the eye of a needle or two is worth it
CITIZEN-TIMES.com
By Susan Reinhardt, Columnist
Jan. 17, 2005 5:13 p.m.
An e-mail from a lovely friend was like a giant fishhook in my wrinkling
and rapidly aging gills. Tracy Adler, who owns Cafe on the Square and
is the face of Burt's Bees, had a beauty tip she was
breathless to share. And since I shared my tip with her on how to stay
sane - Rest, Relax and Release - she was willing to hand one over on
a platter for me.
Bless her beautiful heart. She sent me straight into one of my biggest
fears and misconceptions. Acupuncture.
As a Southern woman who came of age in the '70s, acupuncture conjured
in my mind giant needles the size of epidural shots sticking all over
a body like a giant porcupine's quills.
But, as they say, a woman will go to almost any length to hog-tie the
hands of time.
Tracy said there was a woman in town who could stick a bunch of needles
in you and voila! Youth could be recaptured without a single stitch or
scalpel.
"I've been using the services of a licensed acupuncturist who studied
in California - where the requirements are 10 times those of other states," Tracy
exuded. "She's been telling us about her treatments for cosmetic
acupuncture for the FACE and for the STOMACH!"
Lord, those are two areas we women love to hear there are cures for.
Even if those cures have the word "puncture" in them.
"I had never heard of such a thing," said this fresh-faced Burt's
Bees cover girl who manages to remain dewy even in her late 30s. "It really
sounds fascinating."
She set up a meeting between me and Lorraine H. Harris, the acupuncturist
who can restore the glow to a gal who's been sapped by the stresses of
life and by the years rolling forth.
Tracy had been pleased with the health benefits she'd received from acupuncture,
an ancient technique that originated 3,000 years ago in China and has
gained the respect from even practitioners of western medicine.
The way it works, according to pamphlets on the subject, is by restoring
and balancing the body's energy through the use of needles aimed at specific
points. Lots of my friends were suddenly getting cured of back
pain and depression, and even my insurance was offering to cover a portion of
acupuncture treatments. That in itself says a lot.
Harris explained the needles were thin, small and sterile and how over
time, her technique could help flatten a tummy and firm up those facial
puckers and jowls.
So, what else could I do but lie down on her sterile bed and allow Lorraine
H. Harris to insert her needles into my head?
And guess what? It didn't hurt! I always thought acupuncture would feel
as if one were the target of an off- balance circus knife hurler. Instead,
the whole process was relaxing.
The next morning I looked in the mirror. It might have been age-related
near-sightedness, but dang! I did look 30 minutes younger.
Your path to radiant health..
 Lorraine H. Harris, Licensed Acupuncturist & Chinese Herbalist Specialist in fertility, women's health and rejuvenation located in the Western North Carolina (WNC) and Asheville area.
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