Adrienne Martin

I have a very good friend who would always say ‘I’m goin’ to get poked!’ when she was on her way to her beloved acupuncture appointments.

She is wicked funny.

My acupuncture license is up this month. I have known this was coming for a long time. Every two years, as a licensed acupuncturist, you must renew your license for a fee as well as complete at least thirty hours of continuing education. It is not like your renewal pops up out of the blue.

So I have known for a while that I would probably not renew. When I got my renewal package in the mail last month, it did not take much (final) thought to fill in the ‘will not renew’ choice.

Some of you may shudder at the idea of giving up a 3 year masters degree and the idea of ‘throwing away’ all that money for tuition. But I don’t see it that way. I don’t regret a thing.

Here is why:

1. I still have a Masters in Acupuncture. And that is worth sumthin’

2. I can’t tell you how lucky I feel to have met some of the folks I went to school with (and a few profs too!!). They rock! I still learn from them and love knowing them.

3. I got to meet some pretty awesome people when I was practicing. Especially those who were clients and then became friends.

4. I am proud of myself for getting my undergrad degree in Biology and then a Masters. I was never a good student and did not get good grades in high school. My first attempt at college was laughable to say the least. I was never very good at finishing anything either, so the fact that I did this, is quite the accomplishment (IMHO).

5. I learned so much about the body and ways to heal. I find this to be invaluable for me in my life and also for the health of my family.

6. I feel as though acupuncture school was an imperative part of my life’s journey. I don’t completely understand its’ place or all the why’s but I know it was important.

But here is why I decided not to continue:

1. I realized quite soon after I graduated that I wanted to help others in more ways than only doing acupuncture.

2. As time went on, I knew that I didn’t see myself with a ‘practice.’ I like to move around, do lots of different things, and the idea of having a big practice of patients (especially in one office) was overwhelming and didn’t seem like a good fit for me.

3. I have boundary issues (among other many other issues LOL). I wanted to fix everyone, make everything okay for them, and send them on their way. Put everything in a pretty little package (almost so I could feel better ::weird, I know::). And this is not always possible. People come to acupuncturists for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes for very serious and complicated health issues. It was always hard for me not to take on some of the energy of others (and this is completely of my own doing, no one forced me or made me feel this way). I think as a practitioner, there is a delicate dance between being compassionate and helpful and maintaining a healthy set of boundaries where you do not take on patients/clients ‘stuff.’ I am not the best at that. Really good, effective practitioners are.

4. I began to resonate and connect with the idea the idea of ‘energy’ (and the practice of reiki) much more than acupuncture (although it is energy too). And I just was not good at explaining how acupuncture worked but I can talk about ‘energy’ because I connect with that more. The ‘science’ of acupuncture was always hard for me to describe. I envy a good friend of mine who is so so smart and who can so eloquently and yet so simply describe how acupuncture works and what it can do for you. I always thought ‘It just freakin’ works!’ Yeah, that’s professional.

5. And finally, truthfully, it just wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. I don’t think it is my calling. It is part of my journey but not my ‘dharma.’

That’s my story. Acupuncture is an amazing healing art and can help with so many things.

So while I cannot poke you anymore, I know some great folks who can! Let me know if you need a recommendation.

Love,

Adrienne