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Friday, May 18, 2012
Covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and surrounding areas since 1868
February 01, 2011
MONMOUTH -- Acupuncture has been helpful in relieving Erin Hesby's asthma and allergies. But the main reason for fitting a session into her weekly schedule is to ensure an element of calm and balance to her life, she said.
"It allows me to process stressors, to smooth them away," Hesby said, lying on a table inside Marissa Mayer's acupuncture practice in Monmouth. A short needle dangles from a spot above her brow.
Mayer uses her hands to explore Hesby's arms. She inserts two more needles into the back base of her thumbs. And another pair near her ankles.
The combination is called "the four gates." While it can be used to treat back pain, here the task is inducing relaxation, Mayer said.
In a "four gates" treatment, Marissa Mayer placed a needle in each of Erin Hesby's wrists and ankles.
It works -- and well, said Hesby, describing a delightful sensation of "pre-sleep" amidst trickling water features and Chinese flute music in Mayer's office.
The needles? They don't hurt, Hesby said.
"Sometimes you can feel them," she continued. "It's like a physical spark that moves in that part of the body."
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Acupuncture, a cornerstone of traditional Chinese medicine, has existed for at least 2,500 years. The treatment is based on a theory of interconnectedness of mind and body, and correcting energy imbalances that lead to ailments and sickness.
"Cognitively, we still don't understand why it works," said Mayer, an acupuncturist, herbalist and Zen Shiatsu practitioner.
"We have theories," she continued. "Maybe it's through nerves, maybe it's energy pathways of the central nervous system ... maybe it affects neurotransmitters that are released because of endorphins.
"But there's no definitive answer to why is it when I put a needle in somebody's foot does it treat their back pain."
For some, the "how" isn't as important as the end result.
"It helps me feel better, physically, mentally and emotionally," said Hesby, a massage therapist, a friend of Mayer's and an acupuncture patient of a decade.
Acupuncture, along with traditional alternative medicine, has become more frequently used in non-Asian countries. Acupuncture, for example, is recognized by the World Health Organization for alleviation of dozens of ailments, from digestive problems to osteoarthritis to migraines.
It's also included in insurance policies. That and the fact that it's relatively noninvasive makes it and alternative medicine appealing to people.
Like Mayer, who durng the 1990s was a guide for at-risk youth via a wilderness therapy program.
"Doing that, I realized how mind and body work in conjunction," she said.
Marissa Mayer chats with client Erin Hesby during Hesby's acupuncture treatment Wednesday, Jan. 26 , at Mayer's clinic in Monmouth.
Mayer suffered a back and neck injury on the job in 1995. Not long after, she came down with an unidentified illness that caused her to lose more than 20 pounds over a few days.
Mayer saw a number of doctors. Nothing helped. In desperation -- and despite being having "needle phobia," she opted to visit an acupuncturist. Her symptoms disappeared, she said.
And "She saved my life when I thought nobody else could do it," she said.
Mayer pursued a master's degree in traditional Chinese medicine, herbal therapy and other traditional Asian medicine systems and a license through the Oregon Medical Board.
Before moving to Monmouth late last year, she ran a practice in and around Portland since 2000.
People come in for acupuncture for all reasons. For Hesby, it's part her own de-stressing routine. Mayer said she's treated people with serious health conditions or chronic disorders.
"But more often, it's people coming in for quality of life things," Mayer said.
Mayer has worked on doctors and surgeons as patients. First-time skeptics are among her favorites.
Mayer also practices herbalism using traditional Asian recipes to treat various ailments.
"They'll tell me straight out `I don't believe in this, but so-and-so convinced me to come, so I'm going to try it,'" she said.
"I feel anybody who's interested in medicine has some curiosity about it and wants to see what it's about."
Want to Know More?
What: Art of Living Community Wellness Center and Community Acupuncture, owned by Marissa Mayer.
Where: 212 Knox Street, Monmouth, in the MaMere's Bed and Breakfast carriage house.
Of Note: Besides acupuncture, Mayer also provides custom herbal prescriptions, holistic health counseling and Zen Shiatsu therapy.
For more information: 503-320-9365; online at www.theartoflivingmedicine.com
By now, most people have a concept of what acupuncture is -- or at least what it looks like. The practice involves inserting needles into various points of a person's anatomy.
Chinese and Japanese acupuncture use the same basic principles. The Japanese version, which Mayer leans toward, uses finer needles, shallow insertion and gentler stimulation.
Acupuncture points lie upon meridians, channels of which "qi" (pronounced "chee") energy flows, that are mapped out across the body. The points correspond to specific organs.
The Hegu, a spot between the thumb and pointer finger knuckles, is connected to the large intestine meridian.
The principle of Chinese medicine is that physical or emotional ailments can be caused by blockage and interruption in energy channels. Acupuncture needles or applying pressure via certain types of massage to areas on the body corrects that imbalance.
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