I had my first acupuncture treatment today, for TMJ and insomnia. Susan, the acupunturist, felt that I had a yin deficiency (female; night; cold), or too much yang (male, warm, energy, day). She also wanted to tone my kidneys and stomach (the stomach somehow being related to the jawline.)

The needles didn't really hurt (except for one in the crook of my elbow--some kind of heart line. Anyway, when she popped it in, this weird pain shot through all the nerves in my forearm down to my fingertips. Then she put a heat lamp on my stomach and left me alone with my walkman and Yo La Tengo's Summer Sun. I didn't "float away" as K. described I would, nor did I fall asleep, as Susan suggested I might. My limbs felt warm but my neck and shoulders and jaw still tense and achy. Then after awhile I realized they weren't so tense and achy.

Then it was over. I felt drained, apathetic, perhaps a little sad. She said I should sleep tonight. I'm going back next week, when she'll put needles in my back to address the tension there. Would I recommend it? It wasn't the magical cure-all I thought it would be, but like anything, I expect to feel better each time. I felt better there without even realizing it at fist. That's the best feeling--realizing a pain that was annoying the shit out of you has actually been gone for quite some time.

And I do feel a little tired now, at 9:30, like I could actually....sleep. Hmm, sleep, sweet sleep. Nocturnal shadow, cover me.