Quitting tobacco is HAARD!! They put tobacco next to heroine for being tough to kick, and staying clean till you’re really over it can be some hurdles too. In this intensive program you do your work to release your tobacco habit with the intentional solidarity of peers. Everybody grinds out the workday knowing they are not alone in their commitment to abstain. Then comes evening and we gather, and you are transported to the peaceful inner oasis and stillness of acu-land, where all is right with your life and everything is possible!!
We meet the Sunday nite before the program starts, a get acquainted session, no needles. We talk about habits and their place in our lives, there is support to share, but it’s fine also to be silent and witness. We are doing this together to create safety and nurturance, that we may invoke a potent collective objective—to become liberated from a habit which holds less fulfillment than it once gave, or poses us a critical health challenge, or some of both, and from which we are ready to become free.
I’ll go over diet ideas that I recommend everyone follow and explain why they are good ideas, suggest some priorities, so you can at least work towards if not strictly follow the ideal food plan (it’s hard enuf to give up cigarettes right?!) Then everyone gets herbs, one formula to help stay grounded and calm, the other for the phlegm crud which starts to move after a week or so of not smoking. Next we make the schedule for everyone’s treatments, and adjourn for the nite.
Treatments start the next evening and are every evening, Monday to Friday for two weeks. People come in at intervals throughout the sessions and have their treatment time, and all rest together in the space (see “Community Acupuncture is Everywhere” in Articles if you haven’t heard about it). There is care available over the weekend between for whoever wants more support, otherwise the weekend can be a break from treatments, but not from kicking the habit! The classic protocol is given to everyone every nite—an auricular treatment (ear needles), adding in whatever body points each individual needs to support them in their abstinence or reduce other obstacles or issues that may arise over the weeks.
Insurance is billed for anyone with acupuncture coverage, reducing the out of pocket cost to very little. OHP and a number of private insurance plans are accepted, please ask. To pay out of pocket the Intensive costs the same as Community Clinic, $30 per treatment, so $300 for ten weekdays. The two herb formulas are $30 each. Saturday and Sunday optional treatments are the Community rate, $30.
Studies say there is little difference in effectiveness between methods, programs, patches and medications that are popular to overcome tobacco addiction. What is noted for a bigger difference and for absolute best outcomes is the availability of continued ongoing support and treatment in whatever method is followed. In response to that and going forward, “Community” or group clinic is always offered twice or three times weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays in the late day and some Saturday mornings. Participants who have acupuncture insured can make appointments as needed after the Intensive has ended.
For my two cents, having been a receiver since about 1982, acupuncture invites a deep and abiding journey into our own unique and true potential, and is a viable, spiritual and beautiful way to make a cause for personal transformation in life.
