Community Acupuncture: Radical & Affordable

| Blog by Red Cricket

by Carrie Nightshade, L.Ac., MSOM

community acupuncture minneapolis, minneapolis acupunctureWhy community acupuncture?  What about it makes me so loyal to it’s business model and techniques? 

Recently I came across an article (linked below) about the radical roots of community acupuncture (CA).  It reminded me about the reasons that I followed the healing arts and also why CA is so important to me.  At heart I’m an activist and social justice is one of the many things that drive my passions.  As a healer it was and is important to me that preventative health care is available for all people.  During my education I realized that acupuncture is not very accessible to my peers.  I spent many hours trying to figure out a way to fix this, bartering and work trades only work when people have mutually beneficial skills/ items to work with. Sometime during the second half of school Working Class Acupuncture out of Portland came to hold a workshop on CA.  Eureka!  It was like taking the fundamentals class in acupuncture after struggling in chemistry.  It just made so much sense to me, and it was such a relief to discover a way to be an acupuncturist that worked with my heart.

     
So why CA? Because it’s elegant and profoundly powerful. Because it makes self care accessible to more people.  It also enables patients to receive enough acupuncture to be effective. Acupuncture is like herbs, it works best used regularly. I recommend getting at least one treatment a week for ten treatments and then reevaluating.  Being able to provide my community with tools for self care and work against the cultural ideals that keep us from seeking health is more than I could wish from a career. Community acupuncture has it all! I hope it speaks to you too.
Here are a few of the many things that community acupuncture can affordably treat:
  • STRESS
  • Insomnia
  • Depression
  • Neck/Back pain . . .Any Body Pain!
  • Support during cancer treatments
  • Pregnancy support and fertility
  • Headaches
  • The common cold and immunity support
  • Anything that ails you

Community acupuncture means:

  • Treatment in a group setting (in Red Crickets case, we have 4 chairs in one room)
  • Treatment on a sliding scale $15-$35.  No questions asked.
  • Receiving CONFIDENTIAL and QUALITY treatment
  • No undressing
  • Healing energy of the group  
  • Compatibility with other health care regimes