www.groundedjoywellness.org www.vintageelectric.us While studying acupuncture in 1990, I went to Beijing to work at Guang’anmen Hospital. What I saw amazed me and changed my life. In China, no one asked whether acupuncture worked; it simply did. At this East-West hospital, patients walked in with their health records in hand and chose a direction: one side for Western medicine, the other for Traditional Chinese Medicine. Many chose both, a choice that would have seemed unthinkable in most American hospitals at the time. Our country first encountered acupuncture two decades earlier. In July 1971, New York Times journalist James Reston was in Beijing during Henry Kissinger's secret visit, preceding President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 trip. While there, Reston had surgery for appendicitis. On his second night of recovery, a doctor placed three needles in his elbow and below his knees to relieve ancillary pain and bloating. Later that month, The Times published his account on its front page, entitled “Now, About My Operation in Peking.” This sparked national curiosity, and by August 1972, a Newsweek cover story asked, “Acupuncture: Myth or Miracle?” I still have and cherish that issue (pictured here). We have come a long way. In 1973, Nevada became the first state to license and regulate acupuncture. In 1996, the Food and Drug Administration reclassified acupuncture needles from experimental devices to safe and effective medical devices. In 1997, a National Institutes of Health consensus panel concluded that enough evidence existed to expand acupuncture's use in conventional medicine. In 2020, Medicare began covering acupuncture for chronic low back pain, citing the opioid crisis; many private insurers now cover it as well. I prefer to call these advances awareness, because the burden of proof has shifted. For decades, we had to justify what acupuncture does and how it works. Today, instead of asking if it works, many of my patients now arrive as referrals from oncologists, orthopedic surgeons and primary care physicians. In the 42 years since my first acupuncture treatment, I have watched the modality move into many of America's top medical centers. UCLA's Center for East-West Medicine has blended Western and Chinese medicine for more than 30 years. Cleveland Clinic opened one of the nation's first hospital-based Chinese herbal therapy clinics in 2014. UC Irvine offers acupuncture across multiple inpatient units, now part of standard hospital care. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center offers acupuncture to cancer patients by physician referral through its Integrative Medicine Center. City of Hope created its Cherng Family Center for Integrative Oncology with a $100 million gift, bringing Eastern and Western medicine together for cancer care. Scripps Health and Mayo Clinic offer it through their integrative medicine centers. In 1972, Newsweek asked, “Myth or Miracle?” Today, acupuncture is mainstream. Clinical research continues, and the next question is: Beyond centuries of tradition and clinical experience, what does the science say? In the next edition of Desert Health, I will share the new studies driving major hospitals to embrace and recommend acupuncture. Diane Sheppard is a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine with AcQPoint Wellness Center. She can be reached at (760) 345.2200. For more information, visit www.acqpoint.com. www.DesertHealthNews.com November/December 2026 Sheppard’s treasured 1972 copy Natural Options The Valley's Leading Resource for Health and Wellness 13 www.acqpoint.com Get relief from pain and stress now! Traditional Chinese Medicine Meets Modern Healing Cupping Chinese Herbs Acupuncture K-Laser Call 760.345.2200 Text 760.404.0194 45-190 Club Drive • Indian Wells Book online at AcQpoint.com Diane Sheppard, PhD, LAc ACUPUNCTURE CHINESE HERBS Be Grounded. Reset your nervous system. Nourish your body. Live with joy. Christy Curtis 949.303.8256 christycurtiswellness@gmail.com groundedjoywellness.org Transformational Wellbeing Coach HCI Certified Health + Life Coach Mindfulness Training Wellness Education | Yoga Workshops & Specialty Retreats Acupuncture: From Myth to Medicine Part One: Awareness Advances Practice By Diane Sheppard, PhD, LAc “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” Have you ever reached the point where “just one more thing” feels like too much? We often call it “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” Recently, I found myself wondering: What if the straw was never really the problem? Maybe it was the many things that came before it: the to-do list, emails, appointments, family dynamics, a conversation we keep replaying or the responsibility we quietly take on because “it’s just easier if I do it.” Then one small thing happens — a forgotten item at the store, spilled coffee, an unexpected text — and suddenly, we’re done. During the holidays, this can feel especially familiar. Shopping, travel, gatherings, decorating, traditions and expectations get added to lives that may already be full. We tell ourselves, “It’s just this time of year. I can handle it,” until we can’t. Sometimes the final straw is ordinary. Other times, it’s a repeated conversation, a crossed boundary or a pattern we’ve tolerated for too long. Either way, the moment can reveal what has been accumulating beneath the surface. I’ve caught myself trying to make everything special for everyone else, only to realize I’m missing the very moments I’m working so hard to create. I’m moving from one task to the next, checking things off the list, yet feeling anything but present. I’m learning that letting go of a tradition, asking for help, or allowing something to be imperfect doesn’t mean I care any less. It means I’m making room to actually experience the joy I’m creating in life. The next time overwhelm rises, pause. Soften your jaw, relax your shoulders, take one slow breath, and ask, “What do I need right now?” When we’re depleted, our bodies may signal distress before we recognize it: a clenched jaw, racing heart, irritability, difficulty concentrating, disrupted sleep, or reaching for food for comfort. These signals aren’t personal failures — they are nudges to pay attention. But we can learn to notice our response — and, when possible, change what we’re carrying. Before the calendar fills, pause and ask yourself: What am I already carrying? What isn’t mine to carry? Where am I saying yes when I mean no? What needs to change before I reach my breaking point? You don’t have to wait to make a change. Ask for help. Set a boundary. Rest. Simplify a tradition. Have the conversation you’ve been avoiding. Step outside and take a few slow breaths. Choose what truly matters instead of trying to do everything. The goal isn’t a perfectly calm holiday season. It’s meeting ourselves with awareness in the middle of an imperfect one — and remembering that caring for ourselves is not another task to get right. Sometimes the final straw isn’t the end. It’s the moment we finally begin to put down the load. Joy doesn’t always require adding something. Sometimes, it begins with letting something go. Christy Curtis is a transformational health and well-being coach and founder of Grounded Joy Wellness. Join her on November 13 at Il Sogno in Palm Desert for an evening of sweet mindful nourishment, nervous-system practices, boundary-setting discovery and meaningful connection. Learn more at www.groundedjoywellness.org. The Final Straw By Christy Curtis
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