I did it!!!!!

I survived acupuncture!  

Background information:  I have a severe needle phobia.  The defining characteristic of a phobia is irrationality.  No, I'm not afraid of the pain of the needles.  I can't pinpoint what it is I'm afraid of, but it seems I've managed to limit the phobia to only be freaked by needles injected into my arms.  Thus, tiny hair-sized acupuncture needles in my back should be no problem... at least that's what I told myself in preparation.  

For the last two years or so, I have had pretty bad pain and stiffness in my neck and shoulders.  Chiropractor visits and intense massage therapy provided temporary relief, but only if I continued treatment.  I decided to put myself into the hands of Dr. Chen, highly lauded by padre and brother.  

He put a total of 9 needles in my back, and left me for thirty minutes to rest and practice some deep breathing while the needles did their stuff.  Oh, and he told me to picture my spine as a dragon floating on water.  Uhhhh, that part did nothing but make me sing "Puff, the Magic Dragon" in my head.

For all of you who don't believe I actually went through with it: 

I realize that my face is not visible in the picture, but you can consult with padre for further verification if necessary.

After half an hour, Dr. Chen came back, removed the needles, and did some manipulation and stretching of my neck and shoulders, along with digging his elbows into a few of the knots in my muscles.  It definitely hurt, but it was the type of hurt that promises relief at the other end.

Lastly he demonstrated and assigned a few stretches for me to do on a daily basis, one of which looks like this:

Picture the back hand pulled even further back, so that the shoulder blades are squeezed together as tightly as possible.  I have to do ten on each side, for five seconds at a time, three times a day.  I think it might be a convenient time for me to start a lunchtime Tai Chi club at school, whatdoyathink?

Let's hope this does the trick.