Lana Chooses Needles over Drugs!

The ancient healing art of acupuncture and the therapeutic power of herbs can help us to restore our health and our internal balance.

Have YOU ever tried acupuncture?

Many years ago, a friend of mine was diagnosed with an inoperable and fatal disease so she decided to try alternative/ complimentary therapy as a last resort. Anyway, she figured she had nothing to lose so she gave the treatment a shot. I’m very happy to report that my friend is still alive and well today thanks to Chinese Traditional Medicine and her practitioner Dale Clarke.  

When I was diagnosed with lumps in my breast I decided to visit Dale’s practice and I must say, I was more than just a little nervous. I hate needles! After a lengthy examination, tongue, pulses, medical history etc, Dale produced a needle. Even though I really didn’t have a painful sensation with the first insertion, I still felt a little faint because of the thought (I’m a big baby). Dale offered me a sedative, she said it was like taking a Valium so I quickly accepted... foolishly thinking she was going to give me some medication. Dale’s idea of a sedative was an acupuncture needle in the area between my eyes! To my amazement and absolute delight, I did not feel even the slightest prick and even better than that – it calmed me down just like taking a Valium. That was the last time I have ever felt daunted by acupuncture needles and best of all - my breast lumps disappeared after only a few treatments.

Over the years I have visited Dale for a number of ailments and I have also recommended family and friends.

I also wanted wise women readers to also discover the benefits of Acupuncture, therefore, Dale  kindly agreed to allow me to interview her and I’m sure you will  find the interview enlightening.

Lana: Dale how would you describe your profession and how long have you been a practitioner?

Dale: First of all, thank you Lana for inviting me to contribute to these pages and share the answers to your questions with your readers.

Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture are integral to my practice. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been a gateway to growing understanding of the way we heal ourselves and others and will continue to enrich both my life and practice. I have been in a clinical practice for 16 years.

Lana: What inspired you to seek a career in Acupuncture/Traditional Chinese medicine?

Dale: My own experience with orthodox medical treatments often resulted in severe side effects and I sought alternatives. Acupuncture offered a safe and effective treatment for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. Later, Chinese herbs managed a chronic systemic illness.

Lana: What training was involved and what qualifications have you achieved?

Dale: I studied formally for six years, completing first a diploma in Oriental Medicine over two years, followed by four years of full time training. This culminated in a four month internship in China at the Red Cross Hospital, Hangzhou. Intensive studies in both eastern and western science are incorporated into TCM courses. Whilst TCM is a wholly independent system of medicine in use for over 5,000 years, practitioners are asked to acknowledge and incorporate knowledge of other systems and ideas foreign to its own long history.

Lana: How does acupuncture work (in layperson terms)?

Dale: Acupuncture is based on the concept that there is an energy flow through the body. This energy circulates through specific pathways known as channels or meridians. A simple viewpoint is that imbalances occur where the flow of energy is blocked and this flow can be altered using needles. Of course, there is a more complex view and system of methodology.

Lana: Does it hurt?

Dale: With traditional acupuncture, very fine needles are inserted into points along these channels. Points are chosen according to a number of criteria and according to differential diagnosis of symptoms.

Insertion is quick and there may be a slight sensation when the needle is inserted into the skin. Variable sensations can occur around the needle and along the channel, but are generally reported as comfortable.

Lana: Have you encountered some resistance over the years to the merits of acupuncture/traditional Chinese medicine?

Dale: Yes, patients have sometimes encountered resistance to their choice of treatment from family, friends and their medical practitioners. But this is often replaced by a genuine interest and desire to understand when results are seen.

Lana: Dale, I have personally been a patient of yours along with my family members and friends for many, many years and I have enjoyed tremendous success with your treatments for a diverse range of health conditions. What would you say has been your greatest achievement?

Dale: It has been considered in the West that acupuncture particularly is a form of pain relief. Acupuncture is just one treatment in the broader system of TCM. Practitioners are commonly asked to assist with almost any illness or injury and have studied all these areas in great detail. I could list any number of wonderful outcomes of treatment in many conditions, but I would have to say that a greater awakening in patients of their own innate healing potential is the most rewarding experience.

Lana: Dale, you have a busy practice and your life seems to revolve around the care of your patients – can you tell us about yourself and what motivates you?

Dale: In common with many practitioners, the benefits of my own experience with healing through natural mechanisms prompted me to learn more. I recognise an affinity with the principles over many years and that learning curve set me on a course of a continued study and a need to offer those benefits to others.

Lana: I know your expertise goes beyond acupuncture and TCM. I’m also aware that some people may find that your ‘healing gift’ a little hard to understand.

Dale: Lana, you refer to a sensitivity where I perceive energetic imbalances through the gift of clairsentience. I physically register these imbalances and the active points as a response in my body when working with patients. Mediation and the use of auriculotherapy, palpating and needling ear points, has helped me to develop the sensitivity to direct treatments in a more concise manner.

Lana: I have experienced firsthand your ability to sense people’s ailments, in fact you actually feel their pain. During treatments I have felt your hands change from icy cold to burning hot within moments. I have also witnessed your hands miraculously change colour from normal skin colour to red and purple. I have also seen bones move during treatment. Can you tell us more about this?

Dale: People often witness the changes in me as I work with them. I will feel people’s symptoms as though they are my own and patients are often concerned at first that I am discomforted by them. This gift is an extension of a natural perception we all have. I feel that through working with acupuncture this perception has opened a way in which an energetic interface allows a transformative healing response.

This has a profound positive impact on so many levels for both patient and practitioner and I do not find it burdensome in any way, many are relieved that someone else has empathy at this level.

All is energy. Any treatment facilitates healing though regulatiing homeostatic mechanisms and this is largely achieved through changes at a vibrational level, whether it be through drugs, herbs or more homeopathic based paradigms.

Acupuncture has a mechanism very like the flower essences that I administer in that there is a change made at a very subtle level that the rest of the body can resonate with. This is a possibility that was always there. It just needed a nudge. There is no adverse side effect introduced to the body, only a potential healing response.

Lana: Dale, what do you foresee for the future of health care?

Dale: All medicine has a universal aim to extend the possibility of healing in the safest and most effective way possible. Personally, I would like to see research focus more on energetic imbalances. Vibrational remedies are already in place and being used more and more.

People are seeking alternative or complementary medicines all over the world and of course still find benefits in pharmaceutically produced drugs, however, the dangers and side effects are becoming more serious and common.

Lana: Dale, what are your plans for the future?

Dale: Today we understand the physical mechanics of the body but the physical functions are only half the story. The energy mechanics are the other half and both must be understood before we have the whole picture. We’re well on the way with research into the mechanisms of acupuncture and the study of energy systems will lead science into a different and surprising direction in the future.

Lana: Dale, what message would you like to give to people?

Dale: I was in my 30’s when I chose to change careers and give up financial and employment security. My concerns about the late start and long study were met with an unexpected attitude from the young college councillor. “So, you can’t give 10-20 years back to the community?” Now in my 50’s the wisdom of that answer is obvious.

Lana:  Finally Dale, can you share some words of wisdom for women over 50?

Dale: It’s never too late to begin. Begin it now!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank dale for the interview and also for making a difference to my family’s health over the years. She has helped my husband with many conditions including inverted ribs, my father-in-law’s broken neck healed extremely well, my granddaughter’s hernia disappeared and my grandson’s limp (aged 2) was corrected. There are many more success stories that I could share with you.

I choose complimentary therapy to avoid unnecessary invasive surgery and to avoid taking medication with accompanying side effects.

Your choice of Medical Treatment is for you to decide, however, if conventional medicine fails you, you may wish to consider complimentary therapies.

Dale Clarke can be contacted on (02) 9634 3608

 Dale Clarke