It had been a very tiring Sunday for me.

My mother came over and even spent the night. When I’m stressed, this is not the best scenario, but my husband is now here and serves as a buffer. I felt myself fall into some sort of panic attack, worried about my deadline for the articles for this section, my studies and life in general. I am a worrywart.

I know that and make things work by not filling my plate too full with must do’s. At any rate, I got little to no sleep that Sunday. My husband suffered the same as a result. Then it was up early for my 9 o’clock ear appointment.

Was that rain? I cannot ride in the rain and it’s not easy to get to Ord Road otherwise. I’ll just brave it on the bike. I found Train Track Lane in Paget no problem.

Kuni was relaxed warm and welcoming in her home, where she sees clients. We went to the living room to ensure no construction noise disrupted the session. She put on one of those Eastern relaxed sounds CDs. I sat in a comfortable high backed chair and was too drained to do anything but comply.

She explained the treatment — auricular acupuncture.

I would have five acupuncture needles placed in the special acupressure points in each ear. The first went into the sympathetic region (no correlation to having empathy for people).

The second into the shenmen area, which she explained is a gateway to meridians of the body. The third into a point that correlates with the kidneys, the fourth and fifth into points that correlated with the lungs and liver respectively.

She explained that I might feel a slight prick, pinch or sting, a tingling, muscle twitch or warmth in the area where the needle was inserted. That I should relax and that the treatment was detoxifying and I should therefore drink at least two large glasses of water after.

I agreed I would.

She began inserting the needles, first on the right ear. I felt the pinch and slight stings which subsided almost as soon as they started. I felt okay. She moved to the left ear and whoa, I’d call that pain on the first insertion. She then waited until I said I could handle another and the sting was less than the first but more significant than on the other side.

The fifth insertion was painful. But the pain subsided after about 30 seconds. She announced she would leave the room and I should remain seated with my eyes closed. About a minute into that I felt my nasal sinus clear. I could hear it pulling away like adhesive tape. It was an interesting experience.

I knew I had a cold and that my chest was congested but thought my sinuses were clear. Clearly they were not. About three minutes in, I felt a very warm feeling around the middle section of my left ear, like someone was gently blowing there. I started to feel quite content.

Kuni returned and announced she would commence reiki on my ears. My eyes were still closed. Reiki is massage like movements above the surface of the skin. It is working with a person’s energy. I felt nothing.

Perhaps because my energy was so low. She said she felt pulsating on my left side and asked if I had any injuries on that side of my body. I couldn’t think of any.

Next she announced she was starting Reiki on my head. I noticed a warm loving feeling over my head when she did this. She said my crown (head) chakra was cold and seemed surprised. She of course had no idea how drained I was.

Next she did a pressure point massage on my face. That felt wonderful, in the same way that having a spa massage makes you feel wonderful.

I felt tension in other parts of my body fall away. She said my jaw was very tense and maybe I was pent up with things that I couldn’t say. She pressed hard to release them but I’m sure they’re back. I can’t say.

Next she moved to the shoulders where she found my left shoulder laden with tension. She pressed hard and I felt the cramp travel under my shoulder blade and down to its tip in my mid-back region. I think it may be worse to have the knot there.

Then she stood to one side and placed the palm of one hand to my chest while the palm of the other was on my back. I felt the tension at the base of the scapula vanish. She said she sensed a block around my heart.

After this I was left to sit and relax with the needles still in my ears. I forgot and a few times hit one unwittingly. The treatment takes 45 minutes and at the end she removed the needles. As she took out the last pin on the right side my head felt suddenly light. About three minutes after they were all removed, there were muscle twitches in my right cheek.

I felt fine, a bit rested.

I asked if the block around my heart meant that I had a congestive heart problem. She explained that it represented an emotional block.

As for my cold head chakra, she said that meant I had an imbalance in the head region and was probably prone to headaches. That’s true.

She gave me a special rock salt, chamomile and lavender tea bath to use at home to relax and one of her homemade glycerin soaps with olive and jojoba oils. While the treatment just seemed fun, a bit indulgent and mildly relaxing, the effects were incredible.

Somehow, I am truly more relaxed and almost unable to fret, lose my temper and, most importantly, worry. I’m now on the verge of worrying where my worry went and how.