Practitioner Leif Lidin-Lamon removes needles from Skye HighÕs ears. Needles are placed in the outer ear to help detoxify the body, said Lidin-Lamon. Star Photo By Jill Fankhauser

“That's a kidney point,” Lidin-Lamon said. “Drink more water.”

It was my first time getting acupuncture. I saw a flyer at a coffee shop recently advertising group acupuncture at Eagle River Acupuncture for $20. I always wanted to try it to see what it felt like.

“A group healing environment is an amazingly powerful thing,” Lidin-Lamon said. “Things happen in group environments that can't happen one-on-one.”

Sure, there are benefits to a private session, he said. He can treat whatever point he needs to because he has better access to the body, but a group session is powerful, it's potentiated.

The group sessions started because Lidin-Lamon wanted to share acupuncture with people who have never experienced it before, like me, or for people who may not be able to afford regular treatments, which cost about $95 for an hour-long treatment.

“I wanted to create a format where people could come in from any walk of life,” he said.

Lidin-Lamon has been offering group treatment of about five months, just after opening his Alaska practice, Eagle River Acupuncture, in February. He and his wife Cassandra moved to Chugiak from New Hampshire in 2007. They found a house large enough to live in and run their business out of. Lidin-Lamon said since opening the business has been gaining momentum and growing. Cassandra will be joining the practice in August.

Cassandra helped to get ready for the group session by getting out the needles and supplies such as alcohol swabs and a sharps container.

Lidin-Lamon greeted people by name at the front door.

Randy and Rhea Johnson showed up for their first treatment. They had been doing acupuncture in Anchorage, but they live in Peters Creek, so this practice is much more convenient, they said. Rhea was tired and Randy had tingling in his arm from a recently dislocated shoulder. Rhea started doing acupuncture about four years ago after being really sick. She got her son and husband into it as well. Randy always has low back pain, and he doesn't want to take pills for his pain; acupuncture gives him relief.

Amanda Vogus, from Wasilla, came in. She gets regular one-on-one treatments for muscle and back pain. She also doesn't want to take pain pills. Acupuncture helps a lot, she said. This was also her first time in a group session. She admitted being a little nervous, but also was eager to get treated. Her shoulders were killing her, she said, it felt like she is being stabbed.

Skye High, who used to live nearby and now lives in Kenai, stopped in. She's up visiting for a couple weeks and wanted to sneak in a couple of treatments. Her elbows and feet hurt.

Everyone got comfortable and Lidin-Lamon started the session with me, putting the hair-thin needles in my outer ear while speaking to me in a warm whisper. It's a detoxification protocol, he said, and it works for everyone because we all have some sort of toxicity in our lives. It's a therapy used in group sessions with alcohol and drug addicts, Lidin-Lamon said. It's supposed to reduce anxiety and help with sleep and cravings.

Amanda Vogus has acupuncture needles in her hands, a treatment to help relax her shoulder and relieve muscle pain. Vogus regularly visits Leif Lidin-LamonÕs Eagle River Acupuncture, but this was her first group session. Star Photo By Jill Fankhauser

After he put the needles in our ears, he came around with longer needles to work on the specific ailments we were complaining about. For me, it was the right shoulder, like Vogus. It's always tight and painful. He turned over my left hand and put two needles into the meaty part near my thumb and reminded me to relax. It wasn't painful. I had a warm feeling radiating from my hand. I immediately started to feel my shoulder and neck loosen up.

High, who sat beside me, told me she hoped I enjoyed the experience. She loves it. Lidin-Lamon found a spot on her left forearm to treat her right elbow. Typically needles go in on the opposite side of the problem.

Lidin-Lamon moved on down the line, putting needles in feet, hands and arm. Then he turned on relaxing music and dimmed the lights. The quiet lasted about 20 minutes before Lidin-Lamon removed the needles, without causing any pain.

Afterward he answered questions about acupuncture. What kinds of treatments are there? What can it cure?

Lidin-Lamon explained different types of therapies. He treats people with chronic pain, emotional issues, immune problems, sports injuries and childbirth labor and delivery. He gets treated himself for colds or other things that are bothering him.

What about skeptics?

“I run into skepticism a lot.” Lidin-Lamon said. “What I have to say to skeptics is that it's a medicine developed by a very pragmatic people that has been in practice for 5,000 years. Nobody does something that long that doesn't work.”

For information go online to www.eagleriveracupuncture.com.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, July 24, 2008.