Pojoaque Community Acupuncture Clinics Offer Affordable Health Care

Sitting in the waiting room of the Pueblo of Pojoaque Healing Arts Center, screams and moans do not emanate from the acupuncture treatment room.  That’s because acupuncture treatments are virtually painless, although that’s not the perception of many people.

Jack Brooke, 70, a Vietnam veteran, has received acupuncture treatment at the center’s free veteran’s acupuncture clinic.  He says acupuncture has helped him reduce his stress level and after just two treatments he “had no hint of allergy symptoms.”

Brooke said he thinks more veterans will take advantage of the free clinic once they learn about the philosophy of acupuncture.

“Most of the veterans are use to dealing with medical doctors,” he said. “When someone says ‘Let me stick some needles in you to make you feel better,’ they’re skeptical.”

Carolyn Bleakley, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, the resident acupuncturist at the center, says acupuncture is effective, non-toxic and virtually painless.

“We use sterile, stainless steel needles that are about as thick as a human hair,” Bleakley said. “The needles release energy blockages and allow the body to heal itself.”

Acupuncture, Bleakley said, has been practiced in China for centuries, and, at one time, indigenous Native American cultures practiced this ancient healing art, using porcupine quills rather than stainless steel needles to stimulate the flow of healing energy.

The veteran’s clinic, on Wednesdays between 2-4 p.m., is just one component of the center’s growing community health care services.

Bleakley said the veteran’s clinic is free because the veterans served our country and “it’s our way of saying thank you.”

The veteran’s clinic is set up to treat veterans and their families who suffer from anxiety, insomnia, depression and post traumatic stress syndrome, Bleakley said.

“I treated one Vietnam veteran who said he hadn’t had a good nights rest for 20 years,” Bleakley said. “After one treatment, he called me and said he finally slept soundly and woke up refreshed.”

In the winter of 2008, the Air Force Surgeon General announced their pilot program to provide battlefield acupuncture services to personnel on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bleakley said.

The Pueblo of Pojoaque Healing Arts Department’s newest project  is a Community Acupuncture Clinic, which began in March. The  sessions are on Tuesdays from 1-3 p.m.

Space is limited so please call 455-0317 to reserve your space.  The cost is only $20 per session, plus the cost of needles, not to exceed $5.50.  

“We feel that health care is a right for all people,” Bleakley said. “It’s important to make it available and affordable for everyone.”