Spiky

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #21:

Balance

It's the last day of September, and let me just say... this month flew by. Time moves a lot faster when we start getting gray hair, doesn't it? I remember how long a school year seemed when I was a kid, and now as a parent, a school year is nothing. In fact, we're already approaching the end of the first quarter. I can't believe it!

With September ending, my writing challenge is also coming to a close. The prompts I didn't use are: quiet, boredom busting, weakness, inspired, animal, perspective, pause, awe, and place. I completed 27 of the 35 prompts. 

Yesterday I posted a list of 21 goals I want to accomplish before 2021. Prior to hitting publish, I was already working on some of those goals, one of which was to try something new. 

Yesterday I also mentioned that I have been participating in an emotional resilience class. A few weeks ago our class facilitator mentioned that she lays on a "bed of nails" to help with stress and pain relief. First I pictured a literal bed of nails, but then she clarified that it's actually a mat with plastic spikes. I envisioned this mat as something quite large, expensive, freaky, and for some reason, elevated on a table. 

Later, I googled it and found that what she's actually using is an acupressure mat or needle stimulation pad, and it's quite small and not very expensive. I decided to order one for my friend Lynsie and one for my friend Shannon - just because it seemed like an adventurous and somewhat funny thing to receive as a surprise from Amazon. 

Lynsie's arrived first, and she tried it out. She said it hurt, but she kind of liked it and she wanted to keep using it. She sent me a picture of her back - red and perforated. She said she had to call for her husband to come help her get off the mat. Then Shannon got hers, tried it, and also said she liked it and wanted to keep using it. 

Not to be left out, I ordered one for myself, and it came the next day. 

Here's what it looks like:

The mat isn't very big - it's about the length of my back and width of my shoulders, and it came with a spiky pillow. 

It's recommended that when you start using the mat, you wear a light layer of clothing and lay on the mat for about five minutes. Over time, as you build up more endurance, you can start using it directly on your skin and for longer lengths of time (10-20 minutes per day is the recommendation). 

Acupressure is supposed to stimulate the body's self-healing mechanisms and restore balance to the body's vital energy. There haven't been a lot of studies on the effectiveness of acupressure mats, but there is some evidence that they are helpful with reducing pain - including fibromyalgia, headaches, and general muscle pain. They may also help with insomnia and stress. 

Personally, I was just curious to see what it was like and whether I could handle it. Normally I'm not in to stuff like this, but for $15, I wanted to try it. Plus, I'd already made my friends do it, and I was starting to have acupressure FOMO. 

My first time using the mat, I was fully clothed, and I couldn't feel the spikes at all, so I stripped down to my garments (my religious underclothing), which created the perfect thin layer of protection. I laid on the floor with my back on the mat for about five minutes, and I found it tolerable. It definitely hurt, and there were moments where I found myself taking shallow breaths, but overall, I was okay. I was even able to get off the mat myself, though after Lynsie's commentary, I made sure I had Scotty on standby. 

After laying on my back, I tried standing on the mat. I haven't had a lot of chronic body pain thus far in life, but I have had plantar fasciitis off and on for several years, so I experience a lot of pain in discomfort in my feet. My first time standing on the mat was great. I only gave it about two minutes because I did it right before I had to leave to go somewhere. I stood on the mat barefoot, and it wasn't overly painful. My feet felt pretty amazing afterward. The following day I stood on the mat again, feeling all sorts of confident because I'd already proven I could handle it, and to my surprise, it HUUUUURT. I made it about one minute before I absolutely couldn't stand it any more. Since then, I've continued standing on the mat each day just for a couple of minutes, and it's interesting to see how the pain varies. Some days I'm fine. Other days it hurts, and I can't make it even a full minute. I tried it with socks on, but I can't feel it through socks. 

With my back, when I first lay down, it feels fine - just a little spiky through my garments. Then as time goes on, it gets a little more painful, but I can handle it. After a few minutes, I start to feel a burning sensation and my heart beat in my back. That's when I wonder if something magical is happening of if it's actually something horrible. I feel like I'm either miraculously healing or about to die. Not long after that sensation starts, I get off the mat... just in case it's the dying and not the healing. 

Last night was the first time I've tried the mat on my bare back, and holy moly, it hurt. I only lasted about a minute before I had to stop. 

I honestly don't know if the mat is causing anything fantastic to happen in my body, but I definitely feel amazing afterward. Some describe it as feeling like you just had a massage. I don't feel quite that great, but I do have a bit of a high from doing something that feels incredibly bad ass. 

As far as pain reduction and such, I don't really have anything to measure it with. Since the acupressure mat is still pretty new to me, I haven't had a chance to try it out when I have a headache or some kind of pain. 

I'm not sure if I'll keep using the mat long-term, or if it's just something I'll try for a while and move on from. For now, I find it amusing, and like I said, a bit bad ass.

-----------

If you want to try an acupressure mat, yourself, make sure you do a little research beforehand. There are sources that recommend you not use one if you have certain medical conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure. This is the mat I bought for myself (looks like it has gone up in price - I paid $14.95), and this is the one I bought for Lynsie and Shannon.