Also, I really needed to pee afterwards.

Chiropractic is weird and awesome! I don't know if all chiropractors are like the one I went to (Dr Rubin has a strong San Francisco-y energy work holistic attitude towards his work), but it was not what I expected at all. So, I went on a job interview with him a couple weeks ago, and he offered all interview-ees a free appt. Being poor and curious, I jumped on that bandwagon like a...um...member of the band. They must like group things at Northpoint Chiropractic, because first there was the group interview, and then it was a group session of health participants (they refuse to call clients "patients," and I'm struggling to come up with a better term). It was actually really neat to be in a group setting, to hear everyone's groans, sighs, and snippets of conversation. At one point this man with a strong accent went through something intense on the other side of the room (it sounded like a staple gun, and the doctor even called it that! Terrifying!) and the man said, "It's like love. You never know when it's gonna hurt or not." I think he said it better than that, but most of the room started giggling, which helped me relax more.

Anyway, it started off with some light, precise, and asymmetrical touching, which made me feel...kind of slanted? And warm. At one point he did something to my feet and it felt like he was holding his hands a mm off them for a couple minutes, until I heard his voice on the other side of the room. My face and chest felt really warm and funny. I was like, "Holy crap, this is fo realz!" In later passes the adjustments got more intense, and there was definitely some crackage of my mid/upper back (aahh, the perfect spot that I didn't even realize was scrunched up) and my neck. I've never had my neck cracked before, but it didn't hurt at all. It was just...intense. The whole thing was intense and strange. He did something to my jaw at the very end and asked me if I "bite my tongue (metaphorically)" and that whole exchange made me tear up. He gave me a stuffed bear to hold at the end. I thought it was a pillow at first and was kinda lying there stunned. Then I looked down to find this teddy bear staring up at me. Somehow it didn't feel awkward at all. What a weird and wonderful experience. Energy work sounds ok to me now.

Which is good, because I read this article and this follow-up letter yesterday and was questioning my whole decision to enter alternative medicine. Dr. Atwood's arguments against naturopaths as primary care physicians were cogent and sound, and I look forward to being that annoyingly sceptical student who questions the scientific validity of every naturopathic remedy. And, alternatively, questions whether a large double-blind study is the only evidence strong enough to support wide-spread use of a specific method or remedy.