For me, I think I need to have some life balance in order to truly be my best Perfectly Me self. I don’t know about you, but I have always had a hard time achieving balance. I used to be a workaholic. I was attached at the hip to my crackberry (blackberry for those of you without the addiction) 24/7. At one point, I slept with it next to my head in case any emails came in during the middle of the night. I woke up thinking about work and sent emails right before going to bed. It was almost impossible for me to shut off work. Why?

Well, I spent years thinking that my personal life had to take a back seat to work in order for me to be successful. I was 90% work, 10% me. But, in 2004 I went over the edge; I was 100% work. I managed a U.S. Senate campaign, and I gave it every bit of myself. In the end, we lost the campaign, and I had let myself go to complete crap. I realized at this point that I couldn’t do this anymore so I started carving out time for myself. It was easy at first. I was unemployed. Then I was a legal temp, and I had no work to take home. Next. I started working at a crazy job again, and I felt myself moving to the unhealthy 90% work, 10% me. I started turning off my phone at 11 PM and reserving Sundays as me time. I probably got to 75% work, 25% me on my own. But that wasn’t good enough. I needed true balance 50% work, 50% me. I didn’t know how to get there so I started to see an acupuncturist in 2007. I decided to go to get help with my stress levels and try to get my chi balanced (whatever that means). But seriously, I figured if my chi was balanced then maybe I would achieve work life balance. I thought this could all be taken care of in a few appointments, but here we are over a year later and I am still working towards balance.

Allyson, my acupuncturist, has helped me get closer to a balanced life. I am not there yet. But, she has given me a number of practices during my treatment to help me think about situations in a different way to reduce my own stress. These practices are not minute miracles, but over time I have felt calmer and less anxious. It is amazing how changing one word or phrase can reduce stress and change your perspective. I know I am not the only one struggling with this so I asked Allyson, my acupuncturist, to provide life balance practices here for you.

I hope you will write about any changes you experience as a result. Also, send Allyson your questions about acupuncture and life balance.

About Perfectly Allyson

Allyson Jones is a licensed acupuncturist and co-founder of Point Well Taken Acupuncture Center in Baltimore, Maryland. She holds a Master of Acupuncture from the TAI Sophia Institute for the Healing Arts where she continues to serve on the faculty in both the Applied Healing Arts and Acupuncture degree programs. Allyson also teaches TAI Sophia’s “Redefining Health” workshops to business and community groups, both nationally and internationally. She is a Diplomate of Acupuncture with the National Certification Commission on Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Allyson’s prior work experience includes clinical social work, child advocacy and corporate public affairs consulting. She holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland and a BA in Russian Studies from the University of Virginia.