Summer is the season on the heart organ in acupuncture theory and imbalances related to the heart such as anxiety and insomnia can often flair up this time of year. Acupuncture is great medicine for this as it works fundamentally on the nervous system. As needles gently activate certain acupuncture points, the body is guided from the sympathetic nervous response of fight or flight (which most of us step into daily) to a parasympathetic state of rest and digest. Once the body feels safe enough to relax, we can come back into embodiment, our minds become calm and our natural healing processes can take over. Further, studies have shown that acupuncture floods the body with oxytocin - the feel good brain chemical that we get from intimacy and connection. Increased levels of oxytocin provides an immediate feeling of relaxation and ease before you’ve even left the treatment room and carries into the evening for a peaceful nights rest.