Once Paul finished, he turned on an LED light over my decorative needlework, casually mentioning LEDs were developed by NASA to help heal astronauts’ skin wounds. A longtime lover of LEDs and their ability to improve skin texture and tone via infrared light, I was already a fan of this acu-add-on treatment. “Acupuncture arouses an internal healing response,” he tells me, noting that the needle insertions are not significant enough to require additional healing support from LED, but the light does, nonetheless, promote tissue health.
Then he started to leave the room, but not before I asked how long I’d be hanging out there. “About two or three days,” he joked. A classic Paul move I was beginning to notice—the jokes—which makes him feel less like a wellness practitioner and more like a best friend. Thankfully, it was a mere 20 to 25 minutes. Although he told me the longest amount of time acupuncture needles can remain inserted is around 40 minutes, I’m not quite there yet.
When he returns, he’s armed with a vial of Peekay’s Herbs, one of the healing herbal elixirs he crafts in his private studio, I Love Acupuncture, downtown. “Two teaspoons a day of Chiropractor in a Bottle will help with the suffering while strengthening the musculoskeletal tissues,” he says to my relief. PT? No thanks, but herbal tonics? That I can get on board with. This one in particular is packed full of turmeric to ease joint pain, saffron to reduce inflammation, and, according to the website, 36 additional ingredients. Between Chinese quince fruit, oyster shell, peony root, and devil’s claw, there’s got to be something in there that helps with pain, right?
The multiple claws on the ingredient list (cat’s claw is in there too) piqued my interest the most. As Paul explains it to me, unlike Western and European herbology, he doesn’t often use single herbs in isolation. “There are many similarly active but still unique herbs that really help synergize one another for better results.” Hey, if it will help with my sacrum soreness, I’ll take it every day.
On the car ride home, I decided to Google acupuncturist Paul, being the ever-curious person I am, because he was giving next-level healer vibes. Turns out, my hunch was on par, per usual. He’s one of Gwyneth Paltrow’s personal acupuncturists—you might remember her trying out facial acupuncture a few years ago on Insta? Yep, that was Paul.