Modern Muck Brings Mobile Acupuncture to Austin by Bicycle

Think Austin is weird enough? If I had to write it from scratch, I’m not sure I could come up with a story that encapsulated Austin’s weirdness as well as this real life tale: a portable acupuncture business genius shares an East Austin space with a mermaid tail maker and a lollipop maker.

Their locale is painted in purple and green, resembling a quaint cottage. And Modern Muck, the acupuncture business in question, is a perfect distraction for someone like me to escape the day-to-day chaos and knots that bind each of us into our own modern day muckity-muck.

David Taylor is the crafty mastermind behind the bike-powered method of delivering Chinese medicine directly to you at your home, office or in the comfort of his East Austin location. David took a non-traditional route. His studies in science and pre-med eventually led him to his recent graduation from AOMA. With a tranquil bedside manner, David invites his patients to “relax, refocus, revitalize” by way of his innovative, mobile medicine practice.

My Acupuncture Experience with Modern Muck

I took on the clean “stainless steel, single use needles” and accepted the offer to relax, refocus, revitalize. In fact, I repeated that phrase over and over for 20 minutes, during which time I was pierced with the paper-thin needles which were floating  somewhere around the top ten layers of my skin. David and his ninja needles managed to completely remove all other thoughts from my head. It worked! Success, I found the escape that just might save me! 

Which needle did the trick? David says, “You have over 400 acupuncture points, each of which provide energy channels. I don’t want to sound woo-woo, but you just feel the energy” in people.

As a first-time patient of Chinese medicine, I came in loaded with an artillery full of questions for David. I did my due diligence specific to acupuncture, for each of you out there who are curious, but haven’t tested the waters. Here is my short and sweet overview…

First-Timers Guide to Acupuncture

Q. Will I look like a human pin cushion?
A. Yes you will!

Q. Will the needles cause bleeding?
A. It is a possibility, but it’s rare. When it does occur, only a single droplet of blood is produced.

Q. Can I move while the needles are in my skin?
A. Yes, but you will likely feel a reaction with each movement.

Q. Can the needles fall out of the skin?
A. Yes. In fact, when I lifted my head to see my pin cushion arm, a couple of them fell right out of my forehead. And I survived to tell you about it today.

Q. Will your acupuncturist likely forget needles in your body?
A. Not likely. However, there is a chance that a needle could fall from its original placement and wind up lying underneath you. Precautionary measures are never a bad thing.

Q. How long do I have to sit still with the needles in my skin?
A. 30-40 minutes on average.

Q. Are there medicinal components on the tips of the needles?
A. Absolutely not (refer back to the “stainless steel, single use needles” statement).

Q. How can I benefit from acupuncture and other methods of Chinese medicine?
A. A regular dose of Chinese medicine can relieve pain, anxiety and stress, can aid in fertility issues, can release localized endorphins as well as collagen underneath the skin.

What’s this mobile acupuncture practitioner pedaling toward? David says that he envisions a future practice that will allow him to “track and see the results of patients” in a fully-functioning practice. It’s about more than just releasing knots for his clients. His goal is to arrange an entire practice based on traditional Chinese medicine, while incorporating healing methods best suited for psycho emotional and psycho spiritual matters.

One hour, and a dozen or so single use needles later, David was able to slow my brain down to a slow chug by placing needles into my face, head, feet, and arms. My thoughts may have been slightly muddled, however I had just enough remaining to recognize that the experience was not painful, as I initially anticipated, but rather created a more mindful outlook of my body and my emotions. It was my “woo-woo” moment.  Well played, David and Modern Muck, well played.

 

@CrisMueller asks:

Have you ever tried acupuncture in Austin? If so, where?

 

Photos courtesy of Sydney Lusk.