A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.
Midori McGivern, DAc, LAc, MS, MPS, Advanced Cosmetic Facial Acupuncture Specialist
Midori McGivern is a principal of Sensei Beauty. She is currently residing in France. She is a regular translator for NAJOM, and a graduate from Tri-State College of Acupuncture, where she learned the foundations of Kiiko Matsumoto Style Acupuncture. She enrolled in the Academy of Advanced Cosmetic Facial Acupuncture Mentorship Training & Certificate Program in 2020. For more information, visit her Instagram page (@midori_newyork_paris) and  www.senseibeauty.com.