Body Piercings as Spiritual Therapy

There are many beliefs and practices of piercings. Some of which are associated with spiritual beliefs or awakening of the consciousness. I discovered this a while ago (just before I got my ears pierced) when my mum was telling me how body piercings can be dangerous because of them disrupting the natural flow of Qi (pronounced chee) in the body- which in turn can affect your emotional and physical well being. I was very skeptical of this statement at first so thought I would investigate it myself. Turns out she was right to some extent. The downside to this topic (as with a lot of things) is that there are a lot of contradicting views for both sides of the argument.

A lot of acupuncturists will agree that body piercings give the same effect as acupuncture, the only difference being that the effects don't go away until you remove the piercing. This is probably why my mum was so against me getting any piercing done. (She has acupuncture done on herself for her disability so she is well aware of the effects that it can result in.) Those who practice it believe that silver metals repel energy and gold ones attract it to the specific area that it is punctured. With this in mind I considered it could potentially be something you can use to your own advantage and not necessarily be a bad thing.

People are known to get particular body piercings on a specific body part by impulse. These areas just happen to be the acupuncture points where they are needed the most at the time. (e.g. places that relieve anxiety). I later discovered that places where it's considered completely safe to get piercings, where Qi/waves of attraction/illusionary energy is not disrupted, are the ear lobes and the left side of the nose. This is interesting because it just so happens to be the places where most people get piercings. (Some evidence that suggest that it boosts it.) Getting the left side of the nose pierced is also a common practice in Hindi women as it is believed that it ensures a smooth pregnancy and menstrual cycle. Other places on the body other than the nose and ears are overall considered 'unsafe' concerning Qi because of the organs that the nerves are linked to. (Click here for a list of these.) Research has also shown that people who often get piercings are more prone to stress and anxiety. From this, it seems likely that we may naturally feel a spiritual draw or connection to body piercings.

After having done all this research I decided I would get my ears pierced and nothing else because I'd always wanted them done since I was little. When my mum saw them she didn't freak out but made sure that I didn't pierce into any meridians (pathways that Qi flows through). I then reassured her that I wouldn't ever get any other piercings because at the time, I honestly wasn't appealed at all of this idea.

Strangely enough I had a dream several months later where I got my tongue pierced and ever since waking from this dream I felt an unexplained spiritual draw to this idea. I thought it was weird and out of character because I used to say how I would never get my tongue pierced but on the same day that I went to town after that dream I felt a very strong impulse to immediately get it done. I didn't on that day because I tried to rationalise with myself. Instead I waited a month or two but this feeling never went away. I told very few people (only about 2) that I've been thinking about it as well because I wanted to ensure that it was my decision alone that wasn't influenced by others.

My tongue piercing was finally done on 13th March and I've never felt so emotionally and spiritually at peace ever since. It could also be because of the control I now feel I have over my life or the fact that I did something that initially scared me so much that I now feel I can do anything with little worry. (Especially since how I was still completely up for it when they said they wouldn't numb it.) I think this was my first step to follow my gut without hesitation and I now find myself to doing this more often in my everyday life. Of course, acupuncturists would say that it's my health that is very gradually being affected but I'm vegan and I regularly exercise so I'm really not worrying about that right now.

From my experience I think everyone reacts to piercings and even acupuncture differently. Some people get piercings that are continuously rejected by the body whereas other people get loads done with little problem. I think it's the same thing when looking at it in a spiritual way. Not only does everyone have different problems but the effects that piercings can have on you on a spiritual level can vary greatly with impact and from positive to negative.