No pins and needles while taking the alternative- Acupuncturist, Ritika Anchila
Yoga, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Acupuncture, etc. are all part of alternative medicine and it’s very entrenched in our society and culture. However, it is ironical that while we are looking towards the west, they are looking at the east to adopt these beautiful sciences,
says Ritika Anchila, the Founder of the All-Cure Acupuncture Centre in Bangalore.
Ritika’s own connection with acupuncture happened by chance. Born and brought up in Bhilwara, Rajasthan she did her schooling and graduation from there. She moved to Pune for an MBA in 2005. After her MBA she started working with Cholamandalam DBS Finance Ltd as Area Operations Manager for a year.
In 2010 marriage took her to Chennai. While in Chennai, one day she happened to take a family member for an acupuncture appointment and witnessed its benefits first hand. That was when she first met Dr. M.N. Sarkar in 2010 in Chennai. “I was convinced that I needed to spread the awareness and benefits of this miraculous science. I changed my career path- moved away from corporate jobs to acupuncture as a field so that I could heal patients suffering from long term ailments and spread awareness about acupuncture therapy and it’s healing powers and positive results without side effects.”
This, according to her, was a defining moment in her life.
Ritika explains the working of acupuncture and says, “Acupuncture is a branch of traditional Chinese medicine that involves the insertion and manipulation of fine needles into specific points (known as acupuncture points) of the body. Its purpose in Chinese Medicine is to stimulate, or balance, the flow of the body’s energy (referred to in Chinese medicine as qi), which is believed to influence the natural functioning of the human body and its own healing process. It is therefore used not only as a therapeutic intervention but also as a means of prevention. Acupuncture is by far one of the most popular and well-established forms of complementary medicine practiced today outside China and the East.”
So enamored was she by this field of alternative medicine that she went and did an Advanced Diploma from the Complimentary Medical Academy of Acupuncture Science in Chennai followed by an MD-Acu from the Indian Board of Alternative Medicine between 2010-2012 and during the same time, she worked under Dr. M N Sankar, Hi-Cure Acupuncture Centre, Chennai.
In 2012 she moved to Bangalore and in the month of May, started the Hi-Cure Acupuncture Centre in Bangalore and began treating patients for various long-term ailments.
“Dr. Sankar remotely (from Chennai) guided and helped in the finer nuances of setting up the facility in Bangalore. We took a personal loan for the capital investment for the facility and started it in June 2012 at Frazer town, Bangalore. We also tied up with Just dial and Sulekha to have presence on the web and promote ourselves. We mainly relied on word of mouth and references of the patients who have experienced the benefits of acupuncture therapy.”
In January 2015 she reached another milestone – she started the All-Cure Acupuncture Centre in Jayanagar, Bangalore as the sole proprietor and acupuncture therapist.
It has been an extremely satisfying journey for Ritika. Though there have been challenges, they have been minor hiccups. For Ritika, the biggest challenge has been to convince people to stay the course.
In this world of instant coffee, wifi, video conferences, and people looking for immediate gratification and cure, it’s very difficult to ask people (suffering from ailments) to step down from the fast lane (allopathic treatments and pills) and be patient to see the benefits of acupuncture therapy without side effects.
However, Ritika has let her work speak for her and patients who have benefitted have been very open in acknowledging her success. Talking about one of the most difficult cases she worked on, that of an 11-month child suffering from blindness by birth, she says, “It’s very heart warming and satisfying to see the progress that child has made during the course of treatment. He can see from one eye and second eye has seen remarkable improvement.”
For those who do not believe in acupuncture as an alternative medicine, Ritika says, “It is a science and one can see the BBC documentary on the subject and other material available online to understand the science behind acupuncture.”
The best way to prove its benefits is through healing patients and those who have felt its benefits will come back for more. She says, “In the end it’s patient’s word of mouth that we rely on.”
What keeps her motivated and going is the desire to give back to society in the best way possible and “Nothing beats a smile on a patient’s face relieved of their suffering,” she says with a smile.