Northern News Services Iqaluit (May 26/03) - When she was younger Elise Bohemier was terrified of needles.

That's what makes her career choice a little unusual. As an acupuncturist she works with needles every day.

Acupuncturist Elise Bohemier uses needles to treat ailments from insomnia to asthma. - Chris Puglia/NNSL photo

"I was so scared of needles and now I poke 200,000 a year into people," she said.

Bohemier said the more she learned about acupuncture the more fascinated she became with it.

"The strength of Chinese medicine is observations of the human body after thousands of years," she said.

That is a deep contrast from her original perception of the medical art.

"I didn't believe in it because it was very different than what I was educated in," she said.

But after being treated effectively through acupuncture she was hooked.

Acupuncture is about the movement of the body and its energy and Bohemier said the Chinese know the relationship between different points on the body and how they relate to movement and energy.

Through that knowledge acupuncture helps to treat and alleviate symptoms of everything from insomnia to asthma.

Both those illnesses are very common in Iqaluit, she said.

Practising in Iqaluit for the past four years, Bohemier said, she has seen a lot of people come to the city from the South and develop symptoms of insomnia and respiratory problems.

Through acupuncture she said she can help those people.

Take insomnia, for example.

"It's not just the light that causes you not to sleep. There is energy associated with light. There are movements in the body that keeps you awake and movements that help you sleep," she said.

Through acupuncture, Bohemier said, the balance in energy and movement is restored to cure the insomnia.

Being the only acupuncturist in Iqaluit, she sees 30 to 35 patients a week and she said she could easily see 200 a week with the waiting list she has.

A majority of her patients are children and pregnant women, but she treats a variety of patients.

She is also a massage therapist and some of her work involves teaching others how to give massages.

As well she works with victims of abuse to help them relearn to be touched in a safe and comfortable way.

Her work brings her very close to people, and she likes that.

"You meet the real person, you have real contact with someone in work like this," she said.