8.22.2011

Free Friday August 26, 12-4pm

Wondering what this acupuncture stuff is all about? Know someone you think may benefit from treatment?

Free Friday is Lake Erie Acupuncture's way of introducing the good peoples of Northeast Ohio to the awesomeness that is acupuncture. So please, come check out the clinic, see what a needle really looks like, and, if you're willing and able, get a FREE TREATMENT. Yep, free.

The only caveat . . . You have to schedule a treatment time. Treatments are scheduled on a first-come/first-served basis, so if you want to grab a time, get ahold of me one of the following ways:

Phone: 440.251.4754
Email: austin@lakeerieacupuncture.com
Facebook Page: Lake Erie Acupuncture
Treatment times available: 

12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, 3:30

(if you want to book back to back treatment times with a friend or a loved one, feel free!)

Hope to see you then!

Austin the Acupuncture Guy

8.21.2011

flying timeitis and a three-step "cure"

Well, since my last post, I have:
--visited the family in Oregon
--co-hosted a 60th birthday/40th anniversary party for my awesome parents
--returned from Oregon and did a bunch of treatments
--celebrated my 38th birthday
--attended craft fairs in Mentor (x2), Akron (x2), Gordon Square, and Lakewood (my wife is a jewelry designer, and in shameless-plug fashion her work can be found here)

Sprinkle in random acts of husbandry and father-stuff like cooking, shuttling the daughter to and from volleyball practice, and so forth, and man, life has been moving quickly. Fly is timing. ;) August is half-way done. School will be back in session soon.

I know I'm not alone in all this crazy running around, and I'll wager some people reading this would look at my list and think it's a little light compared to theirs. We are busy, we are stressed out, and we've got a lot of stuff to do! It's all too common in our world today, and if one isn't careful, the accompanying side effects can mess with you on multiple levels.

Here are three things that anyone can do to help themselves feel better in the face of flying timeitis:

1) Breathe. This may sound dumb, but it works. Read these next few sentences, then stop and check in with yourself. Sit upright in a chair. Notice your posture. Get comfortable. Take a slow, deliberate, deep breath in, focusing your attention onto the upper part of your chest. Fill your chest with air and exhale quickly, letting go. Different breath, wasn't it? Most of us don't breathe fully unless we bring our attention to it. In the face of stress, anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, we forget to breathe. Take a minute now to pause and breathe.

2) Drink water. Again, duh, right? Everyone knows that we're supposed to drink water . . . But how much have you had today? Are your lips chapped? Is your mouth and throat dry? When you went to the bathroom last, what color was your urine? We all need water. In the hot of the summertime, we need more than we think. But Austin, you're saying, I spend my time cool in air conditioning! This dries you out even more. Do yourself a favor, and have a glass of water. And then, have another one.

3) Know your limits. We all push. One more thing, task, chore, especially now, as days have started getting noticeably shorter. Just this last thing . . . When we're tired is when we're most likely to make a mistake, injure our bodies, get in an accident, etc. As my mom likes to tell me, Everything counts. Rest is included in that, as is checking in on your inner wisdom. Is it worth pushing to get that one last thing done today? Can it wait until you're better able to give it your full attention? If you're going to saddle up and push through to get it done, are you willing to accept whatever the consequences are? Knowing your limits, and respecting them, is an important thing.

If you or anyone you know is struggling to get through a bout of flying timeitis, I hope these simple steps help.

Until next time,

a.








8.04.2011

free friday revisited (better late than never)

Friday, July 29, I offered my second Free Friday event at my office in Willoughby. I thought I'd share my thoughts about the event.

I ended up doing 8 treatments from 9:30-4:30. I started earlier than I initially scheduled (11am) to make room for an interested Westsider, which was fine with me. I find that being willing to be flexible about my hours when I can serves, and in this case, it definitely did. I stayed later than I had initially scheduled (3:30pm) to listen to my last patient. I find that being able to truly listen to what a person needs to say serves, and in this case, again, it definitely did. I had one person miss their slot, which was A-OK (it happens) and allowed me a moment to catch my breath.

While I won't go into specifics about treatments (like anyone else in the medical profession, I am bound by HIPAA privacy laws), I can offer a couple of observations about what Free Friday was like:

1) Most of the people attending scheduled appointments because they were curious about what acupuncture could do for their pain.

This is the most common reason that people in the U.S. pursue acupuncture treatment, so that was not surprising to me. What was and is surprising to me, though, is the amazingly varied ways in which human beings experience pain. It's a unique to each of us type of experience.

I got the sense that few of them felt as if they'd been heard or understood by many people, including their families and healthcare practitioners. They seemed surprised that I was interested in hearing as much about their situation as they could tell me, and that I was asking them lots questions around the pain, in an effort to get a clearer picture of their circumstances.

2) Most of the people were surprised how they felt during the treatment.

One of the top three questions about an acupuncture treatment is, "Do the needles hurt?" Again, not surprising, given our relationship to needles and shots in a traditional Western medical setting. There are a variety of factors that come into play when answering this question . . . and the overwhelming sentiment among the free fridays was that surprisingly, it didn't hurt like they were worried it might.

There were some specific points that generated more sensation than others (a lot of this depends on their location on the body), and there were some that were surprised because it felt like the needles were still in the points when I told them we were finished with the treatment (admittedly, I think this is an odd/cool aspect of the medicine). By and large, the prevailing opinion could be summed up as, "Huh . . . that wasn't so bad."

3) Most people were surprised by how they felt after treatment.


People reported that they felt different from their first experience with acupuncture. Maybe their pain was addressed, or they felt calmer, or just . . . different when they got off the table (it can be hard to process and put into words in the moment, especially since it's something new). In following up with people over the last few days, some have experienced big shifts, some more subtle. Some are interested in following up with more treatment, others I may not hear from again.

All in all, it was a wonderful opportunity for me to be able to expose new people to what an acupuncture treatment is like, how it feels, and what being treated can offer them.

And I can't wait to do it again sometime this month. When I have my August date and time set, I'll announce it here, via Twitter (@lakeerieacu), and on Facebook (Lake Erie Acupuncture Page).

Thanks for reading!