Are You A Super Giver?

Lately I have been thinking about some patients that I have and how they are super givers. These are some of the nicest people you can meet. They take amazing care of their family and home, plus they are excellent employees or business owners. They care about community, ethics, the importance of parenthood, and the happiness of others. They have another thing in common, they don't give to themselves.

• Are you one of these givers? 

• Do you have a family that you support in many aspects? 

• And a job that wants 100% of you? 

• And a house that has never ending dishes and laundry?

There is a lot of pressure on women especially to be perfect at everything and the givers of the world. They give until they are drained.

Well I am here to give you permission to give to yourself. And you know what? You will be a better giver to others by making sure you are taken care of. I often ask patients to spend just 15 minutes daily plus 1 hour a week on yourself.





There are so many things you can do in 15 minutes. Here is a short list: meditate, give yourself a mani or pedi, do a facial, take a short walk, play with a pet, read a book for fun. I would love to see other ideas you have, so please leave comments.





For the hour weekly you can come get acupuncture and decompress from the past week. Let someone else take care of you for an hour! Acupuncture is fantastic at nourishing the mind, body, and spirit to rejuvenate you. With balanced Qi you will once again feel like yourself able to go out and nurture others. Some other ideas you could do for an hour are get a massage, take a yoga/tai chi/exercise class, or a pottery/painting class, how about an uninterrupted hour of planning a dream vacation... really the possibilities are endless.

Just like practicing any new healthy habit you will get better over time taking care of yourself. In the beginning it may seem hard to give your self permission to take the time, so that is why I am giving it to start. If you would really like to supplement your support beyond this permission letter then regular acupuncture treatments are highly recommended. Also, let your family know what you are doing and how it benefits them too. So you can be a better listener, a better homework helper, a better chef, and mostly able to love greater because your needs are met too.


I wish you all great gifts of time to yourself! I give you permission! You deserve it Super Giver!

-Jennifer P.

5 Ways Acupuncture Can Improve Your Life

Acupuncture is a pretty amazing Alternative Therapy and only a small percentage of people have tried it in America. Here are a few reasons to help you see how it can improve your own life. The great thing to remember about acupuncture is that it can only help or do nothing at all, it cannot make your symptoms worse or cause further problems. So why not give it a try. 

Here are 5 ways acupuncture can improve your life:

1. Relieve Pain - So many people suffer with some kind of pain, either from an old injury or something recent that will go away easily. Either way, acupuncture can help. The number one reason people try acupuncture in America is for pain. Many are in chronic pain and let's be honest a life high on pain medications is no way to live. Chinese medicine usually says pain is a result of stagnation of either Qi and/or Blood, in order to reduce or clear pain we move Qi and Blood. 
2. Increase Happiness
   
   Acupuncture will help you find balance in your life, your emotions, your thoughts; you will feel more clear. A lack of balance is exactly what acupuncture addresses. The practitioner listens to your pulses and finds areas of imbalance, either excess or deficiency such as a lack or energy flowing, and restores it by placing needles in certain acupuncture points. Acupuncture studies have been proven that particular points release serotonin and other happy endorphins to change your attitude. 
3. Remember what Relaxed Feels Like - Acupuncture is great at changing your autonomic nervous system from flight or fight to rest and digest. Many people forget what rest and digest is with all the electronics and demands of today's world. However, it is an important part of your day to make this switch. It may prevent a future heart attack or other serious ailments.
4. Improve Sleep
   
   There are hormones that you produce only in REM sleep and if you areunable to achieve REM then you are missing out on your bodies ability to function at its best. One of the best side effects of any acupuncture treatment is a great nights rest. Plus we can simply work on improving your sleep; whether the problem is staying asleep or falling asleep. 
5. Strengthen Immune System - Also a strength of acupuncture and herbs is the ability to improve your immune system. Many patients report hardly ever getting sick when they come for treatments regularly, even when their kids bring home really nasty colds. In Chinese medicine we call your immune system Wei Qi and this is what we boost in your treatment to keep you healthy. 

Are You Stressed Out?

Stress is a killer. 

It truly is. Americans are more connected to their electronics and hectic lives than ever before. Do you know anyone who does not own a cell phone today? When was the last time that you spent five minutes and focused only on your breathing? Are you aware of how much caffeine is too much?
You might find it surprising too that young adults are the most stressed out of all Americans!

75% of adults reported experiencing moderate to high levels of stress in the past month and nearly half reported that their stress has increased in the past year – American Psychological Association

So we are all getting more stressed out and feeling more anxiety, but yet we are still spending more and more time staying busy. Busy isn't all that it is cracked up to be. "Sorry, I can't hang out, I'm super busy with yoga, work, getting the kids to school, taking a cooking class, cleaning the house, feeding the dog,  and running a marathon...all while constantly checking my Facebook, posting to Twitter and Instagram." Sound familiar? If you are nodding your head or laughing than you might just be plagued with busy. Don't worry! We can help!

First, start by putting down that second iced venti carmel macchiato. Second, close your eyes and spend 5 minutes just breathing. Focus on each breath going in and out and how it feels in your throat, lungs, stomach. Hopefully that helps for a little while but for the long term we have great news: acupuncture can help relieve stress!

Chinese medicine will tell you that stress is usually liver qi(chi) stagnation. What acupuncture does in general is to balance out your entire system: the mind, body and spirit. While stress disturbs the spirit which can make it hard to sleep and lead to insomnia or leave you feeling like you are rested. Stress also keeps your body in a fight or flight response which increases your cortisol levels. If you stay in that response long enough your cortisol cannot go back to normal levels which creates that flattering belly fat that doesn't go away no matter how many sit ups you do. Being in that fight or flight response long enough with high cortisol levels also turns off that switch which allows your body to chose fight or flight or rest and digest. Acupuncture gives you back the ability to have that switch and chose which way it goes. It gives you the ability to change your autonomic nervous system.

Being in a constant state of fight or flight makes it so you forget what relaxed feels like. It is common that after leaving your stress focused acupuncture treatment, you will feel what jokingly we call "acu-stoned." You will feel so relaxed and almost as though you are floating, be careful driving home! This might be a foreign feeling to your mind but really, this is what relaxed is supposed to feel like. Our mind and body just forgot.

Now that acupuncture helped your body find that on/off switch again so you can feel rest and digest instead of fight or flight it will be easier to do this on your own and stay relaxed at the appropriate times.

When you come for treatment for stress we will discuss your diagnosis thoroughly and help you find out what you can do to continue balanced health and wellness. Since you might leave feeling a little out of it in your "acu-stoned" state, we will give you a folder with instructions and reminders on living a less stressful life for you to reference later. Until you feel again balanced again, we suggest getting weekly acupuncture treatments.

Also here is some helpful info about staying relaxed after your weekly treatment:

• avoid watching tv or playing computer/phone games the rest of the day. This activates the fight or flight response in your brain. 
• avoid caffeine the rest of the day
• do something calming you enjoy such as reading a book, doing yoga or tai chi, taking the dog for a walk, cooking a meal, gardening.
• drink lots of water and eat a healthy meal to nourish your body
• schedule your next visit to stay stress free

Pain Relief

Pain relief is one of the top 5 reasons our patients initially seek our help and choose acupuncture. Nearly everyone has experienced pain in their life and many suffer from chronic pain. Reasons for pain can be multiple things or just one such as:

• pulled muscle or sports injury
• migraines or headaches 
• arthritis
• sprained/strained ankle
• whiplash or other injury from auto accident
• lower back pain
• TMJ
• tennis elbow
• menstrual cramps 

Using acupuncture is a safe alternative to traditional Western medicine. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine notes that "there are fewer adverse effects associated with acupuncture than with many standard drug treatments (such as anti-inflammatory medication and steroid injections) used to manage painful musculoskeletal conditions."

How does it work?

From an Oriental medicine point of view pain is considered stagnation of Qi (chi/energy) and blood and it can either be an excess or deficiency situation. Excess Qi is relieved by massage or touch and a deficiency of Qi is usually more painful upon touch. If you have pain in your neck and shoulders this is usually an excess. And if you have pain in your lower back area this is usually a deficiency of Qi. By determining where the pain is in your body and how bad it is on a scale of 1 to 10, we can determine if you have an excess or deficiency of Qi and blood.

During the initial appointment we will ask questions such as what is your pain on a 1 to 10 scale. Everyone may have a different idea of what 10 is but this way if you are at an 8 or 9 pain level initially and you leave your appointment at a 6 or 7 then we know that acupuncture does work for you so this is the beginning of your pain relief. With further treatments we continue to reduce pain and bring your pain level to a zero and at this point we continue maintenance to have lasting wellness.

How long does it take? 

For acute pain that has been occurring for 3 months or less this will generally take 3-5 treatments. For chronic pain that has been occurring for more than 3 months healing will take longer depending on the injury. With chronic pain that took years to build up it can take a year or so to undo. Each time you leave though you will have improvement and by getting regular treatment we will help your body heal itself. Your body has the ability to heal itself and by using acupuncture we are encouraging your own systems to clear the Qi blockages, excesses, and deficiencies and allow the Qi and blood to flow as it should and create a natural homeostasis.

 

Real Patient Experience with Pain Relief

Over a year ago we had a patient come to Jade Star who was in her 30's and had been in pain since she was involved in a vehicle accident when she was  18 years old. This was a very traumatic accident that she was lucky to live through. Since the accident she had been suffering with back and neck pain on a daily basis and over the years she tried massage, chiropractic care, pain medication, muscle relaxers and physical therapy. Her pain was so bad that she had limited range of motion and difficulty enjoying time with her children and husband. She had mentioned it was hard to find joy with the pain dominating her life.

When this patient first started treatment she was seen twice a week for the first 3 months with improvement after each visit. For the last 9 months we have been seeing her once a week to continue improvement and now that she has had such significant pain relief she is on a maintenance phase and has acupuncture treatment 2-3 times per month. Eventually she will be seen just as needed to help balance her Qi. Also, we would like to note that she is no longer on any of her medications!

Every patient and injury is unique but this is a good example of how an old injury can take time to heal but it will work and you can live your life pain free again. If you are living with pain either chronic or a recent injury, call us today to make an appointment to start your healing process. Acupuncture does work and it is safe! We can help you avoid harmful medications that will only cause other issues.

Acupuncture For Newbies

Something like 38% of adults have tried alternative medicine in the United States. That's a good amount but I think we can do better, especially with how smart we are with our overall health nowadays. Everyone is talking about eating right, avoiding GMO's, going vegan, trying the paleo diet, etc.

So complementary alternative medicine is a mixture of acupuncture, chiropractic, tai chi, yoga, meditation, and lots more. Most people I know have tried yoga a few times, some people are regulars with it. Meditation is helpful and seems just about as trendy as yoga. A lot of people are skeptical about chiropractic work but others swear by it (especially after a car accident). While acupuncture is a whole other world to most people; I'd like to walk all the newbies through a typical acupuncture appointment and treatment to take the frightening "huge painful needles" idea out of your head.

Background info: Jade Star Acupuncture has been in business since December 2011 and is shared by Jennifer Parks and Maurianne Montes. Both ladies are licensed acupuncturists who graduated from The Arizona School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Jade Star focus on acupuncture but a lot of the time that includes gua sha, cupping, moxa... sounds like Chinese huh?! But it's all good stuff and you can sound cool when you tell your friends you got "gua sha'd."

How It Works:

1. So you have an issue that's been bothering you a while and you've tried the usual Western medications that helped temporarily but the issue hasn't gone away. For this example I'm going to use myself and an issue I had last year with anxiety and stress from being overworked and underpaid.
2. Stress and anxiety issues are usually so annoying that you can't even think of how to fix them in the moment. I tried venting to friends, working out, yoga, sleeping more, eating better, having a cocktail, deep breathing, everything I could think of to let go of my day and forget about my work stress so I could enjoy the rest of my life. 
3. Making the appointment is easy, just call Jade Star at 881-0827 and see what time is available, so that's what I finally did. It was such a stressful day I actually left work early and drove straight to the office before I had a nervous breakdown. I was lucky enough to get in the same day! 
4. So I walk in and announce who I am to the girl at the desk and she says "Hi! Welcome! I'm Jennifer" with a friendly smile. Okay, this seems painless so far, I just have to sign a few forms and we head to the treatment room. 
5. Jennifer sits down with me at her consult table to ask A LOT of questions. Questions no one ever asks me(like how often I have a bowel movement)! But she reassures me it's all necessary to get to the root of my issues. She explains how in Chinese medicine they do not diagnose like Western medicine, she is not going to tell me I have anxiety but that I have spleen qi(chi) deficiency, or something like that, and then she will use the acupuncture to balance out or replenish that deficiency. So we get through the questionnaire and then she has me lay face up on the massage table and she feels my pulse on my wrist and looks at my tongue(also part of diagnosing my issues). 
6. She explains what is going on with me and my body from a Chinese medicine standpoint and how that relates to what I am experiencing with my symptoms of "stress" and "anxiety." She then tells me how she is going to place the acupuncture needles in different places around my body, make sure nothing hurts, and then leave me to relax for about 20 minutes. 
7. She rolls up my pant legs and places about 12 or 15 needles all over from my calves, between my toes, my wrist, top of my head, center of my chest, and stomach. Most of them I barely felt when they went in, two of them hurt for a few seconds and I'm told those points were to help me "relax" and "stop thinking so much", so maybe that's why they hurt so much. But the pain dissipated very quickly. She then positioned a heat lamp over my feet, asked if I was comfortable and if anything hurt. As she slipped out of the door she instructed me to "just relax." 
8. So I laid there and listened to the relaxing music playing and enjoyed the nice dark room with dim lighting and closed my eyes. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew Jennifer was back in the room asking me how I feel and taking the needles out. 
9. On my drive home afterwards I was a total space cadet! I couldn't hold one thought in my head for more than 2 seconds. I could not even remember the last time I felt so relaxed. Plus I slept like a baby that night! It was fabulous! 

Pretty simple right?! It didn't take long, it wasn't painful, and I had amazing results. The next few days I did feel more relaxed and able to handle usually stressful situations at work with ease. But Jennifer did mention that getting regular treatments would really benefit me since nothing can be cured with one try. So I scheduled appointments for once a week and then eventually every two weeks and it really has made a difference in my life. I am generally happier, stress is totally manageable, and I have energy to do things after work and enjoy my life. 

So now that you have a little insight on what to expect, hopefully that takes some of the scariness out of it and you'll give it a try. 

Insurance & Memberships

Your Insurance May Cover Acupuncture

We are now able to verify with your insurance company if you are covered for acupuncture! All you have to do is fill out a short form with your insurance information. This form can be sent to you via fax, email or you may pick it up at the clinic. We will know within 48 hours what your coverage is and then schedule your appointment.

Save With Affordable Membership Plans

For those of you whom are not covered by insurance, our membership plans are now available to help save you money. We have a Gold membership which is $99 the first month and $90 per month for 11 months. With this plan you get 2 treatments a month included and any additional treatments are only $40, compared to our non-member rate of $60. Our goal is to help you lead happier and more fulfilling lives. We believe in regular treatments of acupuncture and other Eastern medicine to keep you balanced and prevent illness. With this plan you can make prevention simple, easy and affordable for you to adopt into your lifestyle. Over the course of your personalized year of treatment you will learn about Eastern medicine, food therapy, Chinese herbs, and achieve personal accountability for your own health!

 

We also have a great plan to make Mei Zen Cosmetic Acupuncture affordable. Our Premier membership is for those who want to look younger and feel great. For more information on Mei Zen Cosmetic Acupuncture you can call, email or check out our website FAQ page. It's an amazing alternative for those who have thought about injectables or surgery.

To your health and happiness,

Jennifer Parks, L.Ac.

Jade Star Acupuncture

520-881-0827