Spirit/Heart-Centered Care

I just took the third installment of a continuing education class yesterday with the wise and gifted Dr. Mikio Sankey.  What a true healer and man with vision.  I have been learning for the last year from him about specific acupuncture protocols to use on patients to help them to begin opening their Hearts.

We learned in Chinese Medicine school that the Heart is the Monarch or King of all organs, and that it houses the Shen, or Spirit-Mind.  If the Heart is clear of blockages and baggage and instead open, it can then rule the dominions (the remaining organs) with a clear, wise and compassionate Shen.  In terms of disease, Chinese medicine theory says that the excesses of the 5 emotions (joy, worry, grief, fear and anger) are the root cause of most diseases and imbalances in the body.  However, Chinese medicine theory also goes on to say that if the Shen is harmonious and balanced, it can weather the excesses of the 5 emotions, thus keeping the body healthy and vibrant. As we went through school, however, we forgot the significance of this fundamental Shen/Heart-Centered belief in Chinese medicine, understandably so.  Four years of grueling schooling on theory, acupuncture, herbs, clinical practice, and western medicine, plus ultimately passing the California and/or National Board exams, and then starting our own practices leads one to get caught up in the day to day of living and treating the myriads of health complaints and concerns that our patients come in with to our practices.

Somewhere along the road, I began to yearn for more, however.  I wanted more than to just help heal my patient's chief complaints; I wanted to help transform my patients' lives and their Shen.  I wanted more out of myself, too, as a healer, mother, wife and individual.  Well, "ask and you shall receive," and I was referred to Dr. Sankey last year and I began to see him for acupuncture treatments.  That first treatment was mind-blowing and transformational, to say the least.  It was so profound, I never had a treatment like this in all of the 10 years I've been getting acupuncture.  My whole mind and body shifted from its core to a new vibration.  With continued treatments, I am seeing the amazing transformations my Shen, Heart and body are going through.  I feel such iyashi  with his treatments and feel so invigorated and inspired now, helping me to go once again back to my Center, and to reawaken in me my purpose, which was to always serve and help heal others, and that is why I went into this profession to begin with.

I had to learn from this man.  Luckily, he began offering his continuing education classes locally again since this summer.  So in addition to the pearls of wisdom he's so kindly shared with me every time I go to see him for acupuncture, I have been studying his acupuncture protocols.  Dr. Sankey practices with the fundamental belief I talked about earlier, that the Heart must be open and that if we are all brought back to Center, the healing administered is much more profound for each person.  His protocols energetically unlock the Heart, body and Shen to help it unravel itself from the traumas, pains, blockages and toxins that have held it prisoner for months and years.   I have begun to use these protocols in my practice, and the feedback I am getting from my patients have been phenomenal.  Some feel it more profoundly than others.  Some see changes more gradually.  But one thing they all agree is that in addition to alleviation of their chief complaints, they feel the treatments to be much more powerful than previous to using these specific protocols.

If anyone is feeling stuck, overwhelmed, uninspired, or go through a yo yo of emotions, diets and health symptoms, please consider coming in for an evaluation and Spirit/Heart-Centered treatment.  I can help.  In addition to doing these specific protocol to jump start your healing, I also offering nutritional counseling and purification programs to help support your physical body to more effectively release blockages, wastes and build-ups, speeding up your healing process.  Please call me at 424.248.5576 or email me at info@iyashiwellness.com

No Acupuncture Happy Hour Today 9/30 and "Smart Choices" foods

Please note, there will be no Acupuncture Happy Hour today. Will resume next week 10/7.

In the meantime, I wanted to share an article that came out today in the LA Times that warns consumers of the marketing ploy food companies are now employing to have consumers purchase "Smart Choices" labeled foods.

Many of my patients come in confused as to what pertains a healthy diet. What with the conflicting information and marketing ploys out there to get consumers to purchase healthy foods - including this "Smart Choice" labels, no wonder! What I always tell my patients is to eat foods that come from the earth and that has been barely processed. But don't all foods come from the earth at one point? they ask. Sure, but from eating a tomato or an apple or a lean cut of meat, compared to eating Froot Loops, Twinkies, and fast food burgers, which one do you think has the lesser amount of work done on the food? Which one requires just washing, cutting and eating (or in the case of meats, cooked, then eaten)? The first three foods. The latter three foods came from a natural food source, sure, but then they were processed using all kinds of chemicals, additives, flavorings, colorings and god knows what else, to be sold to the consumer. It's a far cry from what it originally looked like when it came from the earth. Eat foods your grandmother would recognize, instead. And unless you have a digestive disease like Celiac disease or diabetes, I always like to tell my patients to eat anything - but everything in moderation. Focus on a variety of vegetables, but meats are good for the body, fish keeps the blood smooth and flowing, and carbohydrates of the complex kind (like whole wheat, quinoa, amaranth, etc.) provide the burst of energy we need. The rest - alcohol, caffeine, sugar/desserts, dairy - those are fine as long as it's occasional. I tell my patients, If you've been eating a really good, clean, healthy diet, reward yourself one night with a gorgeous red wine or a sumptuous chocolate cake! Eating shouldn't be about punishment, calorie-counting, or starvation. Eating is nourishment for the body and soul, and we want to eat foods that promote longevity, vitality and stamina.

So to use Michael Polan's mantra, Eat Food, Mostly Plants, Not Too Much.

If you are interested in improving your dietary habits and/or wanting to see how well your organs and body systems are functioning, I provide nutrition counseling and assessment at Iyashi Wellness. In addition to filling out a questionnaire, during the assessment, I take my patients through several quick tests to evaluate what nutrients their organs and body systems may be lacking. Based on this assessment, I prescribe whole-food based nutritional supplements from Standard Process. Because Standard Process' supplements are high quality, whole-food based using mostly organic ingredients, the body is able to better absorb the supplements nourish the body as opposed to the synthetically created supplements that are commonly available in the market. Please contact me if you are interested in a consultation or nutrition assessment at info@iyashiwellness.com or 424.248.5576