Well, we did it!

Earth and Air Wellness: Acupuncture and Alternative Medicine of Walnut Creek is open for business.

We are conveniently located in the heart of downtown Walnut Creek at 1372 N. Main Street.

Open 6 days a week! Call 925-280-6026 for an appointment or book online today!

Our practitioners, Jenna Ferraiolo, L.Ac and Laura Metzdorff, L.Ac (that’s me!) are ready to share with you their knowledge of alternative health care and help make wellness a reality in your life.

Don’t forget to “Like” us on facebook and “Follow us” on twitter for updates, news and special events.

And stayed tune for the launch of our new website!!!

Thanks to all our family and friends for your love and support. We couldn’t have done this without you!

Six days without a post, you know I must be busy. Actually, so much has happened in the last week, it’s hard to believe we got it all done.
Since Thursday we got a phone number and an internet connection, transferred the utilities, registered our fictitious name, got a business license, wrote and signed our partnership agreement, purchased insurance, had our logo and business cards professionally designed, purchased business cards, purchased supplies, and signed our lease. I even attended a business seminar and completed 15 online ceus.
I’m thrilled that it’s all done but there’s lots more to do. Every day is a busy day. No one said owning a business would be easy but so far I don’t mind the work. It feels good knowing all of these tasks are being taken care of and on day one we’ll be ready to do what we do best: Acupuncture! We move in to our new office on Friday! I’m so excited.
Stay tuned for our location announcement and website launch!

Now that the holidays are over and moving and travel have come to an end, it’s time to get down to business! Item one on the agenda, find a work space!

Jenna and I met for a few hours today and hit the pavement looking for space to rent. There is a lot of vacant space in Walnut Creek so we shouldn’t have a problem finding the perfect spot for our acupuncture office. Phone calls, brain storming, and positive intentions was our game plan. All in all, a good day one. Nothing solidified yet but some possibilities in the works. Lots more to do.

Updates from home life…we finally ate a real meal at home last night. It was our first since we’ve moved almost a month ago. We had super yummy meals in New York (and believe me, having someone else do the cooking for a change was a welcome) but there’s nothing like getting back to a regular eating routine with healthy home-cooked goodness. I decided to go simple, a baked whole chicken with roasted root vegetables and squash. Perfect for a cold NorCal night and with lots leftover for lunches. I’ll certainly be able to use the carcass for home-made chicken broth. There’s nothing like a delicious one-dish dinner! And a great way to eat healthy on a budget.

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday season. Let’s make 2011 the year to Cultivate our Wellness.

So, what are your plans for the new year? Whatever it is, you can do it!  Personally, I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions. I usually have so many efforts in the mix, for me it’s just another holiday. That doesn’t mean, however, that I will be cruising lackadaisically into 2011. Heaven’s no. My New Year adventure? Start my own acupuncture business! Where? Walnut Creek, Ca. When? Right now! I’m very excited and incredibly nervous but I’ve got the knowledge and the initiaitive and I’m ready to take this head-on. The best part, I won’t be doing it alone. My good friend and incredible colleague, Jenna Depino, will be joining my efforts. It’s gonna be great! Wish us luck!

So yeah, this holiday season has been busy. I packed up my life once again and moved myself, (and my All-Star), to the East Bay Area with high hopes and expectations for happiness and success. Sure, it’s scary. The unknown always is. But I’ve never been one to let fear stand in my way. When I find a path that calls to me, I hit the ground running. 

I don’t expect everyone to drop everything like I did to pursue their dreams, but I will encourange you to use this new year to takes some chances. Take a look at your bucket list. Is there something you’ve been putting off for an easier tomorrow? Is there a path you’ve been eyeing but have been afraid to take? I say go for it! The dream is yours, the person is you, and the time is now!!! Good luck!

I don’t know if it’s because my own clock is ticking, but universe has been sending lots of fertility and pregnancy patients my way for acupuncture. The ones already pregnant are, not always, but often, simple cases.  Back pain, nausea, acid reflux, all can be treated with a few weekly treatments. Fertility on the other hand can sometimes be trickier.

When a women walks into my treatment room looking for help getting pregnant, the first thing I ask is if they are charting their cycle. Knowing your optimal time to conceive is key in recognizing difficulties with your reproduction and knowing the optimal time to become pregnant.

I’ve found a great website to help my patients understand their menstrual cycles and how to chart them. From basal body temperature to cervical position, FertilityFriend.com lets you record your findings right on the website and it even generates the charts for you.  It’s free to use and they have tutorials to help you along.

I would encourage all women, especially those who are trying to become pregnant, to explore this website and begin to chart their cycles. Even if it’s just with a few symptoms, charting your cycle can help you to be more in touch with yourself and your body.

As part of a “saving money, being productive, bettering one’s self” effort, The All-Star and I have opted to see how long we can go without cable.  Meaning, no TV at the LB apartment.  We were always complaining that we don’t have enough time, yet seemed to find hours free for boob tube guilty pleasures.  So I fully support the idea.  It’s a box of evil I tell you!  One that that will no longer tempt me, however, now the TV just sits there, its blank black screen mocking me, reminding me I must use my wits to fill my spare time and that my life is more important than those depicted on Bravo.  It’s not fair!  Especially since there’s a “Godzilla” outside.  (Yes, there are calling the winter storm that is hitting Southern California “Godzilla.”  Jeez.  Good thing I don’t have “The News” to get me caught up in that one.)  And my toe is still broken (actually I think it’s only a bad sprain, but regardless.)  I can’t jump around doing whatever hooky aerobic dance-off I find to fulfill my Challenge obligations.  I’m just sitting here, in silence, in a cold apartment, with a monsoon outside, alone.  Exciting isn’t it?  I’m afraid to say it but thank goodness for the internet…  Am I still on? Phew.

So, what to do? I should take this opportunity to teach something important and profound.  Hmm..  How about just interesting…

First I’d like to say that I’m still totally bummed out about the Challenge being put on hold.  I know that I said I would start lifting weights, which I did, on Monday.  But yesterday and today I’m so worn out and tired from gimping around on this injured toe that I really don’t feel it smart to exert unnecessary energy that I could be saving to heal my body just so I don’t feel like a failure.  So I’m opting to take it easy.  It’s what I would tell my patients.

Speaking of patients, and this toe, I want to talk a little bit about Chinese Medicine.  After discussing some herbal treatment options with the smartest herb guy I know, I started to think about the channels that run to the toe and how this injury may be causing more than just toe pain.  As you may, or may not know, the “science” of acupuncture is all about this “energy” called Qi which runs throughout our bodies on “channels” called Meridians.  There are twelve major Meridians, (plus two Extra-ordinary Meridians), which are connected to twelve major organ systems, and these organs systems are what govern our body’s functions.  Confused?  It took me 4 years of a Master’s Degree to come up with that line, so I don’t expect it to seem crystal clear.  What you should understand is that the acupuncture points which we stimulate with the needles are along these meridians and are used to treat the associated organs.

So let’s think about the big toe for a minute, the one that I have injured.  There are two major meridians that run to the big toe.  One is that of the Spleen and the other the Liver.  Spleen’s element is Earth.  It transforms and transports the food we eat, contains the blood within the vessels, controls muscles and the four limbs and houses thought.  Typical symptoms of Spleen pathology are fatigue, nausea, lack of appetite, sluggish bowels or loose stools, foggy headed-ness and muscle weakness (many of these symptoms I have been experiencing since my injury.) The Liver’s element is Wood.   It stores the blood, controls the sinews, ensures the smooth flow of Qi, houses the (Ethereal) soul and controls dreams.  Students of Chinese Medicine most often associate the Liver with emotional frustration and irritability which I will admit I have also been experiencing lately, along with some dreams that would scare the socks of your grandmother.

Now, on the hands and feet are points that we refer to as Shu-Transporting Points.  It is at these points that the Qi of the organs flows closest to the surface and is most easily manipulated.  There are some practitioners that rely solely on these points to treat their patients and find them to be extremely effective for almost any ailment.  The very intelligent Dr. Richard Tan has developed an entire method (called The Balance Method) using only these points.

It is my hypothesis that, because I now have significant bruising on the Shu-Transporting Points of both the Spleen and the Liver Meridians, and that the energy there is so easily manipulated, that the energy of the associated organs is stagnating, leading to the symptoms that I described above, especially the nausea, foggy headed-ness, fatigue and bad dreams.  It sounds complex but it’s really quite simple.  If you can treat pathology by influencing the flow the Qi at these points, couldn’t an interruption in that flow cause pathology?   Therefore, it is my recommendation as a Licensed Acupuncturist and Practitioner of Chinese Medicine that I use this rainy week opportunity to take a load off, administer herbs both internally and topically to move qi and blood in order to return balance to my compromised system.

If any of this sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend Between Heaven and Earth by Harriet Beinfield.  It’s a great beginner guide to Chinese Medicine and an good read.

Oh yeah, and here’s this week’s How to Win Friends and Influence People flashcard principle…

“Be a Good Listener”

Almost a week has gone by and I haven’t written a thing about the Diabetes Walk last week.  It was a great success!  They predicted 1 million dollars in raised funds.  Way to go walkers!  We didn’t walk this year.  Instead we volunteered.  While others rounded the course and mingled with vendors, the All-Star and I manned the bouncy castle and slide.  Good times…and also a lesson in child-care.

The kids were great.  I learned quickly that they actually appreciated direction and what I feared would be strictness turned into fun.

The rumors are true, kids like to be told what to do, within reason of course.  Here’s how it worked… As the line grew longer in front of my air-filled station, I opted for groups of five bouncing for 2 minutes to be ended with a trip down the connected slide.  “Slide-time” I shouted and they all raced for the inflatable ladder (if you could call that racing…it was more like tumbling. After all, they were in a bouncy castle.)  Next five in and so on it went.

The All-Star manned the slide.

The kids had a fabulous time and so did we.  Thanks to all involved.  See you again next year!

I have a new found love for volunteering.  It makes me feel good to go out there and do something for nothing.  The great thing about it is the gratification brings me more joy than a dollar any day.  I’m hoping to find more opportunities to lend a helping hand where I can.  I’m especially interested in offering my acupuncture services where they are needed.  If anyone knows of a local program, (I’m in the Orange County, LA area), or an event that needs an acupuncturist to stick people, let me know.

We’re home from our holiday and it’s back to work, for me at least.  After our weekend in the mountains and a long drive through the desert, John found himself in bed with chest cold.  This afternoon he came to the office complaining of a dry cough and “super congestion” in his chest.  I decided that cupping would best in order to break up some of the mucus that was causing his congestion.  What is cupping you ask?  We all remember in 2004 when Gwyneth Paltrow showed up at that NY film premier with those alien-like markings on her back.  Well…that’s from cupping.  The papers described it then as “some kind of acupuncture.”  Talk about publicity for the art.

Cupping is just one of the modalities of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. The cups are applied by reducing the inside pressure, through either suction or flame, which draws the skin up into the cup and creates a hold.  I used a plastic cupping set with a suction pump.  This is much easier and safer than the classic glass fish bowl looking ones.  Cupping is often used for such ailments as respiratory illness, gynecological issues and pain.  The intention is to break up underlying stagnation that is causing the condition.

Since John was presenting with congestion or stagnation of phlegm in his chest that he could not cough up, cups seemed to be the perfect choice for treatment.  I first treated him with needles and let him rest for a while. I used mostly tonifying points in order to boost his immune system and help him fight the illness.

John showing off his freshly cupped back

After John’s acupuncture treatment, I applied cups on either side of his thoracic spine and slid them up and down his back as if I was giving him a massage.  What began to appear were the dark colored marks that you can see in this picture. He felt some slight tenderness but no pain. After a few minutes, I removed the cups and let him sit up.  Immediately he explained that his chest felt looser and he looked a lot less dreary.

Now as I write this he’s starting to cough up the phlegm which had been lodged in his lungs for two days. The marks will last about a week or so. No backless Halloween costumes for him. He has been careful to keep the area covered as he is now more susceptible to the elements. Tomorrow he’ll be able to take a warm shower and should be feeling much better. Hooray to acupuncture and its mysterious modalities.  Hooray to John for forgoing over-the-counter decongestants and seeking out a healthier method of treatment.