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Acupuncture

Why I Became an Acupuncturist

Hi, My name is Laura Stauffer Parks and I’m a Licensed Acupuncturist and Certified Health Coach at Cloud 9 Acupuncture and here’s my story of how I became an acupuncturist.
Long ago, I was a Massage Therapist who was afraid of needles. One week, at least half of my clients came in asking me about acupuncture, and asking me if I knew of a good local acupuncturist for them to try. I answered No, actually I’ve never tried acupuncture because I’m afraid of needles. After maybe the 10th or 12th client asked me this same question about acupuncture, I decided to go try acupuncture just once, to find a nice local acupuncturist that I could send all my massage clients to. And so, I did just that.
When I began receiving acupuncture treatments, I had no idea what to expect. I had allergies that were bad enough I’d have to take prescription allergy meds daily or face a nasty sinus infection as soon as I’d try to stop taking it. After my second acupuncture treatment, my allergies were gone for good, which was awesome!  Even better was the deep and profound relaxation I felt not just during my session but for days, even a week after my treatment. That really got my attention, as a massage therapist I knew the relaxation from a good massage can last a solid day if you’re lucky.
I was about 22 years old when I received my first acupuncture treatment. Over the next few years, I was continuously amazed by what acupuncture could do for me. I’d twisted my ankle coming off the curb the wrong way, and after acupuncture walked out like it never happened. Colds went away faster, things I would normally take antibiotics for I was now using acupuncture with great success.
What really took the cake for me was when my cat suddenly fell ill. All of a sudden one day, my cat had gone into kidney failure. According to the vet, after being hospitalized for 3 days and about a thousand dollars later, my cat had about a 10% chance of survival, as they still did not actually know why my cat’s kidneys were shutting down. I told my acupuncturist and she recommended her colleague who treats cats. So when my cat came home from the vet, looking very much like he was dying, he got his very first acupuncture treatment.
Here’s what happened… She placed the needles for 15 minutes on my cat’s back, then took them out. In that 15 mins my cat went from not able to lift his head or meow, dingy damp fur and yellowing eyes to leaping off the couch, jumping into the bathtub and begging for water out of the tub faucet, drinking water and meowing loudly, running to the kitchen and eating a large bowl of cat food (he hadn’t eaten for about a week), and then swiftly running back to us and rubbing against our legs while excitedly meowing loud and fast, as if to say, “thank you, thank you, thank you! I feel so much better!” My cat would go on to live another 10 years.
After my miraculous cat acupuncture experience I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I knew I had to go to acupuncture school and learn how to help people with this medicine of vast possibilities. So I did. I’ve enjoyed every day of being an acupuncturist, helping patients with so many different kinds of conditions. Every day is so different, because you never know what the patient is going to come in with, physical or emotional, that they may need tending. Every day is a true adventure and I feel so honored to offer this medicine.
If you have questions about how acupuncture can help you with your health concerns, please call to schedule a Free Consultation – I’d love to help!

Winter Cleanse is Coming Soon!

winter cleanse

Our 7 Day Cleanse is back by popular demand!  Stay tuned for our Winter 7 Day Cleanse, which will include seasonal recipes you’ll love this winter.

 

This Cleanse is great for losing weight from the holidays while still eating super delicious real food you can buy at your local supermarket. The Cleanse gives you real solutions to eating really well and enjoying food that tastes good and is actually good for you. Weight loss is difficult for many, but our Cleanse helps make it easy. You will have support by phone and email from our Acupuncturist and Certified Health Coach, Laura Parks.  You will also receive an abundance of tasty recipes for during and after the Cleanse, as well as tips to reduce toxins, and a structured way to keep track of how you’re doing with your health goals during and after the Cleanse.

 

We will also discover any hidden food sensitivities that may be the biggest reason you’re struggling with losing weight. Food sensitivities can also be causing your aches and pains, migraines or headaches, infertility, insomnia, digestive distress, anxiety or mood swings.

weight loss

The most powerful method of all is to combine our Winter Cleanse with Weight Loss Acupuncture treatment – allowing you boost the effects of all of your hard work.

 

We will be offering the 7 Day Winter Cleanse as a short group program in February, but if you can’t wait until February call or email Laura today to get started in our Early Bird Cleanse program! Call 443-521-3583 Email AcupunctureByLaura@gmail.com 

balanced diet

Auricular Acupuncture

auricular acupuncture

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a medical system that dates back nearly 4,000 years. Auricular acupuncture was first mentioned around 500 B.C. in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, which is the equivalent of the Bible for TCM practitioners. However, the method in which auricular acupuncture is practiced today is actually based upon discoveries that occurred in France in the 1950s. Modern auricular acupuncture is based upon the work done by Dr. Paul Nogier of France.

Auricular acupuncture is the stimulation of the external ear for the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions. These health conditions may be taking place anywhere throughout the body. The stimulation of these acupuncture points can be done manually, with an acupuncture needle, a laser, magnets or ear seeds. Regardless of the means of stimulation, auricular acupuncture can be a very powerful addition to regular acupuncture treatments.

The current form of auricular acupuncture came about after Dr. Nogier noticed a scar on the upper ear of some of his patients. When he inquired about the scar, he found out a local practitioner had been treating his patients for sciatica pain and she was cauterizing this specific area on the external ear to relieve their low back pain. Dr. Nogier conducted similar tests on his own patients and found their low back pain was also relieved. He tried using other means of stimulation as well, such as acupuncture needles and found it to be just as effective as cauterizing the area. So Dr. Nogier theorized if an area of the upper external ear is effective on treating low back pain, then perhaps other areas of the ear could treat other parts of the body. This led to the model now used when teaching auricular acupuncture. The ear is thought to represent the whole anatomical body. However, it is upside down in orientation, so the head is represented by the lower ear lobe, the feet are at the top of the ear and the rest of the body is in between. According to history, the Chinese actually adopted this model of auricular acupuncture in 1958.

Auricular acupuncture is considered a microsystem, in that the ear is like a microcosm of the whole body, meaning one part of the body, the ear in this instance, represents the whole body. Microsystems also appear on foot and hand reflexology, facial acupuncture and scalp acupuncture.

This system has been practiced in Asia, albeit in a different form, for over 2,000 years. Auricular acupuncture has been used in Europe for the past 40 to 50 years. And it is finally starting to take root in the United States. The U.S. military, over the past 5 to 10 years, has started utilizing auricular acupuncture for its battlefield personnel. This form of battlefield acupuncture is used to help soldiers deal with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) brought on by being in combat.

Since auricular acupuncture allows for every part of the external ear to connect through the microsystem to every part of the body, many conditions can be treated using only a few very tiny needles. Not only can PTSD be treated using auricular acupuncture, but also things like chronic pain, drug addiction, high blood pressure and nausea. And for those who are a little needle-shy, auricular acupuncture is a great way to treat them because they will never see the needles and they will still get the help they need to achieving health and wellness.

Photo credit: Ear – Travis Isaacs | CC 2.0

The Bladder in Chinese Medicine

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the bladder is one of the six yang organs, paired with one of the six yin organs. The yin organs store vital substances (such as Qi, blood, yin, and yang), whereas the yang organs are more active and have a function of constantly filling and emptying. The bladder is a perfect example of a yang organ. Its main physiological function is to remove water from the body in the form of urine. To do this, the bladder uses Qi (energy) and heat from its paired yin organ, the kidneys. continue reading »

Positive Side Effects of Acupuncture

During an initial session of acupuncture, most practitioners began with an extensive health intake that goes over all of the systems in the body. We use this to determine certain patterns of imbalance, allowing us to treat the root cause of issues. This is one way we differ from Western medicine. continue reading »

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