I don't know art but I know what I like.

One of the great things about being located in an old shirt-factory-turned-artist-incubator building is that I am often exposed to art. This is good, because when it comes to art I am an idiot. That's OK, I've learned a lot being here, and I can now appreciate the beautiful paintings by Tom Myott in the hallway just walking to my Studio, and the incredible sign Kate Austin did for us above our door. I've started to understand the idea that just being around art gets your mind working in a different way.

That's why I was lucky to have a chance to experience "Porch Pieces," a traveling porch that has been touring around our region and soon will be around the world. The creator, Bryony Graham is a British artist who is very interested in the idea of "Americana" and what it means to Americans and the rest of the world. The porch that she and her team created is made of scraps of other porches, but looking at it it seems more like the patchwork of a comfy quilt than a bunch of wood piled together.

I was lucky enough to sit on that porch the other night and hear her thoughts about porches in America, and how the changing dynamics of America may affect what they mean in America. As we were talking about the porch as a means of getting to know your neighbor, of meeting good friends, of getting work done, all I could think of was how community acupuncture, at least in my life, has provided that porch.

Everybody is busy, with 100 different functions that they, their kids, and possibly their dogs have to attend to, but people are making the time to get some community acupuncture. There's the acupuncture itself, which is amazing and profound, but after talking to Bryony, I saw the idea of group qi in a bigger context than I had before ("Group qi" is what we crazy community acupuncturists call the feeling you get when you walk into the community acupuncture room where a room full of people are sleeping and healing, somehow creating a synergy that is greater than their individual treatments. It's the qi [prounounced 'chee'] of the group. Group qi.).

I realize now that there is a certain porch qi that happens in the waiting room and ripples out into the community. I have a lot of people that show up for their appointment to find out their friend is at the appointment time next to theirs. They sit and chat in the waiting room, which might as well have a rocker and a quilt in it. I see people who have never met suddenly have a 20 minute conversation about a common topic that interests them. My favorite moment was two classmates who hadn't seen each other in 40 years had appointments back to back...and they even have the same last name.

So what I'm saying is that the porch as an institution may be changing, but it can never go away. We are such social beings that something in us creates a gravity pool of togetherness and friendness and yes, community, no matter how hard we may try to be "individuals." And in that togetherness there is it's own healing, that is more than just a cure for loneliness. It's a cure for separateness, and our bodies thrive on it.

It definitely adds another exciting layer to community acupuncture. I always thought my role as community acupuncturist was to bring healing to individuals in our community, but it seems I also get to be a part of watching the community heal itself.

So thank you Bryony for using art to help me see how important porches are, but also that you don't always need a porch to have a porch. You just need porch qi.

REFLECTIONS OF A FOOD ADDICT...

From Warren:

REFLECTIONS OF A FOOD ADDICT

Has anyone else looked in the mirror lately and thought, “Now where did that come from?” That’s right…I’m referring to that little more of myself in the reflection. Thankfully, I’m not obsessed with my weight, and I don’t need a scale to let me know I could use to lose some pounds…more than a few even. Unfortunately for my figure, I love food. It doesn’t help that it’s winter…seems eating is my favorite activity this time of year. Gone are the days when I could eat anything I wanted without consequence. It appears that my body has developed an atavistic impulse to store everything I eat as fat, as if at any moment I’ll have to survive the rest of the winter gnawing on twigs and the occasional berry from the shelter of my cave. Fear not… I’ll have plenty of reserves to draw upon. This isn’t the first winter I’ve noticed this trend, but it is the most pronounced. Seems to get worse every year, and harder to take off the residuals once the sun has finally returned.

One of my hurdles to this situation is very clear to me…I HATE DIETING! Somehow, it’s an all or nothing equation that works for me regarding my relationship to food. What?…Only one helping of garlic mashed potatoes at dinner? But they are so tasty… MODERATION BE DAMMED! I have yet to master the discipline required to make the right food choices all of the time, so I end up in an occasional game of tub-of-war, trying to tug my fat body back to it’s former slim glory. It’s amazing how quickly the weight can come on, and how slow and arduous it seems to take it off. I have no patience for slow weight loss…I want results and I want to see them now! With this type of all or nothing disposition, extreme measures are required and radical change must transpire for a successful and speedy transition back to slimmer state.

I think it helps a lot for a few things to happen: the first of which is DISGUST. Self loathing can be a wonderful motivator for change. Your will needs motivation and a strong voice to carry out radical change or it will fold under the tremendous weight of habit and dependence. Strong emotions tend to burn longer than passing fancies. If you think it might be nice to do something that’s outside your regular routine, chances are you won’t do it if there isn’t enough passion attached to it. No one ever climbed Everest that said, “Geez, that might be fun to do.” Conviction is key and stamina will be required for most worthy endeavors…so buck up! Get out some old pictures of yourself or put an unflattering one on the fridge…rent some inspirational movies…read a book about the triumph of the human spirit…keep your soul fed and your passion burning so your momentum doesn’t fizzle out.

Once you’ve hit that point where you realize it’s time to take action, you need to form a plan or your energy will be wasted on spastic and fleeting attempts to make change. This is no time to flounder. Clear and concise movement is required or frustration will undo you. Set a plan…a course for success where failure is not an option. How is this done? I find it helpful to completely alter my relationship to food. Food, I love you…but you have become a naughty temptress. I must leave you. Obviously, quitting food is a bad idea, but changing the role it plays in your world can be a good one. During times of weight loss, I embrace a completely pragmatic relationship to food. I seek no joy there…it becomes nothing more than sustenance. Much like the air we breathe…I don’t want it to be polluted, but beyond that, it requires little thought or attachment. I take enough to continue…nothing less, nothing more. This approach puts food in its place for me and keeps me from cheating or overeating. I keep my meals simple and nutritious… nothing decadent that will leave me wanting more. There are plenty of diets out there to model your food intake around. Do some research and pick one that resonates with you. I do well with a low carbohydrate approach, but usually go a step further and initiate a cleanse at the onset of my weight loss. I find this helps me control my cravings, which can be a nuisance at the onset. A good cleanse will often make you feel like you want to die. Detoxifying the body can be a rough road for some, so brace yourself and your loved ones before you go down this path.

It’s ultimately a pretty simple equation you need to contend with: if you burn more calories than you consume throughout the day, your body will burn fat as it’s source of energy. If you heed this formula, any diet will work, though some will require more exercise than others. Which brings me to the next step to success: get active. You may lose weight with diet alone, but exercise will expedite the transformation. Besides, few things in life will make you feel better physically than exercise will. Getting over the inertia of complacency is the hardest part. If you can find the motivation to get to the gym or to suit up for a morning run, you have cleared the hardest hurdle. Exercise in and of itself is easy, and typically enjoyable. It’s mechanical…JUST DO IT! You’ll feel better when your done and it gets easier to do the longer you do it. It’s the getting to the gym that requires the real motivation. For this you will need discipline. If you have the funds, join a gym…if not, then use what you have. A good pair of running shoes is all you really need to succeed, and a nice brisk walk every morning may be the perfect way to start. You can raise the bar as you go, just make sure you budget the time for it daily. Some may benefit from the support of another. Get your spouse involved…ask a friend to be a workout partner…join a Biggest Loser competition. Find your motivation and conviction… research your dietary plan…reach out for support. The motivation and moral support you can find in others may help you through the times where your own motivation may waiver. Write out your plans…clean out your cupboards of sweet temptations…fill your fridge with healthy options. Remember the goal…stay focused…don’t deviate from the course. If you stay true to your plan you cannot help but succeed. The weight will come off and there will inevitably be less of you in the reflection, and more time to reflect on something other than your weight.

Join us at The Acupuncture Studio for our inaugural Biggest Loser Competition. Just schedule an acupuncture appointment between March 1^st and the 12^th for entry in the contest commencing with a weigh-in followed by a supportive treatment to help stimulate your metabolism and curb your cravings. Find out how powerful an ally acupuncture can be on your path to weight loss. What do you have to lose?

Give us a call! 615-0505

Community: Help and be helped.

The "Community" in Community Acupuncture

I usually like to talk about the "Acupuncture" in Community Acupuncture, but today, and in light of current events, I thought I'd talk about the other half of this phrase-"Community." Community Acupuncture isn't just about having acupuncture on a sliding scale(though it's a nice perk!); there's something happening when a lot of people get together for a common goal. People getting acupuncture in the community room often tell me that there's a nice feeling they get while healing in a room with others.

If any good comes out of the tragedy in Haiti, I think it's that we are able to notice this feeling on a bigger scale. I hope you have felt it lately, as the money and the aid has been pouring into Haiti, it's a feeling so strong, I personally have to turn away for a little while. And yes, part of the feeling when watching these images is the mass grief, the shock, and the helplessness of being a world away from the aftermath, but I believe there is something more. Beyond the logistics, the politics, and the cynicism, there has been an outpouring of love and help from people all over the world to help these people we've never met, much the same way that it occurred after 9/11 and the South Asia Tsunamis.

We as humans want to give, want to help, and that can be a little scary by itself. We as a rule aren't too fond of emotions, actions and processes we can't control, and even this need to help our community can be a little discomforting. But there it is, and the more we surrender to this need to help and be helped, the better off we are as humans.

Help and be helped-that's a prescription for healing right there, and it's all around us everyday if we're open to it. It can take a lifetime to learn to do both-many people I see seem to pick one and stay with it their whole lives...and usually become exhausted in the process.

If one good thing comes out of the tragedy in Haiti it's that we can all learn to be healers, to learn to help as part of a huge community...so that we can learn to be helped as well.

I feel very lucky to live in the community of Glens Falls, NY. It's backdrop is the Adirondack Mountains. It's a four hour drive to New York, Boston or Montreal. There's plenty that's old here and plenty that's new. The people are incredible. I feel lucky to be part of Community Acupuncture, because I get to be part of a community that is helping others across the country, as well as in my own tiny clinic. And I feel very lucky to be a part of a world wide community that is trying hard to help a whole nation that is in the midst of a tragedy. I feel lucky to be in your community.

Stop and FEEL the Pain

From Warren:

Now that the holidays are behind us, I find it helpful to make time to slow down long enough to tune into what sort of damage I just caused my body by operating on autopilot with no reserve fuel for far too long. Unfortunately this is a bad habit of mine that has never successfully made the New Years Resolution list. I run on empty with no time to refuel body, mind or spirit…after all, I am invincible…or so I thought. Day in and day out I have been ignoring a pain in my back because I just don’t have time for pain. This is a flawed approach to taking care of one’s self. Pain is a way for the body to tell you that things are out of balance and that, perhaps you are doing too much. The other day my back pain transcended its ignorable status by grabbing my attention with electrical sensations in my toes, thus ushering in a new ailment: sciatica. It’s hard to avoid the car analogies when talking about the body…and I currently feel like the guy who ignored the first signs of needing new brakes. What could have been prevented with some general maintenance is now going to be a costly fix. Luckily I’m surrounded by talented practitioners of the healing arts and they will take time to help me overhaul the wreck that my body has become. This year, in an attempt to practice what I preach, I will make a concerted effort to not just stop and smell the roses, but to also stop and feel the pain. Being present to one’s body long enough to hear what it’s trying to tell you can save you a lot trouble in the end and help you keep out of the body shop and on the road of life.