One of my favorite getaways to relax is a quick overnight camping trip. Sleep under the stars, BREATHE, and be away from the hustle and bustle of the city. A friend of mine, Kathleen Port, shared a walking meditation with me called Horseshoe Heel Walking for grounding, getting yourself centered.

Here is how you do it anywhere, you don’t have to be camping.

+ bring your focus to the “horseshoe” of your heel.

+ as you step down, focus on the back center, then on the inside and outside edges of it until the heel is fully placed,

+ then push off at the center of the ball of the foot, towards the front. You are using the entire bottom of your foot.

As you engage your attention to this, your foot and leg awaken. Your inner and back legs engage dynamically. Your pelvis shifts into neutral and your spine recovers its healthy curves as it naturally extends. As your spine lifts, your chest also lifts and expands, allowing deeper breathing. Deeper breathing refreshes the body, mind and spirit. Doing this barefoot makes it extra grounding.

Whenever you are enjoying your outside time, be sure to wear sunscreen!

Remember that I offer High Activated Oxygen Therapy (aka Ozone Therapy) for hair loss and scalp issues, skin rashes, brain fog from Long Covid or stress, and an ozone facial for skin cell repair and growth.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Is Acupuncture Therapy a cure-all? Will it cure all of your ills, pain, and emotional stress?

The quick answer is “no” BUT:

Have I seen allergies go away after Acupuncture? Yes.

Have I helped women get pregnant using Acupuncture and/or Chinese herbs? Yes.

Headaches or migraines gone? Yes.

Have people who suffer from emotions that are brought up by old trauma patterns feel better? Yes.

Have people healed faster and better from a surgery because they received Acupuncture? Yes (including me!).

Has PMS stopped happening to women I’ve treated? Yes.

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I explain Acupuncture and the other therapies that I use like this:

My job is to get your body’s systems back into balance so that you can live your life mainly in a balanced state. What does this mean? It means that you may not always be happy, or never have any anxiety, or never have any pain, or never feel sad, or never catch a cold. Those things happen. BUT, Acupuncture will help:

+ reduce depression to increase your number of happy days

+ lower your anxiety so that you can be calmer

+ reduce your pain or yes, sometimes make it go away completely

+ nurture your spirit so that you don’t go into a spiral of sadness

+ make your immune system work better so that IF you do catch a cold, you get over it more quickly. Or, you catch fewer colds

+ make your periods “normal” which means no PMS, no clotting, and no pain

I don’t know anyone who is happy every moment of every day, or who never has any stress or pain. At some point pretty much everyone has a bad day. Take me for example. I have sacralization which means I was born with a low back deformity. It’s led to lots of pain, stiffness, and crookedness over the years. It took me a long time to come up withthe plan that lets me have a pain-free life and still do the sports that I love. I know when/if my back is going to “go out” so I take the necessary steps to make that not happen. Acupuncture hasn’t made that sacralization go away. That’sjust plain impossible. BUT, acupuncture plus structural yoga can and have made my life mostly pain-free so I can do whatever I want. Do I know that I need to get up and stretch a bit while gardening or my back is going to “go out”? Yes, absolutely! But that’s fine because I can live without pain as long as I do what I know I need to do.

Getting regular treatments along with doing what I know helps me at home, works!

WANT TO GET YOUR BALANCE GOING? CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT.

Let me know how I can help you!

Dr. Martha

Our society is obsessed with how we look and we are bombarded with a crazy number of safe, and non-safe, healthy and non-healthy, ways to change how we look in order to achieve the desired result of youthfulness. It’s a modern fixation … the quest to look younger, live longer while feeling full of energy and like when we were “younger”. At the least, we want fewer symptoms. And all those ads are pushing us toward spending money on diets, equipment, testing, procedures, and a wealth of ingenious new ways to fight off aging.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to be obsessed with feeling good, with feeling healthy, with loving and accepting ourselves … with what I call “victorious aging”? Because guess what. Aging does not equal decaying. We can change our game, continue healthy development …. yes, let’s reframe aging as development. It’s another stage in the development of life. I don’t run a 7 minute mile like my grandson or 9.5 minute miles like my daughter does but I can run! And run well. It’s the same idea as shifting my bike when I mountain bike. I don’t try to do the entire ride in one gear; that would be (frankly) stupid. Changing gears is normal, it’s natural, it’s expected and accepted. It’s the same with aging well – or rather developing well in the later years – change is expected and can be intercepted using exercise, food, ATTITUDE, meditation or singing or chanting, and self-love. That being said, it is a good thing to ask if I can become even better, stronger, faster even though I feel my best or healthiest. Because that’s the only way I’ll ever know how good or fast or healthy I can be! It’s the psychology of the possible rather than believing what we’ve been told is impossible.

THE KEY: I have been calling Chinese medicine the “true anti-aging medicine” for years!! Because, when someone comes in and we balance their pulses, get the Taichi symbol/sine wave back into their body’s rhythm, THAT is using our original qi for the best possible health. 

I have known for years that acupuncture successfully treats fibromyalgia but it’s nice when western medicine research agrees with me. In a nutshell, research demonstrates that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Acupuncture had a significantly higher effective rate for the treatment of fibromyalgia than the standard pharmaceutical therapy of amitriptyline. Researchers also found that acupuncture plus moxibustion (warming herbs) produces superior treatment outcomes to tramadol and amitriptyline.

I also have patients use my favorite EFFECTIVE liniment for pain – any kind of pain – Zheng Gu Shui at home. Everyone should have it in their medicine cabinet along with Jade Wind Screen to prevent colds and flu. Speaking of colds and flu, keep up on your B12 injections to maintain a strong immune system.

If you need to schedule an appointment, here is the link. I am available to:

* treat your general health

* improve your immune system to fight colds and flu

* treat wrinkles with Cosmetic Acupuncture

* give you trigger point injections for sports injuries or other pain

* give your face a moisture boost with my Moisture Bomb Gua Sha Facial treatment

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FREE resources for you:

Your at home Medicine Bowl podcasts

Energy Medicine Woman podcasts

Take care!

Dr. Martha

View Dr. Martha’s entrepreneurial story HERE.

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dr. Martha Lucas, Founder of My Zen Skin Care and Lucas Acupuncture, located in Denver, CO, USA.

What’s your business, and who are your customers?

I am a licensed Chinese Medicine practitioner and educator. I have been treating patients for 20+ years for pain management, infertility, post-op and chemotherapy recovery, emotional trauma, women’s reproductive issues, and anxiety. I am currently offering treatment for people suffering from long-term post-covid effects. I use a variety of modalities, including acupuncture, to help my patients achieve the best possible results for their unique circumstances. I currently see patients in my Denver and Littleton clinic locations and remotely via Telehealth.

I am the founder of LucasTeachings.com, an online academy for practitioners to learn advanced skills to grow a more profitable practice. Students have the opportunity to learn and master my signature protocols, Mei Zen Cosmetic Acupuncture and Pulse Diagnosis & Balancing. I have had the pleasure of teaching my courses all over the globe for more than 15 years, both in-person and via Zoom.

In 2016 I launched my signature skincare line for women, men, and teens. My Zen Skin Care offers botanical, cruelty-free, organic formulas and systems for acne management, anti-aging, and naturally healthy skin. Proceeds from sales benefit local charities that I am passionate about, The Cat Care Society and our church’s food bank.

Tell us about yourself

I am a Research Psychologist as well as a Practitioner of Chinese medicine, so I started my career in medicine doing research in a hospital setting. My patients (or subjects as researchers call them) were men who had just had cardiovascular bypass surgery. I was studying their rehab success. As I worked with them, I not only understood that their surgeons were great mechanics, they fixed the engine, but then what? What healing powers were operating to improve the person’s rehabilitation? That led me to study Reiki and become a Reiki Master.

I studied Axiatonal Alignment and finally Colorpuncture, which led me to Chinese medicine school where I fell in love with Pulse Diagnosis, and here I am 20+ years later! And I love every minute of helping people using Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine’s most well-known therapy is acupuncture, but we also do Chinese medical massage (Gua Sha), nutrition advice, herbal prescriptions, and more to help people be and stay healthy. Moving people through their healing journey – no matter where they are in the world – is rewarding.

What’s your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Probably becoming internationally known as an instructor of Chinese medicine for Cosmetic Acupuncture and Pulse Diagnosis and Balancing. My international audience is so excited to learn everything they can when I visit to teach, and I learn things too! Some European countries are a bit further along with alternative medicine than we in the US are, so I get to bring home some pretty cool therapies. And again, I get to treat people when I visit worldwide clinics to teach, which is very rewarding.

What’s one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

For many business owners, I think it’s making enough money to make certain that we can keep the people who work with us – they work with us like a family! I do my best to give raises every year or pay benefits. When money is thin, I’ll not pay myself before I let someone go. One must spend time always reviewing what’s working in your business and what may need to change.

What are the top tips you’d give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. Do your research about whether there is a need for your service or product.
2. Do your research on what other people who may sell a similar product or service are charging for it and see how successful they are.
3. Have some money in the bank – or get a start-up loan – for the first year.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

While there are struggles and worries with owning a business, there is also the reward of (sometimes) being able to take family time to, for example, be with grandchildren when they have a day off school, or help take care of a sick family member. A person may not be able to do that when working a 40-hour job for someone else. On the other hand, almost every business owner I know works many more than 40 hours a week and does some work every day, seven days a week. But when you love what you do, it hardly seems like work!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website:
https://myzenskincare.com/
https://acupuncturewoman.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrMarthaLucas
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myzenskincare/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martha-lucas-ph-d-l-ac-5117093/

I wonder if bombarding women over thirty two years old with regimens, dietary restrictions, and “advice” improves their chance of conceiving and experiencing a healthy live birth of a child. Or does all of the regimenting, calculating, and diligence increase their Liver Qi Stagnation and emotional angst? In my fertility practice I hear quite a litany of advice in terms of what women are being told to do, or not do, to help them get pregnant: Calculate your ovulation so you can see which are your most fertile days. Take your temperature. Take a prenatal vitamin every day. Eat organic food. Get acupuncture. Don’t get acupuncture. Eat all of your food in its natural state. Count your protein grams, fat too. Make certain that you get enough folic acid in your diet. Meditate. Try to eat foods that encourage an alkaline rather than an acidic environment in your body. Relax. Get dairy and gluten free. Exercise every day but not too much. Don’t drink coffee or alcohol. Don’t smoke. Stay hydrated. Find a happy state of mind. Eat lots of vegetables and don’t forget to eat unsaturated fat. Only complex carbohydrates are good. Visualize. Don’t take Chinese herbs. Take Chinese herbs. Stay physically and mentally at peace. Turn on your “fertility switch” with our 12 week program. Only have intercourse in the missionary position as that helps the sperm swim better toward the fallopian tubes. Then keep your legs up so gravity can help. You must be hormonally optimal to conceive. Not pregnant this month, don’t worry, try again next month! Register for our donor egg program just to cover all of your bases. Try our IVF program: 75% refund if we are unsuccessful. Probably just reading this list of advice creates angst with reading all of the unrealistic claims, suggestions, and guarantees that are on the internet. Gosh, I guess I didn’t realize the (partial) list was that long. 

Somewhere I read “getting pregnant should be lots of fun”. You’re kidding, right? What is fun about monitoring every second of your, and your partner’s, life’s activities and feelings? And, those activities are creating emotional instability. In TCM, it is commonly accepted that the seven emotions can injure the liver. In the case of dealing with fertility issues we have a number of emotions involved: worry, angst, longing, anger, grief or depression, and fear. These continuous or cyclical strong emotions are stagnating qi, causing liver qi to rise, and may be causing kidney qi to scatter thereby decreasing its ability to circulate through the other channels and organs. Therefore, management of the monthly cycle of emotions is as important as managing the period and creating what I call a “warm fertile environment” in the uterus. Why is management of emotions so important? Because one of the liver’s jobs is to store blood – store blood and circulate blood. If emotions stagnate its ability to do this, the uterus may not receive proper blood support. Neither will the Spirit. 

In The Liver, Elisabeth Rochat says that the liver’s job is to store “actively in a way that all life may manifest. You must never consider this storing like keeping something closed up in a box. It is to be full and to be steeped in the power of the jing and qi.” She uses words like “conception” and “germinating” when describing the liver’s functions “as the guardian and distributor of the blood. The liver stores but also releases it.” This cycle of restoration and circulation of blood may not occur when someone is in a constant state of worry (so the spleen cannot create adequate blood), longing or depression (negatively affects the heart’s functions that relate to blood), anxiety (stagnates the liver), and fear (scatters kidney qi). When we are in good health, our organs are able to adapt to emotional fluctuations. But under stress stagnation or depletion become the rule which is not a state that allows one to create a warm, fertile environment in the uterus. Look at the emotions associated balance in the organs/elements or at least the organs that we tend to focus on with fertility patients. Start with the core: balanced kidney energy is seen as a person who is adaptable, cool, confident, serene, self-assertive and protective, and patient. Serenity – one of the key feelings that eludes many women who are working with fertility challenges. Balanced earth energy shows as maternal, supportive, nourishing, understanding, receptive, abundant. Earth equals digestion and is perhaps the most important key toward preparing the body to conceive; its energy must be properly fostered through good nutrition and digestion that works well. Balanced wood energy allows a person to be patient, flexible, accessible, optimistic, creative, growing, developing, uncomplicated, passionate. 

Here we have the case of women who wish to create/develop/grow another human being but emotions causing liver qi stagnation can make that more difficult. Granted, our inner states are not a one-to-one association between the state of the organ and the emotional state but, as you can see, the emotional associated with a balanced organ system may be more conducive to allowing the body to conceive and carry. And it is never appropriate to try to relate a part of the body to only a single element. Using reductionism to explain complex energetic patterns may obscure important relationships. This is why it is important to care for what you might consider a “network” of elements or the network of emotions that often accompanies fertility challenges. 

Create a warm fertile environment in the uterus by balancing the emotional state and explaining how the free flow of qi and blood may be negatively impacted by the cache of emotions that accompany fertility challenges. Giving your patients information about how qi and emotions work hand in hand when in balance but do not when emotions injure qi is empowering. Overcoming fertility challenges is a time when women (and men) are in need of feeling that they know their own body (and its qi state) especially well.