Hello again from the space of this newsletter!
It’s been a while. Normally I have a loose schedule for the newsletters, but back in March I threw the loose schedule out the window. With so much extra on our plates in the last year or so (pandemic, new online booking/charting/payment system, surprise changes from the medical insurance world) I gave myself permission to truly just wait until I was called to write a newsletter.
So here I am, 3 months later, called to write to you about 2 things:
- Masks In Our Office
- A Mind Experiment for the post-pandemic renaissance
I have a few other updates and reminders as well, so scroll on…..
Masks at Thrive Acupuncture
Starting June 15 California guidelines will align with CDC guidelines regarding masks. According to the CDC guidelines, fully vaccinated people are less likely to have infection or transmit SARS-CoV-2 and can resume most activities without wearing a mask or physical distancing except where required (like at your workplace, local businesses, healthcare settings, and public transportation).
Since we are a medical office, we’re asking that all our patients continue to wear masks to their appointments and keep them on in shared spaces in our office and while Christina is in the room with them doing the intake and placing the needles.
As of June 15, fully vaccinated patients, after showing proof of vaccination, can be maskless for the part of the treatment where they are resting by themselves in the treatment room.
Christina and Jules will continue to wear masks at the office when patients are here.
We will continue to use a HEPA air filters in each room, let each room air out in between patients, and sanitize sanitize sanitize!
And we’ll keep monitoring things and adapting as appropriate.
How will this work if you want to be maskless for part of your treatment?
Proof of Vaccination: Please email a photo of the front of your vaccination card to thrive@thrive-acupuncture.com and we’ll add it to your medical record.
Getting the mask off and on: Wear your mask to your appointment and after Christina has placed the needles she will slip your mask off and place it on your chest. Yes she can get it off even after placing needles in the ears. At the end of your treatment, she’ll start by taking out the points that free you up to put your mask on, so you can do that while she is down at your legs and feet.
Any concerns?If you have any questions or concerns let us know right away by calling or emailing so we can discuss them with you. As always, we welcome your feedback and have lots of solutions and options. One thing we’ve learned at a deeper level from the pandemic is that we’re all in this together!
Mind Experiment – Follow A Good Feeling
As we emerge from the disruption of the pandemic and transition back to some of our “regular” activities, I want to encourage you to take your time and be mindful about what you put back into your life and how you put it back in.
A variety of experts, from astrologists to economists, are predicting a post-pandemic renaissance. They predict a revival of art, music, celebration, community, travel and accelerated innovation in all areas of life. What better time to ask yourself what you want to create in the world as part of our new normal?
I want to give you permission to follow a good feeling as you navigate piecing together your post-pandemic life. So much of popular culture messaging tells us that it requires effort and struggle in order to create more of what you want. But what if it was simpler than that? What if you could trust that when you are in a good feeling, you actually have more clarity, wisdom, creativity, and insight that will help you create the life you want?
Mind experiment: Pick a time that you commit to following a good feeling to make your decisions.
- If this is new to you, maybe pick an hour on the weekend.
- If you want to test it out for longer, pick a full day to see what it would be like to follow a good feeling to make your decisions.
- And if you’re really up for an experiment, try it out for a few days or a week.
When I say “following a good feeling,” what I mean is that when you have a decision to make, lean into anything that feels like peace of mind, aliveness, happiness, curiosity, motivation, relaxation, clarity, connection, love, spirit, and all the good feelings that come from that space.
I do this a lot on the weekend, and it doesn’t mean I don’t get anything done. Instead it means I get more done while enjoying doing it. Last weekend I had a long list of things I wanted to do, so I chose from that list by leaning into what I felt like doing in the moment. I rode my mountain bike, took a country drive to 2 different garden centers, gardened, had a date night with my husband in our backyard after he tidied up our bocce ball court, washed my car, did laundry, caught up with family on the phone, had a pool hangout with a friend, read a book, watched some basketball. I did have a moment pre-car wash when I was starting to come up with excuses not to wash it, but that actually didn’t feel good. When I tuned back into what felt good I remembered I wanted a clean car, plus I had the time and energy to make that happen in the moment, so I got on with washing the car and it felt good.
I aim to do this in my business as well. After all, I didn’t start a business in the service of wellbeing so I could suffer. It’s effortless for me to stay in a good feeling while working with patients—my personal worries don’t have any place in the space of service. And it’s pretty easy for me to follow a good feeling, or at least avoid the constricted bad feelings, when making big business decisions. However, it takes a bit more discipline to keep experimenting with spending more time in a good feeling while doing everyday admin work.
Are you willing to take on this experiment? Can you take on the intention of staying in touch with a good feeling, without having “how to” instructions and techniques? Are you willing to let go of control and effort in one area of your life to follow a good feeling? It’s not possible to stay in a good feeling 100% of the time—at least I’ve never met a human that’s built that way—but you can experiment with pointing yourself in the direction of a good feeling AND recalibrating when you notice you are headed in the wrong direction. Are you interested in that?
You will probably be surprised that everything doesn’t fall apart when you give up suffering and efforting. And you may be amazed at how much you accomplish while having a good feeling!
As we enter this post-pandemic renaissance, I’m interested in taking on the experiment of rising up from a place of connection and love. I can’t wait to hear how your experiment goes and see what “new normal” we create!
Upcoming Events
If you want to explore following a good feeling–what that means, how to do it, and what the benefits are–come join us this and every Tuesday afternoon for a zoom conversation where we take a breather from all the noise and make room to grow more peaceful, even now!
We’re so confident in how helpful this conversation is that the first month is FREE, so you can come check it out without any pressure.
Click this link to our event page for all the information about the community and the link to register.
What We’re Treating in the Clinic–Insomnia and AnxietyLately I’ve been seeing an increase in patients with insomnia and anxiety. That’s common at the start of the summer season which is June 20 this year. I think it’s flared up a little early as we get ready for the transition–it has been summertime hot for a while–and from constant adjustments to the pandemic.
Although most people weren’t a fan of the social isolation over the past year, sometimes there was a simplicity in it. And now as we adjust our habits of thinking about being around people, our thinking can get a little wound up, and we experience social anxiety.
The good news is that I practice a style of gentle acupuncture that is effective at reducing anxiety as soon as the treatment starts. And most patients report they sleep better after acupuncture even when I’m not focusing on that, so you can imagine how helpful it could be for sleep if that was our focus.
Established patients can make an appointment at our new online booking site. You’re also always welcome to call or email us to make an appointment.
New patients need to call or email us to set up their first appointment because there is just too much information we need to share with you.
Happy Good Feeling Mind Experimenting!
Christina Ness-Hawks, LAc
