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Happy New Year!

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and much needed break! My Christmas and New Years was great; I spent two weeks in LA with my family and friends and I'm happy to be back in SF. Warning: This is my longest, most packed post to date. I have a lot of news to share with you. First of all, there seems to be a learning curve to becoming a faithful blogger, but I'm feeling like a stalwart neophyte tadpole swimming around in the internet pond. In addition to this blog, I have begun a personal blog on WordPress (which is the coolest, most well-designed, well-built, and fastest-growing blogging community and site. Check it out! Although December was kind of a wash due to holiday madness and fun and fun madness, my New Year's Resolution is to post weekly blogs to keep folks up to date.

January is typically a time for re-grouping after Winter Holidays. It is cold (stop laughing all you East Coast strays). Lots of people don't immediately think of coming in for a session and are low on funds due to buying lots of toys for the Tiny Tim's in our lives. So, I am making January the month of 25% discounts one hour. I have also added 30 and 45 minute sessions to the menu of services so that more people can afford to take care of their bodies in these tough economic times.

I am remodeling the office. There is new furniture, lighting, and a new print. As many of you know, Michele King is the artist who painted the two beautiful paintings that have been there for a while. (You can see her work at: www.michelemking.com.) The office is going to be painted this month, unfortunate but necessary. I will let you know in advance in case you are particularly sensitive. I will air out the room as much as possible.

I have a new business coach, Michael Condren, who is wonderful and funny and has helped me immensely. When I first embarked on the path to becoming a healer over ten years ago, I didn't fully understand how much I needed to learn about running a business. And one day I received the epiphany that I needed help. Michael happened to have moved into the building a few months before and we'd exchanged smiles and hello's until finally I asked him what he did. You can learn more about Michael's work at: www.visionaryupstarts.com. (Note: The website is going to be updated soon. He has recently changed the focus of his practice from young adult men to start-up businesses.)

As many of you know, I am always learning new tools to bring to my Acupressure Massage practice. This month I have enrolled in an Environmental Stress Management (ESM) class taught by Dr. Kim Makoi, whom many of you know as the awesome holistic chiropractor that I recommend to everyone. He has been my personal chiropractor for six or seven years so far and has helped me overcome low back pain, weakness in my knees, neck tension, and adrenal imbalance. In addition to running a busy practice, he gives bi-monthly lectures and teaches modules on ESM. ESM is the lay person version of Total Body Modification (TBM), developed by Dr. Victor Frank, who also helped develop Touch for Health, which is related to Kinesiology and Muscle Testing. For more information on the ESM modules, contact Dr. Kim. I will be blogging on the ESM module very soon. Stay tuned. I am learning a lot about environmental toxicity, diet, the effects of certain drugs like acetaminophen, muscle testing diagnosis, and treatment for various ailments.

In addition, I am now in my 6th quarter at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) in Potrero Hill. I am loving the program. The faculty are so dedicated to teaching and furthering the practice of Classical and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Eventually I will be adding acupuncture to my current practice but will still continue to provide acupressure massage for my clients. Feel free to ask for recommendations for great acupuncturists in SF and Berkeley. I know some wonderful practitioners.

Some of you may know of Cameron House, a non-profit that serves the Asian American Community in the Bay Area, especially immigrant families and youth. In the past, I taught massage techniques to an immigrant mom's group and will be teaching martial arts basics to children in the after school program. Cameron House has been serving the community since 1874. It is a wonderful place with a lot of spirit and history. You should drop by and check out their innovative programs. They can always use your skills, time, and financial support. Thank you C.K. for introducing me to the wonderful people at Cameron House.

I am also continuing to teach Yin Style Baguazhang Basics, Sunday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 at Jefferson Square Park. The classes are small and focused. I am currently accepting new students. The fee is $10 per class and there is a sliding scale. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. I highly recommend developing a physical fitness practice that you can do your whole life. Whatever it is, whether it be: walking, yoga, surfing, weight training, cardio, mountain biking, martial arts, calisthenics, climbing, dancing, or your own 5 minute a day routine of sit-ups and push-ups, staying in shape is a crucial part of being pain-free, staying healthy, and feeling happy. Learn more. (Look for upcoming seminars with He Jin Bao, Yin Style Bagua Zhang lineage holder.)

One last note: a lot of people are getting sick this season and the weather has been sharply variant. Stay warm, rest well, and be sure to do all of the immune boosting things this season. I recommend using: Airborne, Wellness Formula, astragalus, ginger, vitamin C, and adrenal support supplements in order to stay healthy. But remember, the best medicine is preventative. Take good care of yourself and make sure to notice if you are tired, sleepy, feel cold or are overly stressed right now. If you feel like you are about to be sick, come in for an acupressure massage session. Acupressure massage can boost your immune system, relax your muscles, relieve your stress, keep the Winter blues at bay, and help you to sleep.

Be well.

Stretching vs. Warming Up

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

When first introduced to Dr. Xie Pe Qi, the lineage holder for Yin-Style Bagua Zhang, I was repeatedly warned not to stretch in front of him. Having been a dancer and a student of Northern Style Long Fist, this surprised me; I was used to doing an hour of stretching before every class. Before Dr. Xie began the Bagua Zhang seminar, he invariably caught someone stretching and went into a long tirade in Mandarin about how it was useless, makes you tired, and weakens your muscles. If he were still alive, Dr. Xie would be pleased to know that science has corroborated his opinion about stretching before engaging in sports or physical exercise.

For those of you who work-out or play sports, this NY Times article: Stretching: The Truth sheds some light on how to perform your best and protect yourself from injury. Acupressure, Massage and Bodywork can also be helpful in keeping your muscles relaxed and pain-free. Several of my clients improved their performance and afterwards recovered better in races and triathalons this year. One client noted that because she made receive weekly massages part of her training regimen, she felt upbeat and relaxed even in the last leg of her triathalon.

It is important to note that the point of the article is that warming up is more appropriate than stretching before exercise. I would add that overall health requires both strength and fexibility. Stretching, especially active stretching as opposed to passive stretching, is important to increase circulation, relieve pain, and keep the body relaxed. Yoga is a great example of active stretching, as is Pilates, and Tai Chi Quan.

History of Amma, Acu-Point Therapy,

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I am often asked to describe Korean Acupressure Massage and how it differs from other types of acupressure. My answer is that the system that I practice, Hwe Choon Do In Sul Bup, is a family lineage practice, handed down from father to son for over 500 years. I learned it from the Master Yoo, the last of the lineage holders within his family. This system uses finger pressure to press acu points on the body, stimulating qi circulation, toxin release, and nuture of tissues, joints and organs. This system has much in common with other Asian Bodywork Therapies, such as: Amma, Shiatsu, Jin Shin Jyutsu, and Chinese Acupressure, however I would say that Korean Traditional Acupressure relies more on short and intense pressure over a large number of points during one treatment. Here is an article by Barry Kapke of the San Francisco School of Massage. It explains the history of Asian Bodywork Therapies.

NY Times Article on Referred Pain

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In the West, acupuncture is famous for pain relief (which is only one of the many things it is extremely effective in treating). Often biomedical doctors (MD's) don't understand why it works but that it does, and will refer their patients to an acupuncturist. When it comes to pain, the medicines and treatments available through biomedicine often do not treat the root cause, only the current symptoms. Here is an interesting article explaining referred pain from a biomedical perspective and why acupuncture is effective in treating it.

What's new on this site

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I am currently adding new stuff to this site, more pictures, blog posts, recommendations. My good friend Phil Quinn, of Quinn Interactive, built this site and set up a CMS so that I could edit and add to it easily. It's actually pretty fun. If you have any comments about this site and how it can serve you better, please send me an email.

Thanks!

hae min