Category: Women

How did you get into this?

10/17/2013

My fitness days!

I often have a similar conversation with my patients, whereby they want to know how I got into acupuncture. They see how I really love what I do and the passion I have in educating people about the benefits of Chinese medicine, and what it has to offer. And this is what I tell them.

I had been working in the fitness industry for over 10 years, managing 2 fitness clubs, personal training and teaching aerobics. Life was good. I was doing triathlons, adventure races and running marathons. My friends were all fitness buffs and we spend our time hiking, training or eating!

But somehow I felt this wasn't enough! I was meant for something more...
I've always been drawn to anything connected to health improvement. I constantly devoured magazines and books on natural health. I treated myself to good food, supplements, and the use of practitioners such as chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopaths, homeopaths, and acupuncturists, to keep my body and mind in balance.

When personal training, often clients would complain about having a migraine, or not sleeping, or having painful periods. I was frustrated because I wasn't sure how to help them. So one quiet Friday night, I sat at work and decided to change my career path.

It took me almost 2 years! Yes, you read it right, 2 years of research before taking the plunge. I visited and read about many colleges, talked to different practitioners about their craft, their burn out rates, their incomes, the good, the bad and the ugly of their fields.
In the end, Chinese medicine really called out to me.

I hadn't told anyone of my decision and my research. Now that I was sure, and had a plan to start school in 4 months, it was time to share my exciting news. Well, let me tell you, my balloon deflated real fast! Everyone, I mean everyone, my family, my friends and long time clients, all thought I had lost my mind.
This is what I was told:
- Acupuncture? Seriously?
- Why rock the boat? You have such a great job.
- You're too old (I was 33 at the time) to go back to school.
- 5 years? How will you support yourself and pay for tuition?
- Have you lost your mind?
- Why would people get acupuncture from you, you're not Chinese!

Not one person supported me in this choice. I panicked. Maybe they were right, I was crazy! I started doubting myself and rethinking the whole thing. But in the end, I followed my heart and my gut, and took the plunge anyway. I went to school full time while working part time, had not much of a social life (my free time was spent studying), and didn't travel (no money) to France. But it was all worth it.

THIS was the best decision I have ever made, bar none!!! I love what I do so much. I teach it to eager students, who I hope I can inspire to become as passionate about Chinese medicine as I am. I help patients on a daily basis and feel blessed to have such a great fulfilling career.

Follow your gut, dream without limits, don't be afraid. It won't be easy, but the reward is that much sweeter.

Clara Cohen
Registered Acupuncturist, DTCM
Healing Cedar Wellness

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Popping the Balloon of Potentially Harmful Ailments

9/11/2013

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Alternative medicines and treatments have long been considered as sort of a saving grace, especially for a 35-year old widow and mother of two future NBA superstars. I’ve always been the obedient patient when it came to my doctor’s prescriptions for chronic pains. Back then, I endured menstrual cramps and PMS with regularity; coming to a point where taking medicines and exercising became a frustrating ordeal. But when my sister introduced me to acupuncture, I got intrigued right from the onset. At first, I wasn’t fond of the idea of someone sticking needles all over my body, but as I delved deep into the benefits of this alternative treatment, I suddenly felt the urge to become a human pin cushion for the sake of taking care of my family’s future.

Before, I had this perception about the importance of planning for the family’s future that involves a lot of traditional “piggy bank” saving methods. I used to allocate 20% of my income for the long road ahead; not knowing that – in more ways than one – my life insurance has its own way of providing my family with a suitable financial safety net. In hindsight, planning for the future isn’t such a bad idea; however, dealing with present day problems is still my ultimate objective.

I read about a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine claiming that “alternative treatments often get short shrift in standard healthcare because doctors are generally unaware of the science showing that they really are effective alternatives to drugs and medication.” These researchers compiled data from close to 18,000 people who took part in studies that analysed the effectiveness of acupuncture. Again, being the submissive patient, I hopped on the bandwagon and got a firsthand experience of this alternative treatment. To my amazement, with just a couple of acupuncture sessions in a nearby Vancouver facility, not only did it alleviate the constant menstrual pain, it also popped the balloon of potentially harmful ailments. After discovering acupuncture, I have now fully understood my body and mind; as a result, I can confidently watch my young ones grow and develop as basketball players.

Amanda Dawson
Guest Blogger

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Cervical ripening, say what?

3/4/2012

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Acupuncture to prepare the body for labour

I just came back from visiting a patient of mine who gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy last weekend. The couple had chosen to do a home birth. And if you've seen Jennifer Lopez movie "The back up plan", then you know what home birth is. Kiddy pool in your living room with mom sitting in warm water, baby coming and lots of screaming (sound effects is always more powerful :)). It frightens a lot of my patients and it's not for everyone. What's great about this story is the fact that labour was only 2 hours and hard pushing only 20 minutes.
The reason for this faster and therefore easier (not easy, don't get me wrong, pain will occur!) labour, was cervical ripening.

In the last trimester of pregnancy, acupuncture can be a very useful tool to help ripen the cervix in preparation for labour. Your Acupuncturist usually will start around week 36 or 37 and do treatments once or twice a week until week 40. The purpose of cervical ripening is to slowly and safely help the body get ready for labour.

Medical drugs like Oxytocin and Misoprostol are often used to induce labour after the woman's due date, often at week 42 of the pregnancy. In order to avoid taking medications, there is a safe alternative for going through labour more easily. Acupuncture will start the process and get the woman ready for labour naturally.

New patients may call me at week 40 and ask if acupuncture will help with induction. It will usually take one or two treatments to start labour, but because it has been done so late into the pregnancy, the woman maybe in labour for many hours. So in order to avoid long difficult labour, starting at around week 37 with acupuncture treatments will result in a better outcome: shorter and easier delivery of the beautiful baby the couple has been impatiently waiting for. Now that's one of the many reasons I love my job!

Clara Cohen,
Acupuncturist in Port Moody & Coquitlam

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"I love my job!
My patients keep me humble daily, and helping them reach their health goals is the best reward of all. And every morning I cannot wait to go teach and inspire students to love Acupuncture as much as I do. If I can make a difference in someone's life on a daily basis, I feel I have reached my own goal."

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"I feel blessed to a have supporting husband, a loyal dog, amazing friends and to live in beautiful Port Moody, BC"

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Published Articles:
- Self Growth
- Vitality Link

How did you get into this?

Popping the Balloon of Potentially Harmful Ailments

Cervical ripening, say what?

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