As you do your Christmas shopping this weekend remember to support your community and shop local! Downtown Frankfort has lots of great stuff: 

~In South Frankfort on 2nd Street enjoy a great variety of gifts from Sweet Sarah's, or if you have a sweet tooth head over to Rebecca Ruth. ~In North Frankfort shop on West Main Street at Nitro of Frankfort for woman's clothing, Magee's Bakery for sweets and bread, W & W Men's Clothing for suits, ties and shirts, Rebirth Recycling for handmade sustainable clothes, the 7th floor of the McClure Building for art and jewelry, the 6th floor for The Light Clinic and the 3rd floor for the Yoga Studio and Reiki Center, and Miss P's Kids for children's clothing and candy. 

~On St. Clair Street head into The Woolery for all your stitching needs and Three Element Designs for amazing handmade woodwork. The Grande Theatre is great for upcoming performances or movies, and M.A. Selbert Jewelry has gorgeous jewelry, fine silver and Christmas decor! 

~Broadway has Page's Shoe Repair for any shoe repair or new leather shoes, Mitchell's for men's and Carhart wear, Irish Sea Celtic Shop for Irish goods and teas, Completely Kentucky for local Kentucky fine goods, The Kentucky Coffee Tree for coffee and small goods, Poor Richards Books for any of your reading or journaling needs, Old Capital Antiques for beautiful furniture, jewelry and more, Capital Cellars for your alcoholic beverages, Broadway Clay for a class or for handmade pottery, Wilma's Linen and Lace for porcelain, lamps, quilts and more, yet another Rebecca Ruth Candy Store, the 1792 Kentucky Store inside The Kentucky History Center, and the Cornerstone Gallery for art. 

~And don't forget Lewis Street, where the Capital Gallery and Folk Bike Recyclery have all your art and biking needs. Also on Wilkinson Blvd. is the consignment store and the Milam House for fresh flowers and gifts on Washington Street!
 
Man, this warm winter weather has been nice, but has been creating a lot of interesting ailments for people! There's been a common symptom combination of cough, headache, and chest congestion the last week, and the week before sore throat, malaise, nausea and headache. So if you've been feeling these things you're not alone! We've been giving acupuncture to people, but have found herbal formulas to be the most effective for these ailments. At home a good thing to help the lungs and chest are steamed pears with honey and ginger. And of course for sore throat gargling salt water often helps!
 
Just read an amazing article about a Frankfort errand service an old classmate of mine Ron Moore has started. This is wonderful for people who need a little help when they can't leave the home or for people who are too busy to do everything they need! 

http://state-journal.com/news/simple_article/5128837
 
One thing we got scolded for in Portland from our teachers is not taking time to have lunch! It is something many of us do, but is not healthy for proper digestion and is not living in accordance with nature. So, we've taken the challenge, and are creating time in the day eat. Thus, new hours (and we added some Saturday times too for all you working folk)! Weekdays 10:30-1p, 3:30-6p and Saturday 9-1p. Good stuff!

We will be making some more positive changes over the next month that was made light to us through our teachers-we'll keep you updated (things like sliding scale and payment plan options, follow-up appointments longer than 45 minutes and taiji offered in the mornings outside)!
 
Joseph and I (Emaline) are in Portland continuing our studies, and we are excited to bring some new acupuncture treatment models and theory back to Frankfort. The conference we attended (The International Society for the Study of Classical Chinese Medicine- ISSCA) was deepening, expanding and rejuvinating. We are learning more about classical translations and practice from the Neijing, a medical text from the Han Dynasty (around 200 B.C. - 200 A.D.), and Joe is intensely training with our Taiji master, Master Ko.
These studies are naturally leading us to re-examine our own practice and lifestyle, and we hope to return with a clarity of how to better serve the medicine, serve you, and serve ourselves. To honor that triad is at the center of our life's mission, and we are always growing and tweaking to stay on the right path.
Based on teachings we were reminded of while here in Portland, we are practically looking into altering our treatment model. At present, the treatment model we have now is based on a massage therapy model: see individual patients in a private room for an hour or so, check them out after the treatment and get the next patient (we all know this set-up well!). Though this is an extremely common way to run an acupuncture business, and is basically the way we do things now, our teachers are showing us more classical treatment models that better serve the medicine and the treatments. We'll let you know once we've teased out how that can manifest itself at The Light Clinic, but look for some positive changes coming!
We have also talked to our main classical acupuncture teacher, Dr. Edward Neal, MD, and he is planning on visiting The Light Clinic in the fall of 2011. This is an amazing opportunity to experience one of the best acupuncturist's in the world! He will also help us instate a more classical acupuncture treatment model in the clinic as he learned it and as doctors have been doing for thousands of years! We are excited about this growth and expansion, and hope you all are too! Also look for more Taiji classes from Joe and extra smiles from us! Good things are coming!
 
Next Friday August 19th The Light Clinic will be closed until Tuesday August 30th. Craniosacral treatments will be available from August 30th onward, and the Chinese medicine side will resume Friday September 9th. So if you need some more herbs or would like an appointment before we go come on in next week!
Emaline and Joseph are taking a break to attend a Chinese medicine conference in Portland and stay to continue studies in Taiji for the following week. Gotta keep learning!
 
As most of us experienced growing up, in the fall, winter and spring we would work hard at school, and then take a break in the summer. This model is one that teachers and parents alike understood to be most healthy and balanced for the development and growth of a child. Even with the modern change to year-round school, numerous breaks are incorporated throughout the year and considered vital.       

The balance of work and rest still applies to adults, except that most employers and work places have adopted a model where we work most of the year and only take off government appointed holidays and a few precious extras. This "adult model" is not a sustainable way to stay balanced with work and rest, stay balanced with the seasons, or to stay balanced within ourselves. There should always be numerous breaks in our year where we take a step back from our day-to-day lives to reconnect with family and friends, travel, digest and incorporate what we've been doing over the year.  

It is also important to expand ourselves in studies that help fill our hearts (just like summer camp when you were younger!). With this in mind, The Light Clinic will take a few summer breaks this year. The first break is the end of June through the beginning of July (June 24th-July 7th) and the end of August through the beginning of September (August 19th-September 9th). The first break Emaline will be visiting family and Joseph will be on a state-wide National Guard tour with the 202nd Army Band.  The second break Emaline and Joseph will travel to Portland to attend a week-long International Chinese Medicine conference, and stay to deepen their studies with their teachers there. 

We hope you all will take your own breaks this summer to do what will most enrich and deepen your lives. In terms of Chinese medicine, it is  healthy to take time off treatments to integrate the work that has been done. If you feel like you need treatments while we are gone, there are many options. For Chinese medicine, there are practitioners in Lexington, Georgetown and Louisville. There are also wonderful health options in Frankfort, including Craniosacral therapy, Reiki, massage, and chiropractors for energetic and physical assistance. We are happy to discuss and make recommendations on an individual basis. Please feel free voice any questions or concerns by calling, dropping by or emailing emaline@thelightclinic.org or joseph@thelightclinic.org.

Thank you for your understanding as we try to keep ourselves immersed in our studies to become better practitioners and further honor this community.

Wishing you health and happiness!
Joseph and Emaline
 
So, in response to your feedback, we have decided to add a couple more appointments with late time slots. These are placed after Group Acupuncture on Mondays. Joseph will have 2 more Half Appointments at 6.30pm and 7.15pm, while Emaline will add a Full Appointment at 6.30pm. 
Thanks for your emails and great comments...keep them coming!
 
So, we are finishing our first week with our slightly modified schedule. How's it going for everyone? We set up the schedule to try to accommodate as many in our community as possible. Some people have requested morning times, some need times after work, and quite a few like mid-day times. So we set things up to have later appointments on Monday (with Group Acupuncture) and Wednesday. On Tuesday and Thursday we try to accommodate the mid-day crew and offer Group Acupuncture during lunch time. We are trying with these days to edge into times for those who may get off work in the early afternoon. And then Friday we have morning times starting at 9am. 
Is this working? 
We don't want to keep changing things around too much, but if there are some big oversights or if anyone feels like this isolates them, please let us know. Use the comments section below to let your voice be heard or drop us an email at joseph@thelightclinic.org or emaline@thelightclinic.org
You are our number one priority. May you be well and happy!
 
We are currently in the midst of an attempt to optimize our usage of modern technology and social networking. (Sounds as fun as it is :) We were trying to hold out, but it just seems to be the best way to get the word out for new events, course offerings and changes at the clinic.
So...what does all this mean? Not a whole lot, except hopefully we will have more easily accessible ways to keep everyone up to date. We'll still have the monthly email newsletter (sign up at www.thelightclinic.org) for a broader overview of events and topical discussions. Now, however, we should be able to archive those newsletters on this site (coming soon!). This is in response to the requests we've had to be able to access past articles.
For more current updates and further detail, make this page your go-to. Connect with us on Facebook or Twitter to be notified when a new post comes up and we'll start there.
Fair enough?
As always, we appreciate your attention. May you be well and happy.
Carry on...