Giving Thanks

Announcements
Our New Website
As you can see, we've have updated our website. You'll see a link at the top of the first page to take you to the scheduling portal. Let us know if you run into any issues!

Taking some time for the Holidays
The office will be closed from Monday Christmas Eve through Tuesday New Years day to give our clinicians and staff some much deserved down time with their families. Appointments will be available on an on call basis however for any emergencies that arise. Although our time with our families is important, so too is our service to you, the community. Don't hesitate to call if you urgently need care. Kieran will have all calls forwarded and will be screening messages over the break.

Open Late on Tuesdays!
Katie has graciously opened her Tuesday evening appointments up later to accommodate patients with later work schedules. Her last available appointment time is 6:40pm.

Best Wishes to Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn Mitchell (our gifted acupuncturist who has been seeing patients on Wednesday mornings) has decided to take a break from working to focus on her studies (she's currently pursuing her Doctoral Degree) and spend more quality time with her family. We were all blessed by her gentle and upbeat spirit as well as her capable hands and mind. She was a pleasure to have here at the clinic and she will be missed by the staff and patients alike. Send her a line to wish her well! Her last day seeing patients will be December 19th.


Giving Thanks
As the leaves begin falling and the energy of the year turns from outward to inward, a sort of coalescing takes place. The excitement and activity of the year slows. The achievements and milestones begin to fade. It's as if the intense growth of the spring and the busy climax of the summer are slowly distilling down into a few pearls of importance. It isn't just a convenient tradition of our culture to give thanks, it's called upon by the very energy of the season. Indeed, this is the energy of the fall, or the metal element as Chinese Medicine recognizes it. The metal element is characterized by slowness, a sort of hallowed, sacred energy. It is the still, gray, sharp energy of a fall morning. The way the light has changed urges you to still quietness. The sharp coolness of the air brings your awareness to your breath. This energy is a part of all things. All processes manifest through stages of which the metal element is a part.

Here's a brief overview of the 5 element cycle:
All processes follow this path, whether a life lived, a project at work, or the turning of teh seasons.
The Water Element: It begins in winter with a dormant seed, a tiny pocket of potential from cycles past. This is the deep, dark, and hidden water element.

The Wood Element: From there it grows with a sudden intense reaching and explosion upward. It is full of movement, potential, dreaming, reaching and yearning. This is the vibrant expansion of spring and the wood element.

The Fire Element: Next the cycle reaches a climax in the middle of intense, hot summer. The height of activity and fulfillment, the fire element.

The Earth Element: The blaze of the fire element fades to warm embers. This is the earth element. A moment of savoring. The taste of a ripe peach, the satisfaction of looking back over a tended garden or a project brought to completion. This is the energy of late summer.

The Metal Element: This element represents a movement downward and inward. As the energy reduces in strength it can carry less with it and only a few gems remain. A good example is the moment before bed when your mind is clear from the details of the day. In that last moment before you slip off to sleep a few key events or moments stick in your mind. These gems then become the seeds for the awakening of the energy in the wood element energy of the coming spring. These are the things that we give thanks for in the fall. This is the energetic nature of Thanksgiving.

My thanks are for the most important things in my life: my family, my patients and the journey of growth and understanding that both my family and patients guide me on every day.



 
Yours in health,
Kieran Jones L.Ac.
Owner / Acupuncturist - Cotati Community Acupuncture