Emma Snowsill, Olympic Gold Medalist

Just about everyone has heard that acupuncture is good for pain, headaches, lower back problems etc.

But few, including many of my colleagues in Acupuncture and Allied Modalities realize how potent skillfully applied acupuncture can be in promoting better health and in the case of Olympic Gold Medalist Emma Snowsill, a way of recapturing her competitive mojo.

I am a clinician, a teacher, student, a creator of networks and a representative of this ancient profession to which I am privileged to belong.

After 25 years in practice I retain a deep respect and passion for the art of acupuncture and enjoy nothing more than seeing clients benefit from treatment.

As a practitioner of this extraordinary healing art I am driven by the conviction of massive clinical experience and willingly acknowledge that the strength of this medicine lies in the sensitivity of our hands, our powers of observation, the awareness of our senses, each vital to our ability to assimilate and collate this information, translate it into a meaningful diagnosis and most importantly, perform the most effective treatment possible.

Emma Snowsill is the reigning Olympic gold medalist in triathlon, a short time ago she competed in her comeback race after an extended mystery illness that saw her incapacitated and bedridden for many months last year.

The story of her recovery is a little too long to recount here, however earlier this week Emma returned from Korea with a nasty tummy bug in tow that caused her to suffer from violent vomiting and diarrhea.

She was still suffering from strong diarrhea when she consulted me on Wednesday morning, she felt significantly better after treatment and woke up the following day diarrhea free and easy?

This Sunday morning after her follow-up treatment for the big daddy tummy bug I had the pleasure of interviewing Emma about how she rebuilt her health culminating in her comeback race in Korea last weekend.

No prizes for guessing the role Japanese Acupuncture played in her recovery.

After many months of being seriously unwell, barely able to walk, bedridden for much of the time, totally unable to train, she finished an extremely credible 6th in a field of the 50 best triathletes in the world!

Emma also discussed her recovery from that big daddy of tummy bugs and how she has managed to get back to full training less than a week after being what she described as, ‘the most violently sick ever!’

I video taped the interview and it should make for very interesting viewing and you will get to meet the real Emma, an extremely humble human being and an extraordinarily talented athlete.

We conducted this interview on my balcony overlooking the Coral Sea, here is the link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tv9z-ekNbY, hope you enjoy.
All the best,
Alan

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture. For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

]]> http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/emma-snowsill-olympic-gold-medalist-talks-about-japanese-acupuncture-and-better-health/feed 1 http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/japanese-acupuncture-healing-potential http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/japanese-acupuncture-healing-potential#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:45:06 +0000 Alan http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/?p=2361 One of the greatest challenges facing me as a practitioner of Japanese acupuncture is effectively communicating it’s clinical diversity and power.

I believe the best way to do that is to inform you about some of the clinical case histories and challenges confronting those seeking treatment to rectify their specific disharmony, illness, pain or as often occurs in the case of elite sports people, optimize their performance potential.

Here are just a few examples of this potential, I trust these scenario’s will assist you in understanding some of the potential benefits of Japanese acupuncture.

Following is an excerpt from an e-mail kindly sent to me by a patient who has experienced significant health benefits from ongoing treatment.

This patient is a marine biologist who has recently traveled to San Francisco to spend a few months working with her colleagues stateside.

Hi Alan,
How are you? I hope you’ve been out in the water? I’m surfed out trying to get as many surf’s in as possible before heading to San Fran and hasn’t it been beautiful!

I just wanted to say thanks so much for your treatments, they have helped me enormously and I will miss coming in to see you over the next few months. The last treatment was fantastic – it seemed to clear away the nerve tingling and I felt a lot stronger. I wasn’t sleeping as well though but that’s probably to be expected with all the excitement around going overseas.

I’d love to continue acupuncture in San Francisco so if you do have some contacts for me I would really appreciate it. It has helped me beyond words so I’d love to keep it up and I will be sure to come see you again when I get back. I think half of the treatment is your presence and zest for life!

Hope you have a fantastic next couple of months and I’ll look forward to seeing you again when I get back!

As a practitioner this is a very satisfying and welcome communication indeed.

The correspondent works in a very demanding and results orientated field, often experiencing high levels of stress in an effort to meet externally imposed deadlines.

An entirely different perspective arises in discussing the clinical outcome for a patient who was diagnosed as suffering from a molar pregnancy, a condition whereby miscarriage is a 90% certainty.

Without going into details, after several treatments she is now very happily 23 weeks pregnant with an apparently healthy baby on the way according to her medical specialist.

In yet another case, the patient presented with an extremely painful and expansive episode of the shingles.

Whilst no miracle cure was at hand, there can be little doubt that regular Japanese acupuncture treatment aided in his full recovery from this debilitating condition in a relatively short amount of time.

A number of the physiotherapists with whom I practice at the Queensland Sports Medicine Center have sought treatment recently for difficulties in maintaining an extremely busy work schedule and focused fitness training as a result of impeded immune function.

Basically the more intense the training regime and the busier they were at work, the more often they were suffering from colds, flu’s and accompanying lethargy.

It is of no surprise to me that their condition appears to improve relative to the regularity of their treatment?

I often work in conjunction with the physiotherapists in an effort to bring about a more rapid and complete recovery of our patients.

One example of such cooperation is the work we have been doing to assist an ex-Australian cricketing legend prepare for the forthcoming IPL cricketing tournament in India.

Amongst other aspects of treatment, I believe Japanese acupuncture has been extremely beneficial in defusing much of the physical stress related to his increased training regime and the mental anguish associated with a making a decision regarding his involvement as a result of the security status of the tournament and concerns for his personal safety.

As well as recharging his energetic battery, Japanese acupuncture treatment also provided an extremely welcome refuge from the myriad of questions and potential outcomes that assuaged his mind during this most difficult of decision-making scenarios.

Last but not least, Emma Snowsill is the reigning Olympic Gold Medalist in the sport of Triathlon, an event that includes a 1500m swim, 40k bike ride and a 10k run.

Against the best female tri athletes on the planet, that implies insanely fit individuals with extra ordinary motors sharpened to a cutting edge by the hardness of competition and intense training, all striving to be at the absolute peak of their game for the ultimate reward for a competitive athlete, Emma won her gold medal in emphatic fashion at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

March 2010 and Emma has been struggling with persistent immune related problems for several months, including a diabolically compromised energetic status and repetitive breakdowns in her health resulting in continual colds and flu’s, a situation that saw her training regime severely compromised.

Over the last few months she has been receiving regular Japanese acupuncture treatment and her condition has improved markedly, to a point where she has recently been able to resume full training.

I believe regular weekly treatments have helped Emma  accelerate her training regime whilst maintaining a robust immune status.

By way of explanation, Emma missed a treatment a couple of weeks ago, whilst continuing to accelerate her training regime she flew to Melbourne where she was subjected to a radical climate change, the end result was that she attended clinic last Wednesday suffering from a sore throat, streaming sinuses, increased lethargy and she was justifiably concerned that her health was about to crash again.

In short, after three treatments Emma left for Abu Dhabi today to attend the http://www.laureus.com/awards/ in good health, no runny nose, sore throat greatly improved and energetically much stronger.

I’m sure you’ll agree this is a  preferable option when one is partaking in international travel and will see her able to enjoy this landmark event to the fullest.

As a practitioner of Japanese acupuncture the reality is that a majority of people through no fault of their own are totally ignorant of the diversity and power of this ancient healing modality.

Whilst most people are aware that acupuncture has the potential to help with neck, back, shoulder, knee, hip and ankle injuries and pain, headaches etc, most have little or no idea of its clinical diversity in the hands of an experienced and competent practitioner.

Alan

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at : http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

Here are some very good reasons why you might choose Japanese Acupuncture, as a patient and/or student.

Two very different emails about the tradition of Acupuncture, one from a student and the other from a patient

Whilst I am very grateful to be the  subject of their words, it is Traditional  Acupuncture and my many teachers, colleagues, students and most importantly patients to which their thanks should be redirected.

I am deeply appreciative to be considered a senior practitioner of this extra ordinary ancient healing art and I am especially grateful to Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey for opening  the door to the Pandoras Box of  deft traditional acupuncture and moxibustion skills required to deliver potent, painless treatments and for making the ancient classical texts accessible and clinically relevant to me and many, many others.
The first of the letters is from my student Andrew, he of velly fast hand and agile mind and the second is from  Jeff, whom, like many others has been struggling to maintain a physical, mental and emotional balance in the final part of the first decade of this millennium.

First Email from honorable student:

Morning Alan,

Hope you’ve wet the skin in the surf already this morning and managed to evade (in true  ninja fashion) those troublesome rope traps.

‘Twas great to work with you again on Saturday and i’m really looking forward to the year ahead in clinic.

I’ll take this opportunity to say thank you.

Firstly, for quenching my great thirst for knowledge, experience and skills in acupuncture over the last 6 months.  I feel like I’ve gone from floating in the middle of an ocean in a dingy with one paddle to being the captain (well… maybe deck hand) of a Collins Class Submarine.  Thank you.

Secondly, and probable even more so, for demonstrating your own passion and enthusiasm for thish incredibly potent and delicate art we are learning. Seeing how much joy and excitement your work brings to your life was the final grain of sand that has sent me tumbling down the side of the mountain into a lifetime of dedication… there’s no looking back now.  Thank you.

In other words… Cheers Alan!

Arigato gozaimasu sensei.

Humble Student, Part time Ninja and Strewbie enthusiast

Andrew

Second Email from very honorable patient:

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the email!

2008 was a tough year with the economic climate biting into the luxury market that I work in.

On a personal side though it was a year of growth, being my first year as a married man, complete with all the wonderful changes it brought me.

In addition, after slight coercion from Hayley I made a move from Osteopathy to your world of acupuncture and I must say this has been one of the most rewarding experiences of 2008.

I have struggled with many back and neck issues for 3 to 4 years priorpain and playing golf with extreme discomfort. and I was sick of waking up and complaining of pain, surfing then complaining of

It has taken 6 months of your care and treatment but I can now say that I have an ever improving quality of life and much greater happiness.

Thank you!!!!!!

Hayley and I have committed a portion of our income to better health in 2009 and you will remain as a major source of support and interest as we both believe in your techniques and treatment.

I believe I am at about 80% with regards to back and neck strength, however I also wish to improve my intestinal strength as I suffer quite a lot here when pressure or emotional concerns arise.

Hayley is my world and her health and happiness are my main priorities. I can only be at my best if I am completely strong throughout.

I am getting there and I thank you dearly for the role you play in my drive for greater strength internally and externally!

See you tomorrow!

Cheers

Jeff

PS.

Please peruse these select images of the Nelson Lakes and Karamea coastline, at the Northern end of the Southern most Shaky Isle.

If walls could tell stories?

Lake Rotoiti

Encourages many types of aquatic activity

Playing to the beat of a very different drum

Succinctly Succulent

Hard Yakka beckons

Lush

Granity

Granity Library

Perfect place for a picnic lunch

Ditto for Dinner

Apperitif

One second, one hundred sandflies, home sweet home !

Kohaihai Morning Mist

The odd Nikau palm

Last or first part of the world famous Heaphy Track

The end of the road

Follow this track for 4 days and you will get to the other end

West Coast magic

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted in the vicinity of 30 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at http://www.Worldacupunctureblog.com

For more info, please visit: http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

I had completed the majority of my acupuncture studies and an old friend had assured me that there would be a strong demand for my services in this archetypal country town.

This was the site of my first acupuncture practice and it was here that I took that giant step from student to practitioner.

With my late wife Kayelene’s extraordinary support and the motivation of providing for her and our beautiful three-year-old daughters, I set about creating my first acupuncture practice in the town where I knew only 2 people.

To cut a long story short, my journey was made so much easier through my association with the local rugby league club.

For four seasons I accompanied the teams every Sunday to the playing venue, sometimes leaving home at 9 AM and not returning until 11 PM that night.

If a player was injured I would run onto the field to attend to them and qualify the seriousness of their injury.

A huge responsibility considering there were four teams with a total of 60 players and the odds of injury in this game are very high.

Knee, shoulder and back injuries were relatively common, broken legs, jaws and arms happened too frequently, soft tissue injuries abounded.

During one particular game I dealt with a broken jaw, ruptured knee ligament, broken wrist and last but certainly not least, a broken neck.

All of these injuries belonged to people I knew well.

From that day on I knew that my career on the sidelines tending the injured was very finite indeed.

I was paid the princely sum of $300 per season, however the goodwill and respect earned during this time was of major importance in helping me in establishing a successful Acupuncture practice.

Almost every player and many of their family members experienced their first acupuncture treatment at some time during my four years of working with them.

In that time we also won 3 consecutive A grade premierships, no mean feat in the very rough and tough world of country Rugby league.

24 years on, whilst attending the Hawks ‘Team of The Century‘ celebrations at the  Shire Hall, the hospitality and generosity of spirit of my friends in downtown Gatton deeply moved me as they acknowledged the efficacy of acupuncture, the willingness and commitment of mine self and the contribution I had made to the club and community.

It is occasions like this that reinforce how privileged I am to do what I do!

For the trust, faith and friendship shown to me during my stay in Gatton and the camaraderie I felt on Saturday night, I remain extremely grateful.

Alan

Some images of the people and the place.

I hope you and yours are enjoying good health and soaking up some of our new found spring warmth.

Have you or do you know someone who has been suffering with or struggling to recover from a bout of the flu?

If Traditional Japanese Acupuncture is effective for elite athletes under immense physical, mental and emotional pressure then it stands to reason that there could be significant benefit available for us mere mortals.

We are well into spring 2008 and it appears that life has not slowed down at all.

The rate of change, the extraordinary amount of information and seemingly endless possibilities available to us, the climate, the extreme events on the economic front, sporting heroes/ antiheroes, footy finals, babies popping up everywhere, it is all happening!

If we have insufficient energy/inspiration to maintain the cracking pace of life in the 21st century, instead of being pleasurable, life can become stressful and tiring, more of a struggle than an adventure, resulting in a subtle/not so subtle decline in our health and well-being.

Recharging our batteries through Traditional Japanese Acupuncture can optimize our ability to enjoy life to its fullest!

Last Tuesday I finally managed to get myself from ‘Behind the Clinic Curtain’ to the other side, receiving an extremely rejuvenating Traditional Japanese Acupuncture treatment from my talented colleague and former number one clinical assistant, Efrat Sudai.

‘My sore and tender throat, dull nagging sinus pain, aching and lethargic body, upset tummy were greatly improved after one 45 minute session of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.’

The change in how I felt as a result of this treatment was nothing short of extraordinary and had me singing the praises of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture and the skill of Efrat with renewed vigor.

A big thank you to Efrat for her timely assistance in restoring my health and well-being, in the process reinforcing my awareness and understanding of the power of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture from the other side of the clinic curtain!

I am extremely grateful to have a practitioner of Efrat’s skill and expertise available for treatment and have already booked in for my next session!

During my 25 years in practice I have witnessed 100’s of positive treatment outcomes for patients suffering from low immunity, repeated doses of colds and flu with the subsequent lingering performance affecting afflictions, including sinus, cough, lethargy, achiness, headaches, general malaise or a feeling of ‘unwellness’ that settles upon us like a cloud, drastically affecting our sense of well – being and enjoyment of life.

Former Olympic swimmer Daniel Kowalski, former Brisbane Lions AFL star Alastair Lynch, newly appointed coach and former premiership captain of the Brisbane Lions, Michael Voss, current Brisbane Lions stars including Jonathan Brown,  Daniel Merrett and Daniel Bradshaw, AFL veteran and Brownlow medalist Jason Akermanis and Australian cricket legend Matthew Hayden have all used Traditional Japanese Acupuncture to maintain or recover their health and well-being, re-charge their batteries, improve their performance and lengthen their careers.

If Traditional Japanese Acupuncture is effective for elite athletes under immense physical, mental and emotional pressure then it stands to reason that there could be significant benefit available for us mere mortals.

Using the underlying treatment rationale of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture a skilled practitioner can work with the Wei Qi (defensive energy/immune system) and Gu Qi (ingestion, assimilation, nourishment and conversion to nutritive energy), influencing the energetic core of our bodies known in an extremely beneficial way.

After commencing regular Traditional Japanese Acupuncture treatment, Olympic swimmer Daniel Kowalski went from suffering repeated viral and bacterial infections that were threatening his ability to compete at the 2000 Olympic Games and compromising his swimming career to enjoying robust good health and a blemish free record not suffering one incident of flu or viral infection during the final three years of his career.

To view the video of a short interview with Daniel just click on this  image.

We all have our own personal Olympics on a daily basis, so much to do in so little time and the constant effort of maintaining this cracking pace is definitely taking a toll on the overall health and well-being of many of us in the 21st century.

Practitioners of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture are trained to harmonize and balance the bodies’ energy with the aim of reinforcing improved health.

This gentle and refined style of acupuncture is not only effective in treating pain and discomfort; it can be an enormously powerful treatment for stress relief and strengthening our immune systems.

Many patients have reported a sense of rejuvenation, increased vitality, improved cold and flu resistance, enhanced sleep and better digestion as a result of treatment.

As astute practitioners of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture your improved health and well-being is our number one treatment priority!

A VERY SPECIAL WELCOME TO EFRAT SUDAI

www.efratsudai.com

After 10 years of traveling to Brisbane to avoid a debilitating overdose of the Coolangatta to Brisbane peak hour commute, I have revised my schedule and invited Efrat Sudai to practice from my rooms at the Queensland Sports Medicine Centre on Tuesday mornings.

Efrat has been an outstanding student of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture since the beginning of the century.

After several years of study, intensive on the job training and clinical practice, she has evolved into a fully accredited, extremely talented and highly skilled practitioner.

Allowing Efrat to treat me is extreme testimony to her skill and proficiency, I am massively particular about who practices Acupuncture on me!

Specializing in Pre-and Post Natal Care, Pediatric Acupuncture, Natural Fertility and IVF patient support programs, Efrat is totally committed to the health and well being of her clients.

Her recruitment is a wonderful plus for the center, as yet another talented practitioner joins the awesome team at the Queensland Sports Medicine Center.

This change will mean increased longevity in practice for me, extended appointment times and more treatment options for you.

I will continue to be available for treatment Tuesday afternoons, all day Thursdays and Saturday mornings.

Efrat will be available for treatment Tuesday mornings from 8:30 a.m.

Click on this image to the view the video of a complete Traditional Japanese Acupuncture treatment for severe flu symptoms that I performed on Efrat a few weeks ago.

How sweet it is that Efrat was able to return the favor as  described above.

Sunday night and as darkness falls, lightning is cracking and thunder rolling as an early spring storm rolls in.

Thanks for reading,

Alan

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted in the vicinity of 30 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at WorldAcupunctureblog.com

For more info, please visit: WorldAcupuncture.com

G’day One and All,

Hope life is going swimmingly for you.

I sent a newsletter out to patient’s, students and practitioners yesterday entitled ‘Why I Do What I Do’, a brief insight into my motivation and an explanation as to why I am still practicing Acupuncture after 25 years at the coalface.

In response to this newsletter I received this reply from Peta whom I last saw in clinic sometime in January…

Her email says it all for me, there is little I can add.

Hi Alan, Thank you for the email. Often think about the trials and tribulations you must have being in the western world of medicine here.

Anyway, just to let you know I am very healthy with my back…absolutely NO PAIN or even a tingling of pain at all since that last treatment, so long ago that I have forgotten when it was.

Also, because my back is better I have been able to exercise again. Almost every morning at 5am doing 17 -20km on a bike and then walking 2-3 km and weights too.

You (Acupuncture) turned my life around. My right knee is better now too …guess that’s got a bit to do with getting the weight off it.

Sometimes I am careful with it because I know it still has those two screws in it!

I’ve lost a lot of weight and I am doing really well at being a student nurse now too.

You ( Acupuncture) really have turned my life around.

THANK YOU!!

Peta

Here is a short interview with Peta filmed back in January

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Acupuncture for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can be an notoriously awkward clinical scenario.

I have been treating Leroy for almost 4 years, starting initially with weekly treatments to the present day when Leroy presents in clinic every three weeks.

By continuing preventive and maintenance treatment, Leroy has been able to maintain a very busy and successful life with just the occasional cold and nil relapses into chronic fatigue.

With the exception of treatment for colds and flu’s (maybe once a year), I address the fundamental deficiency with a Spleen Root treatment;

Tonifying Pe.7 and Sp.3 and regulating GB.40.

At one stage during treatment I used GB.41 instead of GB.40, next treatment Leroy complained vigorously regarding the relative lack of efficacy of the previous treatment.

By tonifying the Spleen, we can increase the quantity and quality of qi and blood .

The Gallbladder meridian through the point GB.40 then stimulates the circulation of the qi and blood throughout the body.

It is hard to credit that Leroy could feel any difference between the effect of the points GB.40 and 41 but in reality he perceives even the most subtle variation in treatment.

I hope this video is of assistance in helping you to understand and apply effective treatment using gentle traditional acupuncture.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

I have also included this short video of Leroy commenting on the effect of acupuncture treatment, I hope you get some idea of what is possible when we get it right.

Online Videos by Veoh.com