The time your patient spends sitting in your waiting room is valuable. Look around. What do they see? What do they read? What can they take with them to share with a friend or loved one? What do your walls say?

Educating your patients is a multidimensional project that does not stop or start in your treatment room. Everything from décor to reading materials and product placement can affect your clientele’s relationship with the healing process. Before you begin to treat your patients, they need to know that your business is legitimately concerned with their health and vitality.

Preparing your space does not need to involve a large expense or extended periods of time. Keep it clean and simple, and then let the environment you create help to promote and grow your business.

Here are some suggestions to make your office environment, from waiting room to treatment room, a place that not only educates your patients, but also promotes health and well-being.

What do they see? – When they walk in the front door, are they greeted with plants that have restricted Qi flow, outdated products and empty brochure stands? It’s easy to keep things simple and clean. Display only those products and materials that promote your current business, keep living plants and flowers trimmed, watered and happy, and never let your brochure racks and business card holders stand empty.  TIP: Consult books on Feng Shui to help you design your space and lay out materials.

What do they read? – Don’t display People and Time Magazines, where gossip and advertisements reinforcing the “symptoms = drugs” scenarios are rampant. Instead, display magazines about Yoga, Health, Spirituality and Nature, promoting healthy life-style choices and support the “health = no (serious) symptoms” scenario. Books on these topics, such Meridian Exercises or Energy Medicine, are great too.  TIP: Stay current. Don’t forget to get rid of old, outdated magazines.

What can they share? – Place literature, educational materials, recent articles and studies in an easy-to-see location.  Education cards are an excellent and effective way to introduce people to a new way of relating to health and wellness.  While your patients wait, they can read through education cards on topics such as “Acupuncture and Menopause” or “Acupuncture and Depression.” Everyone knows someone who can benefit from what acupuncture can offer. TIP: Create packets of information based on specific topics like Pain or Allergies, which include education cards, articles, studies and other literature. Attach notes encouraging your patients to take them home and to spread the news to family and friends. Make sure that your contact information is included on each item in the information packet, as well as on the packet itself.

What do your walls say? – Hang framed posters that promote acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. How about a Meridian Chart displaying meridian pathways and organ networks, or a poster expressing the Safety of Acupuncture? In this way, you can beautify your clinic while also educating your patients. TIP: Remember to change them often. After all, change is good and it keeps your office fresh, new and exciting!

These pointers will help you keep your space fresh, new, exciting and educational.  Knowledge is a powerful tool.  If used correctly, it can help you to grow an abundant and flourishing practice.

Testimonials are one of greatest forms of practice promotion, hands down! I would much rather seek out the care of another practitioner  that came highly recommended than to find a random practitioner on a google search. But, there are a few things that have changed when it comes to using testimonials that I think are important.

Honestly, I am still wrapping my head around this one and have a call into our lawyer to help clarify this for me. Once I get in touch with him, I’ll post his response. In the meantime, I have included the link to the FTC’s new rulings. Have a look for yourself and PLEASE let me know what you think and understand about their new guidelines.

Thanks!

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

These are excerpts from various talks I’ve given over the years. Pick through the information and formulate some good analogies that you can use to tell your patients what it is you do and what you will do for them.

Then, feel free to let me know what you may already tell them and what you think of this information!

QUESTION: How many have heard the word Qi?

There is no one word in the English language that truly captures the essence of what Qi is.

The best way I have to describe it is by calling it Vital Energy. It’s the energy that animates every living thing.

Here’s a good analogy: Imagine a person (in my clinic I hold up a plastic meridian model and use that as the visual) that has lived to be 105 years old. They are upright and seem somewhat vitalized. Their body parts are functioning normally, for the most part. One day they pass peacefully on from natural causes. Inside of him, he still has all of his organs, blood, cells, etc., but there is something missing.

QUESTION: What do you think that is?

A spark, yes the spark that animates every part of his being, our being!

That spark is what we call Qi. The spark of life!

From the tallest tree, to the smallest cell, Qi is the Vital Energy that enlivens your entire being.

It’s an unseen energy that supports our body’s ability to function properly. It provides nourishment for every cell, tissue, muscle, organ and gland.

Our body uses Qi to accomplish everyday activities. Each organ and meridian pathway needs to be fed and filled with an ample supply of Qi in order to function optimally.

And it’s the quality, quantity and strength of Qi can be seen in your physical, mental and emotional health.

Qi has various physiological functions:

• Activates & animates
• Transforms & transports
• Warms the body
• Protects & defends
• Contains & retains

Health is maintained as long as each of us has a sufficient supply that freely travels throughout the body in order to provide proper nourishment.

Now that you understand what Qi is, how we get it, and what we use it for, let me ask you this…

QUESTION: Do you think it just sits there? How do you think it moves?

Over the past few thousand years, the Chinese have mapped out a series of pathways in the body and have called this the Meridian network. I like to call it our internal river of life!

Imagine little rivers of Qi running inside of your body. Meridians are a network of invisible pathways that distribute Qi to every cell, tissue, organ, gland and system within your body. They are long internal rivers, with many branches, that travel throughout your entire body, connecting cells, tissues, muscles and organs.

Qi is carried along these internal rivers, providing nourishment and sustenance for all of our life processes.

Qi is the invisible flowing current, moving around your body, energizing, nourishing and supporting every cell, tissue, muscle, organ and gland.

Your meridian system is extremely detailed and similar in complexity to the blood and nervous system.

I mentioned earlier that health is achieved as long as both Yin and Yang are in balance. It is also achieved when we have a free flow of Qi traveling throughout the entire body. When there is a blockage in the meridians, the supply of Qi that is required to properly nourish and support the cells, tissues, muscles, organs and glands becomes restricted.

I’ll use the simple analogy of watering a plant.

• Just like plant in your garden, the body needs adequate sun, nutrients, and water to grow and function.
• Imagine a blocked and constricted garden hose, that is unable to provide an adequate supply of water to the plant.
• Without water, the plant will be unable to grow, blossom and thrive. It will wilt, deform and decay.

QUESTION: Then what do you think happens?

You got it! You folks are really catching on. Illness, pain and disease!

******************************************************************************

Blockage of Qi = imbalance which leads to pain, illness, and disease.

When the Qi becomes disrupted, stuck or weakened, our body will not receive adequate nourishment of the life force, and over time poor health and disease can occur.

We have already established that Qi flows in a certain and specific way throughout the body.

QUESTION: Now, what if I were to block off Qi “upstream”, what do you think will happen “downstream” in the body?

Right! Something downstream will be affected.

What do you think the symptoms of having blocked Qi would look like?

fatigue, listless, low energy, low creativity, depression, pain, irritability, etc….

So illness and disease according to the medical theories of Acupuncture and Chinese medicine stem from Qi either becoming:

• Stuck or blocked- what kind of symptoms do you think will appear?  Bloating, pain, fullness, throbbing.

And it can also be due to:

• Deficient – what kind of symptoms do you think will appear? Depression, blurry vision, shortness of breath, fatigue, pale complexion, lack of energy, unmotivated.
• Collapsed – what kind of symptoms do you think will appear? Lassitude, dizziness, prolapsed, distending sensations.

QUESTION: What do you think  would happen if you had an abundant amount of flowing Qi?

Life feels good, happy, grounded, creative, bounce back from illness and pain easily, etc..

You’ll blossom and grow!

The difference between the proper quantity, quality and movement of Qi throughout our bodies, compared to an imbalance of it, can be dramatic. Resulting in various signs and symptoms.

Here’s a little mantra for you – Free flow and proper balance of Qi = healthy body, mind and spirit.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. The good thing is that as an acupuncturist my job is to detect and correct where Qi has become stuck, deficient or out-of-balance.

The bad news is is that you folks make my job easy because so many things cause a blockage and/or imbalance of Qi.

It’s a whole new New Years celebration all over again. In a little less than a month, it will be the beginning of Chinese New Year – this year it’s the year of the Tiger.

According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, which begins on February 14, 2010 and goes through February 2, 2011. The Tiger is the third sign in the Chinese Zodiac and is a natural born leader, symbolizes power, passion, daring and bravery.

Chinese New Year is right around the corner and yet another opportunity to make contact with your patients, especially those who you have not seen in a while.

Whether through email, letters, newsletters or postcards, it’s important to make contact with both active and inactive patients as often as you can, keeping your name and clinic fresh in their minds

Keeping in touch means that your patients, as well as their family and friends, when faced with a healing crisis or in the need of some general balancing, will look to you for relief.

Keeping in touch reminds your active and inactive patients to schedule an appointment and re-educates them on the benefits of wellness care versus only responding to symptoms and signs.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Mail a postcard wishing them a Gung Hay Fat Choy
• Have your office assistant give a courtesy call. Better yet, call them yourself
• Draft a letter and include a bookmark with your business card attached
• Share a few resolutions that you’ve developed for the Chinese New Year and ask them to share some of their own
• Send your patients a letter that talks about what the year of the Tiger has in store for their body, mind and spirit
• Send them a seasonal or monthly newsletter
• Throw a Patient Appreciation Chinese New Year party at your clinic

These are just a few suggestions to help you kick off the year of the Tiger.

I would love to hear how some of you with be embracing the year of the Tiger more powerfully, passionately, daringly and braver!

Are you going to do more talks, health fairs, referral generating events?

Are you planning on doing anything to celebrate you, your practice, your patients and the year of the Tiger?

Post a blurb on the blog to share with others.

Blessings and good fortune in the Tiger year!

Jeffrey

Hello there!

A week or so ago, I sent off an email talking about a ragged 3×5 index card. When I say ragged, I mean it was well worn with much love and attention.  If you remember, I mentioned that my cousin turned me on to  “the ticket to my future,” my Dream Visualization Card (DVC).

After the email was launched, I was surprised to hear from as many of you as we did regarding sending you your own DVC and red envelope. (As I am writing this, I am sure more requests are coming in.)

That’s great!  It’s wonderful to see how many practitioners want to tap into the positive, powerful and universal creative energies.

A very wise man once said, “You can choose to set goals and realize your potential. Or you can choose not to set them.”  I am sure many of you have heard of Zig Ziglar, he’s the wise man I’m referring to. If you haven’t, Google him and you’ll find some truly inspirational stuff, or better yet, check out my blog for a video of his.

Anyway, he talks about the master structure of goal setting and here is how it works.  First you have to:

• Identify what your goals are.

• Write them down.

• Put an end-date on them, as in when do you want to have this goal realized? Don’t be too hasty, some things take time.

• List any and all obstacles that you may have to overcome in order to achieve the goal(s)

• Identify any groups, people and organizations that you will need to work with to get you where  you want to be.

• Devise a plan of action. What steps will you need to take to get you there?

• Identify what’s in it for you, or better yet, how will you benefit?

It’s only when you take each and every goal and apply the above structure to them that they can become a reality. It usually doesn’t happen over night. But when it does happen, you will have the capacity to achieve just about anything.

Look to your goals to give you the drive to move you toward the wealth and health you desire.

There’s an article I came across on the web a while back. It talks about the 8 Strategies for Achieving SMART Goals. Check out my blog that links to the article, if you do, it will only enhance the DVC card experience.  In a nutshell, it talks about setting “SMART” goals They need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.

Setting goals is a powerful process that can help to create your ideal practice, ideal future and keep you motivated with your eye on the prize.  What’s cool about it is that you can choose where you want to go in life, and once you have that down, you’ll know what steps you need to take to get there.

Now, I should put a disclaimer here, and I will. Not all of your goals will manifest into reality, in fact some goals may very go unaccomplished. If so, it’s not to say that you didn’t try. As the famous W.C. Fields once said, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a fool about it.”

When goals are properly set (see bulleted points above) they can be incredibly motivating. Especially when you get into the habit of setting them, and then watch them be accomplished. It’s very exciting.

Anyway, you get the point. If you want, visit my blog and you can check out Zig Ziglars video and the SMART goals PDF.  Feel free to leave any and all comments.

Thanks for taking the time to request your Dream Visualization Card (DVC). I have enclosed a few extra cards in case you wish to share them with your patients, friends or loved ones.  I’ll be blogging about the process of goal setting in the next few weeks or so.

Please let me know what you think about this. Tell me, what are your goals? Please do share, and whatever else you wish to tell or ask me, after all, this is a blog, and blogs are for sharing!

Here’s to manifesting your goals into dreams in 2010.

May your dreams come true in 2010 and may your DV cards become torn and well-weathered from looking at them ALL the time!

I hope you enjoy the vids.

Jeffrey