I'm sending this newsletter a bit earlier than planned - I wanted to make sure it made it to you this week because I am sharing a few links about the upcoming Lunar New Year on January 29! A few events are coming up this week, so check those out below.
In this newsletter, I’m sharing:
New blog entries
Lunar New Year links & events
A note on Fireweed Acupuncture's values
As always, you can reply to this email with any ideas or questions - the emails go right to me!
Take care,
Kate Thomas, LAc
P.S. If you've been to the clinic recently, I'd really appreciate it if you took a few minutes to leave a Google review! Google reviews make a huge difference for small businesses - it helps businesses show up when someone searches. If you've already left a review, thank you so much!
New Blog Entries
As I mentioned in the last newsletter, one of my intentions for the new year was to share info outside of social media, so I've been writing more blog entries! Here is what I've shared so far this year on the clinic blog:
Blog Entries
FAQ: Why Don't You Accept Insurance? This is a question I get often, so I wrote out the full explanation. This entry covers everything you've wondered about, and many things you probably didn't, about insurance coverage and acupuncture. A lot of the information in this entry also applies to your other self-pay healthcare providers, too!
Getting Started with Journaling is all about the logistics of starting a journaling practice, like advice on what type of journal to use based on your writing style, how often to write, and more FAQs!
Creating a Journaling Practice talks about different styles of journaling, ideas for what to write about, ways to keep things fresh in your journal practice, and more. I also have some Water-themed journal prompts in my self-paced Winter Wellness class.
Why am I talking about journaling? Winter is represented by the Water element in Chinese medicine, which has characteristics of reflection, intuition, wisdom, and memory - which are represented and practiced by journaling! Plus, journaling is also a really great, low-cost self-care practice to have 😊
If you have an FAQ you'd like me to write about for the blog, email me!
Lunar New Year!
Year of the Yin Wood Snake
The year of the Yang Wood Dragon is ending, and the year of the Yin Wood Snake is beginning! The Lunar New Year starts on the second new moon after the winter solstice. This year's Lunar New Year is January 29, 2025!
Learn more about the history of the Lunar New Year and some of the traditions here.
Here are some tips on preparing for the New Year!Cleaning before the new year, getting a haircut, and returning things you've started all help symbolically give you a "fresh start." This link has traditions specific to the Chinese New Year, but the Lunar New Year is widely celebrated throughout East and Southeast Asia - you can find more info on other countries' traditions here!
Locally,Creme is having a pop-up on Feb 1 from 2-6 pm with Jade Rabbit Tattoo and Dumpling House DSM! There will be milk bread, dumplings, sponge cakes, milk tea, temporary tattoos, and red envelope raffles!
If you're looking for a day trip, the Nelson Atkins in KCMO has a LOT planned for their Lunar New Year celebration! It's on Saturday, January 26 - check out the huge list of events here!
Dr. Tamsin Lee is a great source of info for those interested in the ba zi, or astrological, side of the Yin Wood Snake. Visit her site, Elemental Archetypes, for more info, or register for the free online class on Wednesday, January 22- that's tomorrow! (There will be a recording, so sign up even if you can't make it live!) You can also read CT Holman's summary of the year to come.
Supporting Asian-led organizations is a great way to celebrate, too! Locally, MONSOON is doing important work, has space for volunteers, and accepts donations!Stop AAPI Hate is a national organization that is also doing important work tracking incidents of hate against Asians in the US.
Clinic Values
I could write a lot about this, but I will keep things to the point. On the bottom of every page of my website, you'll find the following phrase:
Fireweed Acupuncture welcomes, values, and serves all people, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, culture and race, socioeconomic status, size, immigration status, age, ability, or other identity. We are a neurodivergent affirming and sensory-friendly practice.
This statement has been there in one form or another since the clinic opened - it was even the clinic description for my site on Google for a while, and it still shows up for some of the Google results for pages on my site. (It is a quirk of Google SEO, but I'm not mad about it!)
Screenshot of my Google result from April 2023.
I am sharing this because, since Fireweed Acupuncture is a one-person show, my values are the business values. When I moved to Iowa in 2022, I quickly realized that it is not safe (sometimes literally) to assume that people share these values, and so I wanted to make it abundantly clear to patients where I stood from the day the clinic opened.
These values have been a part of me for a long time; my friends and I started the first Gay-Straight Alliance in our high school in a small town in Wisconsin over 20 years ago, and it was...not well received. Since then, my values have grown and expanded as I've learned and experienced more. Now, these values are part of Fireweed Acupuncture, and they will continue to be as long as it exists. (Which, as I continue to joke, will be at least three more years - the clinic is on a 5-year lease!)
There's a lot more I could say, but I will leave it at that. You're always welcome to read the other, more "business-focused" values on the Mission & Values page, learn more about me and my treatment philosophy on my About page, and check out the community organizations Fireweed Acupuncture has supported in the past.
