A year in review and what’s to come in 2025…

This year has been packed with a lot of education for me and new treatment options for you. I always enjoy learning and finding more healing solutions to add to my toolbox. The three new additions I learned about this past year are the Soliman Auricular Allergy Technique (SAAT), Electro-Acupuncture Medicine, and Auricular Trauma Release. If you have been keeping up with the newsletters you will have heard of, and maybe experienced, the first two. And, there is something new in the works that you will learn more about in the next issue of the newsletter, in early March: Auricular Medicine, which is briefly described below. 

Soliman Auricular Allergy Technique

I have now practiced SAAT for a little over a year. I have been thrilled at how effectively this method can treat allergies. I find that people who have intense symptoms caused by only a few substances have the fastest, most amazing results. People who have a high allergic load, i.e., they are allergic to many different things, tend to take more time and more sessions, but can also get good relief. The treatment consists of tiny, intra-dermal needles retained in the ear for three to four weeks. 

This method works great for treating Alpha Gal Syndrome and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). Both of these syndromes are very disruptive to daily life, and it is a true joy to be able to help people get their lives back. 

You can jump to past issues to learn more about SAAT, Alpha Gal Syndrome  and MCAS.

Electro-Acupuncture Medicine

Electro-Acupuncture Medicine has been a great addition to my practice and my personal life. I find that it is very effective at treating pain, stress, anxiety, and low energy. Having better energy also means your cells and organs are working better, which means better overall health and vitality. I’ve had a lifelong struggle with low energy and have been relieved to move through my days more easily and with more enjoyment since adding this method to my healthcare regimen.

One way to get the benefit of this treatment at home is with the Blood Electrification Treatment. Red Clover Clinic stocks a small piece of equipment that allows you to treat yourself daily. Regular use really boosts energy, cellular function, the immune system, circulation, detoxification, and reduces stress hormones. 

See these past issues to learn more about Electro-Acupuncture Medicine and Blood Electrification Treatment.

Auricular Trauma Release

During the fall, I attended two Auricular Trauma Release (ATR) seminars offered by the Canadian Institute of Auricular Medicine, the organization from which I have received all of my German auricular medicine training. In 2020, I attended their training on treating traumas of the soul, which is effective, but a more complicated approach to treating trauma. Since then, Dave Maybee, the primary instructor, has developed a more accessible, straightforward approach that is easily integrated into regular auricular treatments. 

ATR consists of efficient ways to calm the body and promote healing from trauma by applying the concepts of Polyvagal Theory. Polyvagal Theory focuses on how the autonomic nervous system regulates our health and behavior. This understanding helps guide the practitioner on which auricular points to check for  electrical activity. Only active points are treated, making each treatment very client-specific. 

What’s to come?

In October, I returned to Rockville, MD, for more training from Dr. Soliman, from whom I learned the SAAT protocol. This seminar was focused on learning his method of Auricular Medicine (AM). This method uses the body’s electromagnetic field to assess the body’s state of health and determine what underlying factors are causing illness. The treatment is focused primarily on taking a series of bioenergetic remedies and auricular (ear) acupuncture. AM focuses on detoxifying the organs at the cellular level and stabilizing the immune system, which allows the body to restore normal function and heal itself. 

AM is particularly effective at addressing chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, pain, psycho-emotional disorders, chronic Lyme disease, MCAS, allergies, and more. I hope this got your attention and that you’ll be interested to learn more in the next newsletter.

All of us at Red Clover Clinic appreciate you, our clients, and wish you a healthy and happy 2025. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Marie's Body of Knowledge

Winter's short and cold days are upon us. During spring, summer, and fall it seems easier to stay active and get up and get moving. In the winter, it seems easier to curl up, stay warm, and hibernate—patiently or impatiently.

Even during winter’s short, cold days, it is important to stay active and keep moving. Some people head off to use their health club membership that has been dormant for months. Others can’t bear to go out and face the snow, ice, cold temperatures, and darkness.

The human body craves movement for overall health and wellbeing. Movement helps improve blood flow to all parts of the body especially the heart, brain, lungs, joints, and muscles. It helps stimulate and improve digestion, overall energy, and mood.

It is possible to accomplish healthy benefits without leaving the house just by moving through “many small moments” throughout the day. If you’ve been sitting for an hour, it’s time to get up and get moving. Sitting has been dubbed the new smoking due to the negative effects on the body.

In taking the opportunity to capitalize on “many small moments,“ choose a different activity every hour and move for a few minutes. Walk up and down the stairs a few times. Sit to stand from the chair 10 times. Stand and do giant arm circles and snow angels with your arms. Walk up and down all the hallways for a few minutes. Stand and march in place. Have a dance party for a few minutes. Do wall or floor push ups. Do ten minutes of yoga on a free yoga app. Or, simply knock out a load of laundry, unload the dishwasher, or vacuum.

If “many small moments” feels unattainable due to aches and pains or you experience joint or muscle pain performing activity, seek the help of a physical therapist to get moving comfortably. The next thing you know it will be spring and your body will be ready to roll for outdoor activities!

Humans are wired for resilience

Guest contributor Diana Johnson is a former middle school art teacher who developed an interest in how people stay resilient after a turbulent period in her life. She now works as a life coach helping other people navigate change in their lives with resilience using insight and tools from neurobiology, ancient wisdom traditions, and the arts.

The star of the astonishing 2020 documentary My Octopus Teacher was a creature who could shapeshift in an instant to protect herself from threat—changing color to disappear against a rock wall, swaying gently to blend in with a clump of kelp, or retreating into a crack to regenerate a lost limb. Most astonishing of all, however, was the close relationship that developed between the octopus and the filmmaker when she felt safe enough for connection after months of his quiet observation.

Scientists are just beginning to understand the near-magical abilities of an octopus, made possible by a remarkable nervous system in their body and arms. Humans are vastly different from octopuses (we are more closely related to dinosaurs), but we have at least one thing in common: our nervous systems are wired for resilience, with capacity to flexibly respond to stress and recover a state of balance. Science has recently made great strides in understanding the role our nervous system plays in both protecting us from threat and restoring our health.

Like that of the octopus (if less dramatically), the human nervous system drives both our defensive behaviors and our ability to recuperate, most often without our conscious awareness. Dr. Stephen Porges coined the term neuroception to describe that process within his Polyvagal Theory, introduced in 1994. (“Polyvagal” refers to the extensive vagus nerve, which plays a critical role in connecting the brain and the body.) Often without being aware of the trigger, we can find ourselves in either an activated state of fight-or-flight or a collapsed state of freeze. Threats can be detected within the environment, interpersonal relationships, or oneself. And if our nervous system lacks resilience, we can stay stuck in a defensive state that interferes with our relationships, robs us of vitality, and makes us sick.

The gift of Polyvagal Theory is an understanding of how we can cultivate our resilience with awareness—not only of our triggers of danger but also of the cues of safety that help us live into our full human capacity. Such a state of balanced awareness is essential for maintaining both our physical health and the emotional well-being that comes from connection with others. Polyvagal Theory has been especially influential in the treatment of trauma. Trauma held in the body can interfere with the accurate neuroception of safety, triggering a habitual defensive state that is no longer helpful. One reason Polyvagal Theory is so valuable is that its principles apply not just to trauma survivors but to anyone with a nervous system who encounters stressors large and small—which is all of us.

Each person’s nervous system has a unique makeup—one person’s triggers of danger or cues of safety will differ from another’s. Taking time to get acquainted with your nervous system is a valuable exercise that will help you recognize the warning signs that you are heading towards a defensive state before you find yourself hijacked. Similarly, awareness of your system’s cues of safety will help you structure your days and marshal your resources to maximize your resilience and live your fullest, most vibrant life.

That’s another important message from My Octopus Teacher. The filmmaker blundered into the project at a time of personal and professional crisis. Remembering how much he enjoyed swimming as a child, he embarked on a daily habit of freediving in the frigid waters off the coast of his native South Africa. That would not be a cue of safety for everyone’s nervous system, but it was for his. The awe and wonder of his evolving connection with the octopus helped bring balance and health back to his personal life, and catapulted him to a new level of professional success.

The Center for Resiliency Arts is dedicated to helping clients cultivate resilience for navigating the stress of everyday life using techniques informed by Polyvagal Theory. Contact Diana Johnson at diana@resiliencyarts.com or check out her website at resiliencyarts.com for more information.

Treating traumas of the soul

One of the things that kept me busy during the pandemic shutdown was an online German auricular acupuncture course on identifying and treating soul trauma. Soul trauma refers to psychological wounds and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most of us have experienced some form of shock, trauma, injury, or abuse in our lives. There may even be an event that we are not conscious of, such as birth trauma, that is still having an effect on our whole being. 

The assessment

As with all German auricular acupuncture methods, I use the pulse to find the points that need treatment. This method uses several different flower essences to help identify, and in some cases treat, the trauma. 

The process begins by scanning a portion of the back of the head along the Governing Vessel, one of the energy pathways in Chinese medicine. If there is an active pulse reading, we can pinpoint a certain age range of when the trauma happened. The client is then asked to think back to that age, and try to remember if there was a traumatic event that they experienced. Most of the time, the client has an immediate recognition of the trauma. 

Next, the active area must be scanned with a few different flower essences, to determine which one will be useful to treat the trauma. There will be a point on the ear that corresponds with the selected flower essence that will also be treated. Again, the pulse is used to find a resonance between the flower essence and the points.

The treatment

The treatment is composed of three parts.

1. The recall and acknowledgement of the traumatic event. 

2. The flower essence that resonated with the point on the timeline can be taken internally, daily, for up to a few weeks.

3. The point on the ear that is associated with the flower essence can be treated with a semi-permanent needle, a regular acupuncture needle and/or laser treatment with the frequency associated with the flower essence. 

The area on the timeline will need to be checked on subsequent visits. The point may be cleared, or it will require further treatment. Sometimes a new area will show up. If multiple points show up, the trauma that happened earliest in life is the one that is addressed first. Often it will clear the subsequent traumas. 

In light of the traumatic events surrounding the murder of George Floyd that have happened here in Minnesota in the past few weeks, I found the timing of this new-to-me method to be quite relevant and well-timed. Many of my clients are showing up still in shock and experiencing anxiety. By addressing the older traumatic events, I’m hoping that they will be more able to process these new traumas in real time, so they don’t suffer a lasting effect. 

Working with my clients at this level has been a gift. I feel like they have allowed me a glimpse into their lives, and we have been able to process these deep traumatic experiences together.

Rediscovering scalp acupuncture

At the end of September, I had the opportunity to travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to attend a scalp acupuncture seminar taught by Suzanne Robidoux. I have occasionally used scalp acupuncture since learning the basics in acupuncture school over 10 years ago, but am now inspired to use it a whole lot more. I was aware of the effectiveness of the method, but needed the more in-depth instruction on how to understand it better and use it to achieve the best results possible. Over the past couple of weeks I have started to employ what I learned, and am pleased with the results so far.

Scalp acupuncture applies the ancient technique of acupuncture to a modern, scientific understanding of how the brain is mapped. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, and vice versa. The brain is further divided into different areas, each with specific jobs to control the various functions of the body: movement, feeling sensation, balance, optics, emotions, focus, and the rest.

Scalp acupuncture was developed by Dr. Jiao Shunfa in the early 1970s in China. Dr. Jiao suspected that he could effectively treat hemiplegia (one-sided paralysis) following a stroke by treating the area over the primary motor cortex of the brain on the opposite side of the paralysis. Dr. Jiao knew that the motor cortex controls how movement is initiated in the body. In the photo above, you can see the “Motor Line,” the line that Dr. Jiao first treated to test his theory.

As Dr. Jiao gained experience by treating many patients, he was able to define several areas that brought about particular therapeutic effects when stimulated with acupuncture needles. These areas were consistent with the already-mapped functional areas of the brain. He developed a comprehensive system to treat many neurological disorders, including stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, traumatic brain injury, and neuropathy.

Other doctors have expanded upon Dr. Jiao’s methods to treat even more neurological conditions. One example is Dr. Lin Xue Jian, who developed her method to treat autism, ADD/ADHD, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and learning disabilities.

The beauty of scalp acupuncture is that not only is it extremely effective in treating these serious diseases, but it is also effective in treating many other conditions, including acute and chronic pain of any type, stress, digestive issues, colds, emotional upset, and more.

Scalp acupuncture is typically paired with electrical stimulation of the scalp points, by connecting the needles to a stimulater via electrodes, and a body acupuncture treatment. The needles are retained for 30 minutes. In cases of physical issues such as paralysis, tremors, pain, and numbness, some exercise must also be done with the scalp needles retained for the best effect, before leaving the office.

When our teacher insisted that a post stroke patient who is in a wheelchair should be up and walking within five weeks with two treatments per week, along with some dietary changes and herbal support, she really got my attention. I have already started to use this powerful method more in my practice, and am looking forward to helping more people feel better so they can more fully enjoy their lives.

Healing after a whiplash injury

Every day, on average, 85 Minnesotans are injured in car accidents. And the most common injury that results from car accidents is whiplash.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from a recent or long-ago whiplash injury, I encourage you to not give up. Healing is possible, through a combination of acupuncture, bodywork, and herbs.

It is important to seek treatment as soon as possible and to be consistent, as the greatest degree of improvement happens in the first six months after injury–not to mention, this is when motor vehicle accident insurance funds are available.

Let’s look at the nature of a whiplash injury, and what I can do to help you heal.

Nature of the injury

During a whiplash injury, also known as an acceleration-deceleration injury, the soft tissues of the neck become inflamed and bruised. There may also be structural damage such as muscle tears, ruptured ligaments, disc herniations, fractures and dislocations.

Symptoms include neck pain and stiffness, pain between the shoulder blades, low back pain, headache, numbness and tingling in the arms and hands, and vertigo. Often the symptoms don’t appear until 48 to 72 hours after the accident. Many people will recover within a few weeks, but others may be left with recurring symptoms.

In Chinese medicine we also recognize the deeper physiological and emotional effects of physical trauma. All trauma causes an emotional shock to the heart, which has an impact on heart function, thereby decreasing circulation. Decreased circulation can have detrimental long-term effects on the body. It is therefore also important to resolve the emotional shock.

An informative Canadian study showed that acupuncture stimulated emotional releases in whiplash patients, which promoted further and more complete recovery.

Treatment through acupuncture, bodywork, herbs

In my experience, each whiplash injury is unique. There are certainly common symptoms, but the treatment approach varies from person to person, depending on specific symptoms and how recent or old the injury is. Recent injuries respond more quickly to treatment, but regardless of when treatment begins, it must be consistent for a period of time. Chronic cases may take more time, but healing is definitely possible.

In all cases, I prefer to use a combination of acupuncture and bodywork to directly address the injured tissues. And, I like to use herbs to calm the spasm and pain and address the circulation, in order to protect the heart function.

Acupuncture manages and remedies pain of all types, releases muscle tension, and balances the nervous system. Bodywork soothes and improves circulation in inflamed tissues and breaks up adhesions in fibrotic tissues. Positional release therapy and trigger point therapy in particular can be useful to release and reset hypertonic muscles. Myofascial release addresses connective tissue restrictions. And craniosacral therapy is useful in all cases, but most specifically in cases of tension and migraine headaches.

These are the treatment modalities that I use to treat whiplash injuries, but I always support an integrative approach, and often refer to other practitioners, including neurologists and orthopedists for diagnostics and imaging, and chiropractors and physical therapists for further treatment and rehab.

For your convenience, Red Clover Clinic accepts personal injury insurance for those who have suffered a motor vehicle accident.

Whiplash Testimonial

Anita’s exceptional grasp of anatomy and muscle movement, combined with years of clinical experience, enabled true healing work to emerge. After my car accident, I was in significant discomfort. Her unique approach of healing, which integrates bodywork, acupuncture and herbs, carried me through the most painful moments of my recovery and eventually guided me to a functional and vibrant place. I am so grateful to have had her as my primary care practitioner throughout this experience. She is the most thorough, well-trained and practical healer I have worked with. – J.C.

An ounce of prevention

It’s that time of year, when everyone is worried about catching a cold or flu, or, as we say in Chinese medicine, being attacked by wind. There are many things you can do to boost your immune system and keep yourself and your family healthy. 

 First and foremost, it is important to eat a clean and healthy diet. Avoid processed foods and simple sugars, including white sugar, high fructose corn syrup and processed grains. Secondly, manage your stress, get moderate exercise, and enough sleep. In addition to these year-round health guidelines, you can turn to a few plant-based medicinals, which are all available at Red Clover Clinic, to give you an extra ounce of prevention.

Elderberries

Throughout history, many cultures have revered the elder plant for its protection from evil spirits. In herbalism we use it to protect from wind evils, i.e. colds and flu. Studies have shown that elder has compounds that are active against flu viruses, not to mention that it prevents the viruses from invading the respiratory tract cells. Furthermore, it gives the immune system a boost. If you have already come down with a viral infection, elder can help you to recover more quickly as well. Elderberries offer a delicious way to keep you healthy…even children love this medicine!

Resistance–Yu Ping Feng San, modified

Resistance, a Blue Dragon formula, is an enhanced version of the traditional Chinese formula Yu Ping Feng San, also known as Jade Screen. This formula is used to build up the body’s resistance to viral and bacterial infections, i.e. colds and flu. In fact, Yu Ping Feng San was the basic formula recommended by Chinese health authorities for the prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), several years ago. This formula has been shown in many clinical trials to significantly reduce the frequency of the common cold and bacterial infections in the respiratory tract in people who suffer from chronic bronchitis and in children who are susceptible to colds and flu.

Naiouli Melablend

This blended essential oil is designed to support the health of the respiratory tract. When inhaled, it has an anti-microbial and anti-fungal effect, cleansing the tissues as it makes its way through the sinuses and into the lungs. Either diffusing the oil into the air or inhaling it from a tiny inhaler, offers protection from colds and flu, especially when someone in your home or your work environment is sick.