New Brave World

How to Choose the Right Medical Spa for You

A medical spa, also known as a medspa, is a type of spa that offers a range of medical and cosmetic treatments designed to improve the health, wellness, and appearance of clients. Choosing the right medical spa is important to ensure that you receive safe, effective treatments that meet your needs and expectations. In this article, we will discuss the factors to consider when choosing a medical spa and provide tips for making the right choice.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Medical Spa

1. Reputation and reviews: Research the medical spa’s reputation and read reviews from past clients to get an idea of the quality of services provided.
2. Qualifications of staff and medical professionals: Ensure that the medical spa has qualified and licensed staff and medical professionals who are trained to perform the treatments you are interested in.
3. Range of services offered: Choose a medical spa that offers the treatments you need and want.
4. Quality of equipment and technology: Look for a medical spa that uses modern, high-quality equipment and technology to ensure that you receive safe and effective treatments.
5. Location and accessibility: Choose a medical spa that is convenient and easy to access.
6. Pricing and value for money: Consider the cost of treatments and compare prices with other medical spas to ensure that you are getting good value for money.
7. Customer service and communication: Choose a medical spa that has friendly and professional staff who communicate clearly and effectively.

Tips for Making the Right Choice

1. Research and compare options: Look for multiple medical spas and compare their services, prices, and reputation to find the one that best meets your needs.
2. Schedule a consultation: Book a consultation with the medical spa to meet the staff, tour the facilities, and discuss your treatment goals and expectations.
3. Ask questions and clarify expectations: Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the treatments, staff qualifications, and anything else you are curious about. Clarify your expectations and ensure that the medical spa can meet them.
4. Trust your instincts: If something doesn’t feel right or you are unsure about a medical spa, trust your instincts and look for another option.

Choosing the right medical spa is crucial for receiving safe and effective treatments that meet your needs and expectations. By considering factors such as reputation, qualifications, range of services, quality of equipment, location, pricing, and customer service, and following tips such as research, consultation, asking questions, and trusting your instincts, you can find the medical spa that is right for you. Don’t rush the process and take the time to find the best option to ensure that you receive the best possible results.

How to Store Pemmican: Tips and Tricks for Long-Term Preservation

Pemmican: A Delicious and Nutritious Survival Food

Pemmican is a traditional food of the indigenous North American people. It is made from dried meat, fat, and berries. Pemmican became popular among explorers and fur traders, as it is high in calories and nutrients, making it a great food source for long expeditions. While it may not be as common nowadays, it is still a great survival food that can be stored for a long time. In this article, we will explore the best methods for storing pemmican for long-term preservation.

The Ultimate Guide to Storing Pemmican

When it comes to storing pemmican, the goal is to keep it dry and cool. Moisture and heat are the enemies of long-term storage. Pemmican can be stored in a variety of ways, including freezing, dehydrating, and vacuum sealing. It is important to note that pemmican should be stored in airtight containers to prevent moisture from entering. 

Tips and Tricks for Long-Term Preservation

To make sure your pemmican lasts as long as possible, there are a few tips and tricks you can follow. First, store pemmican in a cool, dry place. A pantry or cellar is a great option. Second, label the container with the date it was made and the expiration date. This will help you keep track of when it needs to be used or replaced. Finally, make sure the container is airtight. Even a small amount of moisture can cause the pemmican to spoil over time.

From Freezing to Dehydrating: Choose Your Method

There are a few different methods for long-term storage of pemmican. Freezing is a good option, as it can keep pemmican fresh for up to a year. Simply place the pemmican in an airtight container and freeze. Dehydrating pemmican is another option. This involves removing all moisture from the pemmican, which can extend its shelf life to several years. Vacuum sealing is also a good choice, as it removes all the air from the container, preventing any moisture from entering.

Pemmican is a delicious and nutritious food that can be stored for a long time. By following the tips and tricks outlined in this article, you can ensure your pemmican stays fresh for as long as possible. Whether you choose to freeze, dehydrate, or vacuum seal your pemmican, make sure to store it in a cool, dry place and label the container with the date it was made and the expiration date. Pemmican is a great survival food that can provide you with energy and nutrients for your adventures.

Source: Steadfast Provisions

Five Element Acupuncture: The underlying principles

Acupuncture is the use of needles to bring about healing by modifying the circulation of qi around the body. Qi (pronounced Chee) is a subtle form of energy that nourishes every part of the human being – mind, body, soul and spirit.

Qi moves in an invisible (but tangible) circuit around the body delivering sustenance through a network referred to as the Meridians. This network could be compared to the railway system of a large city that transports people to work and back every day. Some days it flows smoothly, but on other days there may be breakdowns, problems with the track or accidents that cause the system to grind to a halt.

Similarly, when the qi is moving correctly around the body, we are in a state of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual balance. When there are blockages, or other disturbances in the flow, we experience dis-ease in the form of symptoms that can occur on any of these four levels of our being.

What are the Five Elements?

The five elements are five qualities of the qi. The names given to the elements reflect these qualities as follows:

• Fire energy is warming and rising

• Earth energy is grounding and stabilising

• Metal energy relates to quality and refinement

• Water energy is fluid and powerful

• Wood energy is forceful and youthful

The Causative Factor of Disease

In Five Element Acupuncture it is believed that one of the elements is always congenitally weaker than all of the others. This is the Causative Factor (CF) or, to put it another way, the weakest link in the system.

The Five Element Acupuncturist will endeavour to identify which is the CF and then strengthen that element. By strengthening the CF we then bring the whole system back into a good state of operation, a bit like when a broken railway track is replaced allowing the whole system to flow again.

Diagnosing the Causitive Factor

One of the greatest skills in Five Element Acupuncture is diagnosing which is the weakest part of the system. This is done by observing the client closely to see which of the elements is giving off the most distress signals.

For example, the Fire Element may be disturbed leading to feelings of vulnerability or betrayal. The Earth element may become stuck in a rut, with the client unable to move forward. The metal element may become tarnished making the patient ‘feel like rubbish’. The water element may become frozen with fear and the wood element may become baulked with frustration, lack of vision and depression.

This is where the real skill of 5 Element Acupuncture comes in. All of the senses need to be recruited in order to recognise which element is crying out the loudest for help. Since each of us is made of a unique blend of the five elements, this can be a very challenging.

With experience the practitioner gains the ability to ‘tune in’ more effectively allowing the CF to be sensed through the medium of sound (of the voice), colour (of the skin) odour and emotional expression.

Acupuncture Types – Japanese, Chinese, Korean Acupuncturists

Acupuncture is one form of complementary medicine which recently has significantly increased in popularity in the West. Due to the multiple health benefits associated with acupuncture, various health professionals, such as physiotherapists, doctors, nurses and dentists are also trained in this complementary therapy.

What is Japanese Acupuncture?

There are three main types of acupuncture, which include Japanese, Chinese and Korean acupuncture, although the use of needles to treat health problems is thought to have originated in China some 2,500 years ago. Japanese acupuncturists believe that health relies in energy or ‘ki’ being able to flow throughout the body, with acupuncture utilised to help rebalance this flow as a means of restoring good physical and mental well-being.

In Complementary Medicine For Dummies, Young (2007) highlights key features associated with Japanese acupuncture, to include the following:

• very fine needles
• shallow insertion
• sometimes needles are simply touched against skin, not inserted
• high emphasis on making treatment painless
• needles placed in ‘shinkan’ or narrow tubes before insertion – makes it painless
• individual specialist techniques used – such as ‘ippon hari’ or one needle acupuncture

What is Chinese Acupuncture?

As acupuncture is believed to have originated in China, it is not surprising that the Chinese take acupuncture very seriously, making it well worth seeking acupuncture treatment from a Chinese alternative medicine clinic. While other approaches to acupuncture may vary depending on which region of a country the acupuncturist trained, Chinese acupuncture is more standardised, which means that if you move town you can get the same treatment from another Chinese acupuncturist.

According to Young (2007), key aspects relating to Chinese acupuncture include as follows:

• slightly thicker needles than those used in Japanese acupuncture
• needles inserted directly by hand
• aims to achieve ‘de qui’ or needling sensation when needles inserted
• often less gentle than Japanese acupuncture

Understanding Korean Acupuncture

A third type of acupuncture, known as Korean acupuncture is usually less well-known in comparison to both Chinese and Japanese acupuncture. However, it is likely that as with many alternative medicine approaches, the Korean type of acupuncture will also increase in popularity as its health benefits become more known. Young (2007) identifies that the key difference between Korean acupuncture and other types, is that Korean acupuncturists primarily focus on hand acupuncture to treat the whole body.

As highlighted above, acupuncture is a very popular form of complementary medicine, which is now used by doctors, physiotherapists, nurses, dentists and even vets. While Chinese acupuncture is most well-known, Japanese and Korean acupuncture are also used to treat a wide variety of health problems from asthma to diabetes, migraine to menstrual pains.

Transformational Life Coaching: An Alternative to Traditional Personal Coaching

The practice of Transformational Coaching is based upon the premise that most people have the resources within themselves to find solutions to all of their problems and reach their goals. What they really need, rather than having someone tell them what to do, or “fix” them, is a guide who can help them to find the answers themselves.

Designing a Coaching Relationship

Transformational Coaches believe that the quality of the relationship between the coach and the client is the foundation of the work between them. It has to be really solid in order for the client to have the success they are seeking.

This is probably true of any good personal coach, but Transformational Coaches tend to take it a step further by consciously discussing the relationship between themselves and the client at the very beginning of the coaching process. The coach lets the client know specifically where they stand in terms of issues like confidentiality. The coach makes it clear that the client’s agenda is the core of the process of coaching, rather than the agenda of the coach.

The coach will ask the client questions in order to understand what will make the client feel safe, such as “how do you want me to hold you accountable?” Does the client prefer to be held strictly to plans that are made together, or is it better for him to be given some space? Are there certain areas in which the client feels really vulnerable that the coach should know about ahead of time?

Transformational Coaches Use Deep Listening

Since Transformational Coaches believe that clients hold all the answers they need within themselves, and that they are already whole, it stands to reason that the most important tool they have to work with is their own ears. Listening deeply on many different levels is key.

Listening to the words that the client uses is only a part of the way a Transformational Coach will “hear.” Honing in on the tone of voice that is used and even more subtle clues, such as word choices, give the coach a great deal of information. If the coaching is in person, then body language adds to the coach’s listening bank.

Finally, but perhaps most importantly, is the deepest type of listening, which is hard to put into words because it occurs at a level beneath the intellect. Some refer to this deep listening as intuition. Other coaches feel as though they are listening with their bodies or their guts.

Whatever type of listening is being used, and however it is defined by the coach, there are certain things that a Transformational Coach is looking for. The first thing to hear is what the client is saying and feeling right now. Who is this person in this moment of time? A good coach will make sure they have this right by reflecting back what they have heard and checking to see if the client feels understood.

Then the coach listens for a different message. They ask themselves, who is this client becoming? What are they hungry for? Where would they travel if nothing was holding them back?

The Transformational Coach’s Toolbox

In their work with a client, a Transformational Coach uses a broad range of tools. Some of them are the same tools that any personal coach would use, such as discussing the client’s dreams and goals. Transformational Coaches, like all life coaches, want to challenge their clients and ask them to stretch beyond what is initially comfortable for them.

The Transformational Coach, however, makes use of many more tools and they really delve into creative ways to achieve the client’s goals.

One of the first tools a coach will use is that of asking powerful questions. These are questions that can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” The client will have to think hard and dig deep in order to answer a powerful question. An example of a powerful question might be “who would you have to be in order to achieve that?” Another example might make use of a metaphor like, “if you were a sparrow, how would you behave at that party?” It sounds silly, but exercises like this can create streams of thought that open up new worlds for the client, and cause her to move beyond limiting beliefs about herself.

Use of the visual is another good tool. In some cases, a coach might ask a client to create a vision board. This is generally done with magazine clippings, photographs, fabric swatches, or any other visual materials. A vision board can be used to ask a client to visualize how they would like to see their life a year from now. It can also be used to ask a client to understand better what they are feeling about something right now, or it can answer a question such as, “how do I feel in my current job?.”

Another tool often used by the Transformational Coach is that of going deeper. “What is underneath that?” the coach might ask. If the client is not sure, the coach might ask them to make something up. That bit of fantasy often leads to clues to what the client is really feeling or seeking.

This is only a sampling of the types of tools that Transformational Coaches use to work with a client. If applied thoughtfully and skillfully these tools can cause deep and lasting change in a client’s life. This change goes beyond the superficial, and often temporary, changes that a person can make from their will, or from a suggestion by the coach.

The goal of a Transformational Life Coach is to help the client discover what is already there, waiting to be revealed to both the client and to the world.