Jan began as a Physical Therapist, graduating from the University of Missouri in 1991. After 5 years of practice, she decided she really wanted to know more about what causes chronic disease and the degenerative process. This led her to the study of Chinese Medicine and acupuncture at the Northwest Institute in Seattle, WA. The holistic nature of the 5 Elements enabled her to begin looking at health and wellness in a whole new way. Instead of isolating disease to one area, Chinese Medicine connects the system as a whole which includes what you eat, how you think, what activities you engage in, relationships in your life, or absence of them as well as the environments you choose to work and play. During her studies there, she felt like everyone could benefit from this knowledge as it provides such a great framework for understanding the direct relationship between the life we are choosing to live and how that manifests in our physical body.
When Jan began her training in acupuncture, she had initially thought this would replace the modality of physical therapy. As she began her practice, she realized that the discipline of physical therapy was a wonderful adjunct to Acupuncture and vice versa. She continued in depth studies in holistic techniques in PT such as Cranial Sacral, Myofascial Release and the Myokinesthetic System Technique. All of which involve an approach that connects the individual areas of the body to the whole. One of the keys to study in these areas was an in depth experience of each. Without the component of personal experience with each technique, it is more difficult to relate the healing potential of the modality to the client. The same goes with every individual. It is the experience of a positive effect that is the catalyst for change. There needs to be not only a perceived intellectual value of a modality or a lifestyle modification, but an experience of the benefit or an eye opening experience of the deficit that gives the motivation for staying engaged.
