Episode #21: Acupuncture with Jim Rohr (Part 2)

Hey everyone! We continue and complete the conversation with Jim Rohr, licensed acupuncturist (from Brooklyn, NY) and the author of Unlearning Stress!

Check out www.invitinginlove.com  - Jim's website for dating/coaching

And go see him at his practice: here

Enjoy! Have a great weekend!

Here are the show notes from today's podcast:

Intro:                            00:01                Hey everyone, and welcome to unconventional wellness radio, a powerful and inspiring podcast set to revolutionize and disrupt healthcare. It's trying to put you in the driver's seat and be the force of change necessary for the lifestyle you've always wanted.

Intro 2:                         00:17                Everyone and welcome back to part two of my conversation with Jim Rohr, licensed acupuncturist out of Brooklyn, New York, and also the author of unlearning stress. And we are going to dive further into what acupuncture is and how it may be a large benefit to you and possibly the key that you need to have improved. How so? Enjoy the rest of this podcast today and have a wonderful weekend.

Frank:                           00:45                And, uh, and I think even especially in today's Day and age, and this is on another soapbox that I'll go stand on elsewhere, but, um, you know, it's like, it's funny how will talk to one another and we're just simply say there's two magical words when we say, Hey Jim, have you been, oh, I'm so busy. Yeah. Like we don't really, we don't really just say I'm good or, you know, life is tough, but we're doing it. You know what I mean? Like, yeah. So it's always I'm busy. Like as if like I need to be reassured by you going to, Oh man, I totally get it. Exactly what you're saying. Like if I'm not busy, I'm apparently not doing what everybody else is doing. Right? Yeah. That glorification of being busy. It's like that's got to, we got to be done with that. Totally. And so like I said, there's a, there's a, there's a cool thing that we're doing right now to try to help explain people or explain to people that you can slow down.

Jim:                              01:39                It's okay. There's nothing wrong with actually taking up. Like our body is designed for moderation. So I would, I would think then that, you know, not with just asleep, but of course the stress, I mean like, you know, mental health, how many, how many folks do you now see and have you seen since 2005 to now, has there been a lot more folks coming in here for like mental health concerns? Huge. Yeah. That's why I wrote that book on learning stresses that, you know, it's just like it's taking over. And it's really, to me, it's heartbreaking to see people of all ages coming in with so much stress. And when I moved here to New York, all of a sudden I had to ask, start asking everybody if you have it, they have jobs because so many people here are clenching and grinding their teeth cause they're just too,

Jim:                              02:21                or no. And so, you know, it's like probably all like 90% of my clients are going to get some kind of treatment each time I see them for their job. So much tension there, you know. Um, and that's one of the things that I think acupuncture is so good at is certainly the way that I practice too. I only see one person at a time. Um, so they've got a private room. It's a really nice, mellow vibes, a good space. Um, and you know, the joke is, is that I pin them to the table so that they have to relax for half hour, 45 minutes. Um, and you know, that creates this pattern interrupts, which I think is just so important. And it's one of the things I love also about the essential oils is that when people get in these loops of stress, we have to interrupt that pattern.

Jim:                              03:08                You know, and you and I talked to an a on the beach about PTSD, you know, and so part of what has to happen is there has to be this, this pattern interrupt. We have to be able to disrupt that, the Lupus, you know, and so smelling wild orange can do it. Frankincense is great for that also. Um, and acupuncture is tremendous for that as well because if you take someone who's got really bad anxiety, take someone who's got PTSD and you just tell them to relax, it's kind of like, no, like they don't know. They don't know. Like it's been so long if ever that they felt that way, I'm feeling or acupuncture or at least the way that I like to do it is, um, it's such a great experience because we're tapping into the body's wisdom, activating that parasympathetic nervous system, shifting them out of a fight or flight response while also giving the one on one connection that helps them to feel not so isolated.

Jim:                              04:02                And it gives them a physiologically new experience of what it might be like to downshift to just relax a little bit more. So then when they go home, if they want to embark on, you know, whether it's therapy or meditation, even, um, they can have a new physiological memory to be like, oh, well if I can feel like I felt after acupuncture or if I can use that. Like, you know, even if they relax for 10 minutes, it's like, yeah, this is a reminder that your body still has the capacity to feel good and that is worth celebrating. Like to the end of time. You know, the question then becomes, what do you need to do in your life to accentuate that feeling? To recreate that feeling again and again and again, you know, and that's where all of the, the rest of your podcasts comes in. And um, giving people the lifestyle support is just so, so important.

Frank:                           04:54                Well, I appreciate that shameless plug, but I love what you said. It was so profound that like, I myself as a person who suffers from post traumatic stress. Um, my, when I did acupuncture and actually matter of fact, I'm glad we're having this podcast because it's reminding me that I probably should go and do more because it doesn't seem like you can really get ever enough is that it really did do that. I mean like I just became so contemplatives I became so calm and I was just kinda like, no way. My body actually understands how the still relax and how to still just be forced to literally chill here and relax with my thoughts and realize that I can in fact do this. I mean, my sleep definitely improved. Um, I realized that a, I mean, like the research is now coming out for anybody that's listening is that if they've suffered trauma, and I want, and I really want people to understand that trauma guys can be from anything and you don't have to observe the day in the military to have ever had to suffer from trauma.

Frank:                           05:55                And so, you know, we throw around that PTSD if you will. And you mainly think of like military soldiers or airmen or marines or whatever. And don't get me wrong, um, our brothers and sisters in arms absolutely can, um, experience something that causes PTSD. But you can't tell me like you being from Brooklyn that back on nine 11 that you didn't have New Yorkers absolutely PTSD from seeing what happened when those towers collapsed because those planes ran into them. There's probably still people today that still relive that and walk by the mall of the towers are and where they're creating the new towers and all that, and just relive that entire experience again. And so I say all that guys because you absolutely do not have had to have served in the military to ever have a traumatic experience. And so I really want you to, I really want to urge you to be powerful and be cognizant of the fact that you're not alone.

Frank:                           06:50                And so, um, you know what I mean? This whole concept of good wellness and lifestyle to include maybe considering acupuncture can be great because the studies are showing that your brain actually gets rewired, like you actually physically can change your mind and you end up reacting to something very similar in a very non normal way. And that's what a lot of folks who have ever suffered from trauma actually experiences. That's something that you've also seen in your years of practice. Yeah, for sure. One of the, my, uh, one of the things I could joke about it as a practice is that one of the benefits of acupuncture as it makes your fuse a lot longer. So you know, people, especially people that have a tendency to be angry and have these outbursts. Um, you know, we just chill you out so that the, the fuse gets a lot longer so that, you know, you can, you've got a lot more time to continue to interrupt those, that pattern.

Frank:                           07:44                Yeah. We, sorry, go ahead. Sorry. No, go ahead. That's it. I was going to say that we have that wonderful thing. I learned a really great thing from actually an equine therapist about, uh, how, what makes us different than other animals. Okay. Cause by and far we are animals just like any of these other ones that roam around the planet. What makes us different than them is this wonderful thing called the prefrontal cortex. And we have the capability of actually having a rational, logical thought based on an emotion that we're feeling. And so we've been able to really, I, I myself been able to harness, harness that and realize that the only thing that really, that prefrontal cortex needs his time. Yeah. If you give that prefrontal cortex time to react to whatever you're feeling or whatever emotion you've got going on, then you're going to react in a much more rational human being sort of way, rather than reacting, like say, you know, cow would given the same stimulus, you know, and so on. And so I urge you guys that have acupuncture may be, and these missing piece of your ability to just kind of cope and relax and all that sort of stuff. It's not hokey. And Western medicine has been going on for hundreds of years, whereas eastern medicines are going on thousands of years, a lot more people. So if you're saying that I need evidence based medicine, I would say that thousands of years pretty solid. Nobody's ever really died from acupuncture for my best of my knowledge there. Right, Jim?

Jim:                              09:07                Yeah, correct. Correct. And there's, there's that evidence is coming out. I mean, the military, the military has been doing that research. They recently, uh, at least a few years ago, they were hiring a bunch of licensed acupuncturists to work on their basis because they've seen enough evidence that, that it's legit. And, um, it's definitely worth the worth, the tribe, the few things, kind of the, just the finish on the sort of practical side of all that stuff. The needles are one time use, sterile, disposable. Everything is totally safe, clean and sanitary. Here in the US you have to use disposable needles. They can't no state. You can use reusable needles. So everything is really clean there. Um, uh, what else I was going to say, I just lost it.

Frank:                           09:50                The big thing is probably about the needles don't honestly, that is true.

Jim:                              09:53                And they're super, they're super small, so they're solid. Um, and uh, unlike a hypodermic needle where they're injecting you with something, those have to be bigger because they're holding some kind of liquid. These are all solid. So some of them are just as big as a hair. I mean, like super, super thin. Well, most of us acupuncturist complained that we call them needles. You know, I'd almost be better if we call them filaments because you know, it, it changes the mental association with it. One of the things that I hear consistently with people who come in and kind of afraid as they say, oh, that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be heard at all. You know? And it's like, yeah, I wouldn't be in business if this stuff hurts.

Frank:                           10:31                Nobody would go see an acupuncturist if it was painful

Jim:                              10:33                and it wouldn't be effective for like that pattern interrupt to help ease someone from anxiety if it, if the needles hurt so much, like that's going to, that's not going to be a comfortable experience for them. So, um, it really is a phenomenal resource. Oh, this is what I was going to say is that the mistake if there is one that people make when they get acupuncture is they don't go enough. So they'll go once and there'll be like, oh, I tried acupuncture and you know, it was really for me, you know, and it's like, well that doesn't really count. If you go four or five, six times in the span of three or four weeks and then you say it didn't help you, I'd be like, okay, you gave it a good go. Maybe that practitioner wasn't the best person for you or maybe you weren't really in a position to fully heal. Um, but if you gave it four or five, six treatments in a short period of time, like you gave it a good try, but someone is like, oh, I tried it once and it didn't do anything. It's like

Frank:                           11:26                that's the, that's the magic pill philosophy. We just want to be able to do the one and done. I mean like that's the reason why weight loss industries are billion dollar industries is because I have this new shake that I can give you that I promise you drink it for a week and all of a sudden you'll drop 30 pounds. It's not guys, there is no magic pill out there. I mean like it's a lifestyle change because if you think about it, it took us a little bit of time to get to that point. Like it wasn't like we woke up, all of a sudden my knee

Frank:                           11:54                was hurting every single day. I mean I must've been doing something to have that knee tell me I'm going to start increasingly hurting and letting you know that I'm hurt. And so you have to be able to take those lifestyle choices and be able to do that. Now if I may, because I might be a little bit smarter than your average bear because we've tried a lot of these different things. Is that, can you speak to me about like, you know, some of the other eastern topics of medicine where it comes to like cupping or the use of the magnets during the treatments are or, or really honestly any of that sort of thing. Is there any way that you can shed some light on that as well? Yeah, sure. So cupping is super popular. You know, you saw it, especially during the Olympics a few years ago. Michael Phelps was just covered everywhere.

Jim:                              12:34                It's another way to remove stagnation from the body is a kind of the way to think about it and Chinese medicine terms because we're always trying to promote movement. And so copying the application of suction cups on the body creates a vacuum. Um, and so you're going to see what looked to be bruises on the skin, but it doesn't feel like a bruise. It's just the capillaries broke because of the suction and it can help with muscle recovery. It's also great for colds and coughs, especially those like deep sea, the Cosworth, but phlegm's just isn't coming out. It can really help to improve circulation there. So it's another way to stimulate basically movement and healing through the body. Usually a compelling session. Is it less than an hour normally? Right? Yeah, I mean if someone's just doing copying, it's like, it could be like 10 15 minutes, you know, I'll usually do it after an acupuncture treatment because the combination of the two is great.

Jim:                              13:26                We'll use the needles to help activate that person, but that act to get that deeper movement of the chief for the Meridians and then the cupping is great. Really just kind of locally for providing more muscle relief. Okay. Gotcha. All right. And then what about like, cause I mean like I guess maybe this is more of a personal question cause I've also had to have it where I had a magnet as like a little magnet that I had to tap on some other needles that stayed or were studs if you want to kind of stayed in a certain spot. That's a, that's a technique. I remember we talked about that on the beach. That's the technique that I'm not that familiar with. Okay. So I think that's more of, um, my guess would be that that's a modern kind of approach to try to, the idea is like how do you give con continuous stimulation so that people can disrupt those patterns so that people can help to initiate that change.

Jim:                              14:12                Um, magnets, you know, the idea is you've got some polarity that's also going to be in short encouraging movement through the body, encouraging circulation. And if you put him over certain acupuncture points, that might be a way to help, you know, get a stronger effect from the magnet. Okay. Maybe it was just maybe, well cause the acupuncture that we did that, that was years ago when, um, we actually had an anesthesiologist who was learning how to do acupuncture as well. So I guess the stool pigeon and just touch it against your ear at these various spots throughout the day. So maybe if she was just trying to get me to like take my brain off of stuff, it was possible just trying to your points. Your points are great. So the Airpoints we use a lot for trauma. Um, like, so after nine 11, I wasn't here in New York then, but after nine 11, um, acupuncture, swimming around in firehouses and offered anyone that wanted a free treatment, um, they would do this trauma protocol, which is points in the ear. And the airports are used for more than just trauma, but they work well in those kinds of community settings because you can just have someone sit in the chair, people go by, they do it in the ear. You could still move your head. You don't need a table. It's like, it's a very low cost of, uh, kind of production. But to your points are great to help, you know, really shift some of the, some of the energy, some of the especially anxiety. Yeah.

Frank:                           15:28                Yeah. No, I mean like I definitely, it was, um, it was one of those ones on, I think I did it for like a couple of weeks and I thought that it was actually pretty beneficial. So yeah, it definitely, I mean like I echo what Jim has been saying, you definitely have to go more than once guys. Like don't go just one time and expect that you're going to be honest all of a sudden miraculously relieved of everything, which I mean, if it happens, great.

Jim:                              15:49                Yeah, yeah. Go for my clients, I'm like, Hey, if that happens, like I'm going to celebrate that, but please don't tell your friends that all it took was one treatment

Frank:                           15:57                cause they wanting that threshold is there and all of a sudden now you've got to perform. And it's like, no, I can't do that. It's, it's everybody's different. So. All right, well let's, let's wrap up. This has been such a great conversation. Let's wrap up a little bit with like, let's talk about your book, if you don't mind, like what's of like how did you get inspired to do it? And then if you don't mind, let's also talk about how people can maybe get a copy yet

Jim:                              16:22                if they're interested in it. Sure. So the book is called unlearning stress and it's, um, it was the 10 big things that I found myself saying over and over and over again, um, to help disrupt that stress path. And the title comes from this idea that, you know, of distress that we have. So much of it is learned. It's what are the stories that we've been telling ourselves? What are the beliefs that we have? Um, you know, and it's just kind of learned behavior. So to create a more relaxed lifestyle, it's not necessarily about doing more things that are relaxing. A lot of it is just getting rid of the stuff that stressful and learning those beliefs, this identifying from some of those stories. So it's very, it's, it's meant to be kind of a, a light book. You know, there's like some cartoons and stuff in there.

Jim:                              17:06                Um, but it really kind of basic stuff. So for it's great book for someone who's like, I'm stressed out, I don't have any idea where to begin. You know, it's like chapter one is deep breathing. You know, it's like we have to reengage the physiology with, you know, feeling the abdomen expand on the inhale, contract on the exhale, engaging the diaphragm that's going to activate that parasympathetic response to the very core level. And most people that are really stressed, they may not even realize it, but they're just doing this like shallow breathing. So their physiology there is reinforcing that stress reaction. Um, yeah, so it's got, it's stuff like that. Um, I think it's fun. How do I get a copy? You can get on Amazon. It's just stress and it's right there. You order it and check it out.

Frank:                           17:50                We'll go ahead guys, for the purpose of this podcast, you know, go check out the show notes and we'll make sure that we drop a link. Awesome. So go ahead and be able to get a copy of that. So, because of course we need to, we need to definitely learn that. That could be like the key to a lot of problems that we honestly deal with every single day because stress guys as normal, but our reactions to stress or not compartmentalize and all that kind of stuff. So, and then last certainly not least though, you got to talk to me about this podcast. Pleasure points. And how did you become this love coach and where did that all come from?

Jim:                              18:23                Yeah, so, um, the love coaching stuff came from what we were talking about where, you know, people would come in and they, you know, my practice is mostly women just because they're the biggest consumers of alternative therapies. Um, and they would come in with all sorts of stuff, whether it was headaches, digestive issues, chronic pain, um, anxiety, I mean, you name it. And what I realized over the last 15 years of working with them is that a women, especially their health, seemed to be almost directly related to the quality of their relationships. So I could give him acupuncture. We get the headaches to go away, we can get the anxiety and dropped it. Now we can get the pain go away. But if their relationship life was a mess, I would, they would keep coming back. They would keep somaticizing are internalizing that stress and that tension.

Jim:                              19:10                Um, and in particular, you know what? We know what the research is, that people that are feeling lonely are just really behind the eight ball when it comes to health, wellness, longevity, quality of life. And I think that, you know, any kind of work that's going to help shift people from a state of being lonely, to feeling connected and so, so valuable and important. And so what I realized when I was working with these women is that I could do the acupuncture forever, but if they didn't have new skill sets to approach their relationships, then they were always going to be, there was always going to be kind of a ceiling as to how good they could feel. Because the research is clear. When people are in great relationships, everything gets better. Or note when the relationship is healthy. They're sleeping better, stresses better, you know, they live longer and better financial decisions like on and on and on.

Jim:                              19:59                And so I was like, well, maybe I can take my knowledge of physiology and Chinese medicine and with the essential oils along with the coaching experiences that I've had. Um, and design a program that helps women to call in a great partner. And the reason that I chose to work with healthcare practitioners is because they're on the front lines. Sure. And we don't, when they feel full, they have so much more to give others. And there's something that happens when people are giving all day where, especially for someone who's single, going from giving, giving, giving to then going into the dating world. Oftentimes they'll attract fixer uppers, guys with potential, but aren't really there because they're used to seeing the best in people. But when it comes to romantic partner, you know, they don't have time to waste on someone who five or 10 years from down the line might be there. Um, so it's helping them to manage their energy so that they can feel confident and make those shifts. Um, and then ultimately, you know, so that they feel good.

Frank:                           20:55                Awesome. I was where did this, where did this come from? Like what was the experience, what was sort of like the catalyst created the able to start thinking about

Jim:                              21:03                helping these women and maybe even men out. Yeah, just seeing like seeing my clients who were single and unhappy and frustrated in that, how much time and energy was spent in that loop of dating and being stuck in the gossip and the wondering of, you know, is it going to happen or the anxiety of like checking their phone all the time to see if he's texting. It's like, what is the life force that's lost there when you're cringing your mood on whether or not some do that you met a week ago is texting you just sit there and they pull out their phone and checking, checking, checking, checking, checking. And I was like, Whoa, this is, this has got to change. And I wanted to be able to have an impact outside of my treatment. I wanted to have a vehicle for people around the world to be able to uh, to work with me.

Jim:                              21:49                Awesome. And so you're not, so your podcast is called pleasure points. It is. Um, I'm assuming of course on iTunes. Is there other media?

Jim:                              21:57                Yeah, we got the pleasure points. Yeah, you can find on Itunes, it's on all the podcasts providers, so you can just type that in. Um, and it's really about kind of mindfulness living. We just talked about dating and that's something that comes up, but it's not the focus of it. I visited with a lot of wide variety of, of amazing people doing great things, but the talks all seem to come back around to mindfulness, presence, paying attention, observing the self. Um, ultimately how do we have more freedom in life and how do we thrive?

Frank:                           22:24                Okay. Then, so let's just say that I'm one of your potential women listening to this podcast and I want to reach out to you to possibly talk to you about coaching

Jim:                              22:34                and everything like that. How do I get ahold of it? Yeah. So the coaching website is called invitinginlove.com. I'm invitinginlove.com will take you to the coaching stuff for people that are interested in the brick and mortar acupuncture practice if they're here in Brooklyn, in New York, that's acupuncturewilliamsburg.com. Um, so pretty, uh, pretty straight forward.

Frank:                           22:53                No, I mean, like I said, guys, if you've, if you've ever needed a nice, uh, not so violent but yet sort of like brotherly shoves, um, offer opportunity that you need to go see if you're in the Brooklyn area. Definitely go see Jim of course. But if you guys need any more motivation, I promise you acupuncture is a huge key for me. It really helped a lot of my mentality and just like Jim, what Jim was saying about the whole like ranking thought patterns and sort of like, it seemed like my brain was getting rewired and I was able to just simply calm myself down. And just as he jokingly said, it's so true. You felt like you had to be pinned to the table because you weren't allowed to move. You know what I mean? Like you to sit there and, and I and I became a very much a, uh, a Chinese gong, like a fiction auto, like at the music. Eastern medicine is just phenomenal and I would like disappear like often as some weird, like I was half asleep, but I'm still there. It was just guys were so amazing. The experience was unbelievable and honestly it took me 12 treatments even just remotely scratched the surface. And now because of it, you're, you're, you're a conversation with you today. I'm going to probably end up calling the veteran's affairs and get myself another round of acupuncture going again. Yeah. Good

Frank:                           24:10                VA. Um, they're, they're covering it now. Yeah. Oh yeah. By the way, veterans listen up. I forgot, I just kind of casually said that. But veterans administration now, if you're seen by the Veterans Department of veteran affairs, like at a hospital or clinic, they will outsource you to an acupuncture, a licensed acupuncturist, or if they have a licensed acupuncturist and a house and you knew that you can actually go see them in house. I think a lot more folks who are getting trained to actually be able to do some acupuncture, you know, like dos and mds and, and like that. I know that they're actually doing that. So by the way, if you're looking for the official, like what's the, you know, how like, you know, an MD is a medical doctor l period, a period is what you can see at the end of a licensed acupuncturist things I correct.

Jim:                              24:56                Yeah. In most states in Florida they'll go by AP, which stands for acupuncture position. Um, but then just whatever else in the country, lac is what you're going for. That's the kind of the gold standard is the gold standard. Um, means we've done most training specifically to do acupuncture and Chinese medicine. So, um, it's great that the dos and mds and nurses and stuff were doing acupuncture in a sense that, you know, they can help disseminate it. And there's certain protocols that are pretty straightforward, but to really get the full benefit of like the pulse and the tongue diagnosis, you're going to want to see an lac. Yeah. So make sure that you check them off here in the Brooklyn area. Go check out, uh, you know, Jim in, in, in Brooklyn. And then if you're not just like Google, Google or let me know, give him a look like that and I will make sure that you get linked up with acupuncturists in your area. But Jim, thank you so much. This is excellent and on, but go check out pleasure points. Go get his book and a, and like I said, check out the show notes. You can get a recap of everything that we talked about on today's podcast. Jim, do you have any final thoughts for us before we break here? All thanks so much for having me on. It's great. All right, awesome. You guys take care and we will catch you again on our very next Facebook live podcast whenever he listened to take care of everyone.