Welcome to Everspring Health a new lifestyle, health and healing cooperative serving Minneapolis, St. Paul and the greater Twin Cities metro area. Our focus is on developing a community healthcare resource where health, wellness and quality of life are the same ambition of holistic (whole life) health and healing programs. Everspring practitioners serve as your advocate for better quality of life and more effective use of health and healing resources. Everspring Health's programs are custom designed to each individual's needs, including supporting any current medical program, but specifically designed to accomplish your goals for improved quality of life. Direct clinic service resources may include acupuncture, tuina medical massage (acupressure), dietary therapy, herbal therapy, exercise therapy and lifestyle consulting. Our services are available to the general public and we are currently accepting cooperative memberships for those interested in supporting our mission and benefiting from more convenient access to service.

2012 has been a big year for us as we work to expand our membership and grow into the full capacity our model is designed to embrace. Our ambition is to continue to expand our service offering to present the next generation of integrated qualified medical services including chiropractic and physical therapy among many more supportive health services to the Minneapolis/St. Paul communities. If healthcare is to truly be revolutionized it must be begin with the partnership between the practitioner and the client. We are the first of a kind healthcare cooperative where health advocacy is the core around which we will build the model for the next era in healthcare. We are looking forward to offering daily living programs (yoga, tai chi/qi gong, meditation, cooking classes, biking/hiking trips, retreats, etc.) via our Everspring Living resources bringing our model closer to the lives of our clients.

Examples of our programs

Detailed constitution based daily living programs – Everyone has certain tendencies or patterns from which they approach most daily practices. These tendencies are what make each individual unique with regards to their talents and capabilities but they also tend to lead towards most of the chronic symptoms and disease patterns as well. By identifying and helping our clients understand their constitution they can begin to understand their own tendencies thus allowing for their talents to be maximized all the while tendencies for illness can be significantly reduced. This then begins the practice of actual preventive medicine, where quality of life care becomes a practical principled system from which to work rather than just throwing darts in the supplement isle hoping to stumble onto something that might be useful. We help you understand all the opportunities and then work with you to develop a lifestyle that supports your goals for your best life.

Surgery preparation - We help our clients develop a plan for surgery preparation and post op recovery for when they get back home. This can help shorten recovery time allowing for a more pleasant experience, a more complete recovery and shorter down time from work.

Chronic disease support – We develop programs that use proven techniques to address many chronic conditions addressing many of the most pressing symptoms that may interfere with quality of life. We help many people who experience digestive disorders (GERD, IBS, colitis, Crohn's, gluten sensitivity), woman's health, weight-loss, chronic hives, among so many others.

Pain management – These programs can range from simple post workout soreness (thus shortening recovery time) to joint pain to chronic back pain to conditions like Fibromyalgia, EDS, Chronic Fatigue, headaches, TMJ, etc.

Quality of life programs – Some clients are looking for greater refinement, the opportunity to do more with less to experience life at a personally optimized level. We help clients develop programs that support daily living lead to better experiences of life whatever those goals or intentions might be. We work in partnership to discuss opportunities with clients and then develop a plan to create the desired experiences.

Everspring Health’s service portfolio is designed to focus on personalized results for each client. When you stop in to visit you will find our approach to be comforting balanced by a distinct interest in understanding your experience. Our responsibility is to be an advocate for your health which requires finding a balance between understanding your goals and advocating for opportunities you might not yet be aware of with regards to your health. You will find that to gain a holistic viewpoint we ask a diverse series of questions to help us gain an effective perspective from which to begin your customized program. We will care about your everyday lifestyle because that is likely the most significant factor in what you are experiencing.

When considering preventive, rehabilitative and quality of life healing protocols the focus is less on which therapy or practice is “mandatory” and more on which therapy or practice is optimal given the needs of the client. Not everything is a nail needed to be pounded back into place; there are many therapies or practices that achieve similar results. What is important, and a significant factor in seeking long-term results, is the strategy that is used to effectively integrate therapies and practices into your daily life. Understanding this truth Everspring practitioners focus on achieving optimal results in balance with the most effective investment of time, money and effort.

Everspring clients benefit from service programs that focus on three key benchmarks within an individual’s life – stress, diet and sleep. These three observation points provide a distinct feedback system to both our practitioners as well as to the client. By observing stress, diet and sleep clients have something from which to gauge their daily experience while from a clinic standpoint these three factors will reflect the client’s current condition and will reflect progress as these experiences are refined. By rooting our programs in real life factors Everspring practitioners can build a more effective program that is less invasive, more affordable and the results end up being more empowering to the client because they improve daily life. The Everspring approach is similar to trying to untie a knot versus pulling or cutting to address key intentions.

Once we have established a dialog acknowledging the roll of stress, diet and sleep your practitioner will then seek to integrate more detailed or specific therapies that further support or sometimes take lead within an individual’s program. By taking this approach Everspring programs can fit within anyone’s lifestyle as well as working alongside, or in support of, any current medical program the client may be utilizing. Our service objective is to optimize one’s experience, namely their quality of life, rather than trying to fit one’s lifestyle or medical program into a mold that may not be entirely appropriate.

This focus on appropriateness and customization is what allows us to truly engage each client in their own experience and help them to become empowered in their own health and their lives as a whole. Health does just happen and it cannot be imposed even by the best practitioners. The pursuit of health is a partnership between clients and practitioners and this is the service you can expect when you come to visit with us. We seek to understand your experience, your perspective of that experience and then we develop a program with the resources you specifically need, explain why these resources are beneficial and what to expect as your program continues.

Gain more insight 8 Things to Consider...

First Session

Your first acupuncture visit will involve an in-depth assessment of your condition and usually includes a same day initial treatment. The intake and treatment usually take an hour or so but we ask that you show up about 20 min early to your first visit to help us complete the paperwork. Typically follow-up acupuncture treatments require approximately 30-50 minutes.

During the assessment, you may be asked about things that you might not think are connected to your chief complaint, such as your emotions, sleeping patterns, and eating habits. Our focus is on holistic health and healing not just one isolated symptom. As the signs and symptoms being experienced become better understood they reveal patterns of disharmony. These patterns are crucial to long-term personalized results and for the development of an effective treatment protocol. Although the acupuncture treatment will focus on your chief complaint, your life as a whole must be considered in order to develop the most appropriate course of a treatment program which include diet and exercise among other lifestyle practices. Our focus on a holistic approach includes an appreciation of common universal patterns or symptoms, but each individual will express these patterns of disharmony in a way that is unique to their constitution.

Acupuncture Treatment

Acupuncture treatment will vary depending on the individual or the condition and may include a combination of acupuncture, herbal therapy, tuina massage and/or cupping. Acupuncture needles are typically retained for about 15-30 minutes. Our goal is to offer a healthy and comfortable treatment environment which may include soothing music or aromatherapy to help you relax during this time. Some people may find themselves falling asleep during their acupuncture treatment.

What to expect after your acupuncture treatment

After your acupuncture treatment is complete some find their relief to be immediate, for others it may be delayed for a few hours or even become noticeable after a few days. Relief may last for a few hours on the first visit and then last longer with each successive treatment, or relief may last from the first treatment until your next visit. Individual responses to acupuncture varies. One should keep in mind that for any therapy we must work with the body's natural cycles and the body tends to show substantial physiological changes after about 90 days. As mentioned results often occur much sooner but when considering long-term planning we should look beyond instant success so that we begin creating a lifestyle that is more peaceful and productive.

Acupuncture Side Effects

Side effects to acupuncture are rare, but may include the following: feeling lightheaded, dizziness, sleepiness, euphoria, nausea, slight bruising around insertion point, residual muscle aches. Most side effects should only last a short time and should be reported to your practitioner at your next visit. Being comfortable and relaxing during treatment will help reduce potential side effects. Staying hydrated after your treatment will help to minimize these side effects, as will resting after your treatment. Any side effects should be reported at your next visit so we can further reduce the opportunity for them to occur.

Flare-Ups

On rare occasions, one’s original symptoms may briefly get worse, or “flare-up,” after a treatment. A flare-up typically occurs later on the day of your treatment and should only last for a few hours. After a flare-up, your symptoms should begin to improve. In the long run, acupuncture does not make symptoms worse and again any therapy requires the investment of time.

In some conditions, the body must fully expel a pathogen in order for healing to occur. For example, if you have a cold or flu, acupuncture will not get rid of the condition, but it can often reduce symptoms while accelerating the cold/flu cycle so your body recovers faster. If you are fatigued and beginning to get a cold or the flu, acupuncture can often help your body fight it off.

In cases of chronic pain, the origi nal pain may improve and then unmask less obvious pain in the surrounding areas or sometime opposite sides/areas of the body which have been compensating for the current condition.

Course of Acupuncture Treatments

As part of your program, you will receive a customized treatment plan detailing an appropriate course of treatment for your specific condition. In general, acute conditions of recent onset may only require two or three treatments. Chronic conditions usually require more treatments to achieve sustained results. A course of treatment may also involve a more sustaining long term course, depending on your personal goals.

The ideal approach to illness is to begin treatment as soon as possible. The sooner you seek help, the easier it is to treat. For longstanding illnesses, weekly ac upuncture treatments may be required for several months in order to have a substantial curative effect.

Once we initiate a healing process it is important for us to follow through on treatments. The more consistent we are, the better the likelihood of results. Again as any therapy the effects of acupuncture tend to be cumulative. After we begin feeling better, additional treatments may be recommended beyond the absence of symptoms. Once the symptoms have been addressed our focus is on a reinforcing the constitution which is the body's "normal" healthy state. Our goal should be to further strengthen your body to prevent recurrence of the illness.

Our bodies can vulnerable following recovery from illness because it has expended much of its energy and internal resources in order to get rid of the previous illness. It is therefore important to have acupuncture treatment to help prevent repeated or new illnesses. In general, when an illness recurs it is often more difficult to treat so we should not sit and wait to see how thing progress before seeking support. Remember our goal is to help make Everspring Health an vested resource for us to pursue the goals we have set for a better life.

One of the most under-appreciated benefits of any therapy, including acupuncture, is the ability to improve life beyond just getting rid of disease. We can brush our teeth to help fight cavities but we can also brush our teeth to help develop a nice healthy smile we love to share with those around us. The same is true for the resources Everspring Health provides. Acupuncture can help get rid of conditions but it can also help us prevent them from coming back or even more so help us perform above and beyond our expectations.

Preparing for your Session

The following suggestions are provided to help you have a safe and relaxing experience with acupuncture. Please read this section carefully. If you have any questions, feel free to email us prior to your first visit.

• Please bring a list of current medications you are taking, including any prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, herbal supplements, and vitamins.
• Please bring any lab or medical reports relevant to your condition.
• Eat a light meal a few hours prior to your visit. Acupuncture is not performed on individuals who are fasting. Being over-hungry increases the risk of nausea or dizziness. At the same time, please do not overeat or eat any foods that cause your stomach to be upset (for example, rich, greasy, fried, or extremely spicy foods).
• Avoid alcohol on the day of your treatment. Acupuncture is not performed on intoxicated individuals due to the increased risk of shock. It is also not advisable to become intoxicated shortly after treatment.
• Wear loose, comfortable clothing. Acupuncture points are located all over the body. Many of the acupuncture points that are commonly used are located between the wrists and elbows and the ankles and knees. You will be more comfortable if your clothing can be easily rolled up to your elbows and knees.

We have come out of a decade of skyrocketing healthcare costs and declining, marginal or absent “healthcare” (emphasis on health) services. We have experienced an era where we have had access to some of the best tools and knowledge ever in our history but seem to lack the collective wisdom to apply either to the benefit of the individual on a broad scale. What we do know from the last 50 years in healthcare is that when we have unlimited resources as a group we can overcome some amazing challenges. However, in a many cases we fall victim to the lure of shiny new tools and neglect to embrace the humanized beauty and personalized productivity of hands on attention provided by practitioners to clients who are looking for support for normal everyday living.

We know that having access to technology is helpful but we also know that if we make the best technology available to everyone, everywhere it will likely be out of date by the time we plug it all in. Then consider the costs and we understand one reason why costs have risen. In our own lives how do we handle the fact that as soon as we buy a computer or HDTV a new model will come out to replace it? The reality is that we have the ability to be comfortable enough with who we are to embrace what we have rather than continuously hoping something better will come along. This is the point where we are in our quest for better healthcare. We know that we have unbelievable resources available for use in our pursuit for greater health but we also know that we don’t need a MRI for a paper cut. It is time for us to challenge ourselves to use our tools and resources more effectively for improving the quality of our lives.

A master of any trade has not become so because of the tools they have available but rather they have become a master due to their ability to use those tools in a more refined manner. This intuitive wisdom is the inspiration and the reason why Everspring Health exists today. Waiting for top-down reform, the next best thing on the market, seeking to blame someone for something certainly keeps people busy but the reality is that a better quality of life begins with the individual. Everspring Health exists for the purpose of asking what is appropriate for this individual, for this experience, at this moment, an experience that can only be defined through a one-on-one partnership.  Only through personal interaction can the client and practitioner seek to gain an understanding of where they are and where they would wish to be. Once this understanding has been reached then resources can be considered and tools can be utilized to create the life experience that is intended for this client at this moment.

“Ever-Spring-Health" to us means that everyday is a new spring, a new opportunity to take one step at a time to refine the experience of our lives. We readily admit that flashy tools, 10 steps, 30 pounds in 30 days makes for great marketing and billboard material but dealing with this dichotomy is the challenge we have come to accept. For sure we seek to provide the best possible resources but how about we begin by asking “What does health mean to you?” and “How can we invest our experience into your life?" This is what it means for us to care about someone’s health, someone’s wellbeing. This is healthcare as we see it today and everyday into the future.

We as individuals and as a collective are smarter and wiser than we often give ourselves credit for and it is time to for us to seek a more honest and genuine experience of our own lives. An experience where health is inspired from within rather than prescribed from without and where the best resources are applied in the most appropriate manner for the benefit of the individual. This is the purpose of Everspring Health - a new era in healthcare, a new era of quality of life. So welcome to Everspring Health, we hope you will join us in person or in spirit as we seek a new level of health and healing in our daily lives and in our community.