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.

The pursuit of more refined personal health and quality of life requires that we shift our paradigm to a proactive partnership with the natural course of our lives. We must understand our own tendencies and the tendencies of the natural cycles of which we are often aware of but all too often ignore. By changing the way we enter into our day and our journey for better quality of life the process becomes more personalized and far more realistic. When entering into a personal commitment towards greater quality of life if we keep in mind the thoughts below it is likely that we find that they help contribute to the effectiveness of our efforts.

Be positive – In this modern world we are far too often told or too often decide for ourselves that life is a downhill experience. The truth is no one has a corner on the market for predicting your reality. Enter into your day as if the whole world is available as a resource to create the experience of peace and prosperity you desire. The benefit of pursuing quality of life is that there is always something we can do to make our day a little better and in many cases we can continue to refine that experience for as long we would wish.

Be realistic – As human’s we have a great talent to visualize the “ideal” reality in our minds. Too often, however, our vision is slightly skewed from the natural reality. It is certainly appropriate to have a vision of what we wish to accomplish but we must also be flexible in how that reality ultimately manifests in our daily lives. We must acknowledge that the governing force within our lives comes from nature and it is our responsibility to harness that force in the pursuit of greater balance. So when we decide improved quality of life is something that is important to us we need to be realistic about our expectations

Be responsible – Engage in the process. A good support system for health and quality of life will work with us to empower ourselves to make decisions and take actions that pay off. However, no matter how talented our support staff may be they cannot do it for us.

Be observant – Truly knowing what one wishes to accomplish requires observation. We need to know where we are now and where we would wish to be for any program to be successful. Improving our ability to be observant is a skill that will pay off manyfold and throughout most any area of our lives.

Be patient – When working to refine our daily living we need to keep in mind that it is daily living not a procedure it is a process. We have trillions of cells in our body so we should not assume that one workout, one meal or one treatment will solve our challenges. It takes time for our body to read the signals that we want it to change and then to have our cells turn over. The rule of thumb is that any commitment we make to change our bodies is 90 days and then to add one year on the end of that date to where our body will adjust to the “new you”. So if we lose a pound of fat it will take at least one year from the last day of burning up that pound for the body to adjust. Be patient!

Be disciplined – We need to set ourselves up for success. We need to be disciplined in our efforts to not only show up to our visits with our practitioners but to create an environment at home and work where we can succeed. Being disciplined in the beginning leads to practical lifestyle integration within a reasonably short period of time where the investment compounds thus providing substantially more effective and more permanent results.

Be persistent - Each day, every day is a new day, a new opportunity but also a new commitment we must make. What we accomplished yesterday was great because it got us to today but what we wish to experience tomorrow must come from how we live our life today. As Einstein said "Nothing happens until something moves" meaning that the actions we take lead us to results that we experience. A peaceful and productive life is an action not a destination. If we want peace, we must be peaceful. If we want productivity, we must be productive.

Be present – Enjoy the day. Live each day as if it was our only measure of our life because that is exactly what it is. Our lives are the aggregating experience of the each moment stored in the memory held in our bodies. The only opportunity we have to shift this experience in a direction we prefer is to focus on how we are living in this very moment. When we choose to embrace our true nature and to share that experience with those around us the only result can peace and prosperity.

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...

Fibromyalgia is a debilitating chronic condition that often involves long-term, widespread pain throughout the body most often focused in the muscles and nerves. Often experienced with Fibromyalgia are symptoms such as distinct fatigue, insomnia/sleep problems, headaches, depression, and anxiety.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a condition where the diagnosis primarily refers to the severe and prolonged tiredness or exhaustion that is not relieved by rest and is not directly caused by other medical conditions. Secondary symptoms for chronic fatigue often include body aches, headaches and depression.

The similar nature of these conditions has these two diagnoses often going hand in hand and/or are often interchanged depending on the pattern of manifesting symptoms. This often makes it challenging to effectively treat, which in turn is understandably frustrating for client. So, when we get asked if acupuncture can help with either Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue we confidently say yes but with the caveat that a holistic program should be the base of any program whether it includes acupuncture or not.

Like so many chronic conditions these conditions are not a simple one-to-one, cause and effect situation. To effectively address the personalized symptoms one may be experiencing we must look at the whole picture and then determine the appropriate strategy for optimal long-term quality of life. As a part of a holistic program based on personalized diagnosis acupuncture can be a great resource for those suffering from Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue and, besides many personal case results, the research supporting this conclusion becomes more and more prevalent every day. (See references below).

The challenge in any holistic program is that it often takes time to provide optimal results. Conditions like these require a layered approach often including many integrated therapies. Therapies require consistency and time to provide optimal long-term results. This is mostly because we do not want to just address the symptoms we want to dissolve the condition as a whole. Effective personalized diagnosis leading to the appropriate treatment program plus a consistent time frame leads to the best possible results.

There may be times where acupuncture is not appropriate and so you want a practitioner who can substitute and integrate therapies to provide the optimal treatment each time you visit your practitioner. At the same time focus should be on developing a lifestyle that supports each individual in his or her own experience. This is where success rates go up, as our ability to incorporate a program within an individual’s lifestyle improves so do the results.

Understandably, this can be a challenge for the client in the beginning so having the ability to customize the program for each client and as best as one is able support them through the initial stages until there is traction on the condition is crucial. The benefit of this approach is that success won’t only be measured by management of the symptoms but slow and gradual improvement across one’s lifestyle.

Many individuals ask about herbs or supplements they have found via various advisory resources and the truth of the matter is that supplements will likely prove to be the primary source of a long-term solution. However, the most common mistake across the board is people taking supplements because someone mentioned it might be good. The truth is that with the appropriate diagnosis the precise supplements for each client’s specific condition can be identified which reduces the risk of side effects, regression or relapses, wasteful spending and most importantly dramatically improves outcomes. All supplements have a time and a place and we will always improve our investment when we have the right supplement for the appropriate condition.

It is important that we understand that no one can guarantee specific results. However, by customizing treatments, whether it include therapies like acupuncture, dietary therapy, supplements or lifestyle practices, if they are based on a sound diagnostic protocol we dramatically increase the chances of improved quality of life.

Excerpt from Fibromyalgia Research Article
“CONCLUSIONS: The limited amount of high-quality evidence suggests that real acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture for improving symptoms of patients with FMS. However, because this conclusion is based on a single high-quality study, further high-quality randomized trials are needed to provide more robust data on effectiveness.” Source: UK PubMed

More on Fibromyalgia

More on Chronic Fatigue

More on Chronic Fatigue

This question was once addressed by Dr. Bernie Siegel where he mentioned that we may not be able to cure every disease but people can indeed be healed. The concept here is noting a difference in perspective. The discussion surrounding a cure is focused on a disease and the context of specifically eliminating the disease whereas the discussion of healing is in relation to the individual as a whole. When we seek to cure a disease our focus is on the disease and the process of eliminating that disease. Since healing involves improving the quality of life for the individual as a whole, a disease may still be targeted but in concert with the intent to improve the quality of one's daily life.

An example of healing would be the process where a disease is controlled or reduced to a point where a person's quality of life may be such that the disease no longer interferes with their daily productivity. So while an individual may still have diabetes, for example, they may have no signs of the disease and/or the disease no longer hinders the quality of one's experience in daily living. A key benchmark in the process of healing includes liberation from the disease even if the disease may still be present. This liberation is the experience where one's perspective shifts from focusing on, and possibly being dictated by a disease, to being focused on the appreciation of one's life as a whole. This perspective may still include the presence of a disease but more importantly the focus shifts to the many opportunities they have before them.

This definition of healing is why Everspring Health incorporates healing into the functional mission of our cooperative. We are a lifestyle, health and healing cooperative because each of those concepts is at the heart of what we do everyday. Healing is the process of cultivating quality of life and quality of life is our mission.

Dietary therapy can range from strict dietary protocols used in hospitals to everyday programs that can enhance an individual's quality of life. In general, for diet to be used as a therapy it does need to involve a targeted result which may range from disease abatement to the reduction of daily aggravations to weight loss/management to helping control biometrics like cholesterol or blood pressure or post operative recovery among many others.

While all of the above are a part of Everspring Health's dietary therapy service we do so with a focus on quality of life - meaning we develop a program to help make your day better. So while impeding conditions are an obvious opportunity to use diet as a therapy by pursuing quality of life we have so many more opportunities to effectively use this resource.

Anyone who has ever had an acute or chronic skin breakout, digestive malady, headache or other seemingly annoying issue that shouldn't be normal but isn't so severe for a medical procedure may distinctly benefit from dietary therapy. At the same time individuals who might be looking to refine their daily experience by possibly reducing fatigue, improving alertness, improving on a training regimen would likely see benefit from a personalized dietary plan.

It is important to note that what is good for us does not always mean that our food cannot taste good. In fact, while some habits may need to be dissolved, most experience a better quality of life not just because of what they are feeling but also because they are enjoying their food. Mealtime shifts from something we have to do to a time where we can enjoy what we are doing as well as who we are with.

Everspring Health reintroduces the cooperative health model because we fully believe that it is the ideal business model for the new era of healthcare. In the most general sense the cooperative business model is designed to accomplish two objectives; engage individuals and maximize resources. This more than anything is the key to refining the healthcare business model for the benefit of the individual.

Through research and planning Everspring Health intends take the cooperative model further to maximize every advantage of the cooperative intent and resources. For healthcare to truly evolve health must become a personal pursuit partnered with and facilitated by practitioners. The health resources now available make the application of resources the key factor to significantly changing outcomes. For application to be ideal clients and practitioners must be able to work together for the benefit of the client. Cooperative health, however it is implemented, will be the foundation on which the new era of healthcare is established. Everspring Health intends to stay ahead of that curve.

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.