Featured Jing Practitioner: Cherina Sparks
Cherina Sparks
This is the first in what we hope will be a series of short interviews with practitioners who are using Jing to help their patients with self-care programmes. Thank you very much Cherina Sparks for sharing your thoughts and getting the ball rolling.
Cherina works at the Advanced Wellness Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Her website is https://www.advancedwellness.ca/
I became an acupuncturist to help with my own allergies. Acupuncture seemed to be the only thing that could stop my sneezing and improve my symptoms and reactions long term. I've been in practice now for 15 years and can't imagine any other career for me.
Self-care advice is very important to me and my patients. I don't practice TCM herbs where I am, only acupuncture.
So, providing lifestyle advice, like TCM nutrition, qigong, meditation and acupressure points at home helps every patient of mine between their treatments.
Jing has saved me time. I used to spend a great deal of time with a nutrition plan for each new patient, and now I can click and select recommendations for individual patients on their specific programme, and make changes as their diagnosis changes too.
When, I recommend stress relief like meditation or qigong, I'm not demonstrating it each time. The patient can take home their homework and do it when they can.
I have a handout for my patients to read about having access to the app and a customized programme for them (you can see it here). Then I get consent to send them an email with their programme. I don't track how often they use the programme, but I know it's there for me.
Several patients have told me they love Jing, and appreciate having this tool available to them between their treatments.
I think many patients are thankful for a tool on their phone. Since many of us are not seeing our patients daily, the app fills in the times between when they can get into their next appointment. The at-home meditations for people just beginning that practice seem to be very popular. The acupressure and self-massage points for various symptoms are super helpful. The qigong for some patients has been educational and helps them not have to find a local in-person class and pay and sign up for.
Several patients have told me they love Jing, and appreciate having this tool available to them between their treatments.
Many appreciate just learning about the TCM approach to food and eating with the guidelines on how to eat and foods to circulate qi, for example.
I recently had a PTSD patient taking her first flight and trip. She was going to be away from treatments for a month, and was concerned about how to handle symptoms that arise. She told me when she returned that the prescribed acupressure and self-massage points for pain relief and stress were a godsend, and even helped to manage her triggers. That she could do the meditations on her own was a confidence boost.
If you’d like to become a Featured Jing Practitioner please get in touch!
