Of Sound Body and Mind with Jacqueline Fusari

TRANSCRIPT
Hi, everyone. Matt and Fawn here. This show is about one of my favorite topics, which is acupuncture. But please listen to it. And. Understand that. We are not doctors. So just disclaimer, We're not specifically, we're not providing medical advice. This information, including, but not limited to text graphics, images, whatever other material contained in this podcast are for informational purposes only. No material on this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new healthcare regime. And never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard or read on this podcast. We love you please stay safe and That's it we love you Without um, any further disclaimer now Please enjoy this show. Talk to you soon Here it is 
[00:01:16] FAWN: Welcome back everybody. 
[00:01:18] FAWN: Hello. 
[00:01:19] MATT: Greetings and salutations. 
[00:01:21] FAWN: This episode is about the communication with our own life force. It sounds like too woo woo. Wow, doesn't it? Basically, we're talking about creating balance, having understanding, developing compassion for ourselves and being grounded so that we're better able to present in the world for our and for others. I'm talking about how we feel in our bodies, how our bodies, if we really pay attention, tell us everything. But they also control everything sometimes, most of the time. Right, right. that's why Dr. Joe Dispenza talks about mind over matter so that your mind, you can get into a meditational space where
[00:02:07] FAWN: you control the physical aspects, but the physical aspect is no joke. So really paying attention to how we are feeling, what's really going on. Like today, I'm not at my best today and I don't even have the time to figure out what is going on with me. I just feel such overwhelm that I'm just out of sorts and I'm trying to do my best.
[00:02:37] FAWN: But I remember I worked at a design studio, and I've told you this story before you guys, but remember the man I talked about who was a rep who would come into the design studio? And he was very mean. He was always mean and gruff, no one liked to deal with him, right? Like we, we, it was horrible. it changed the color of everything.
 one day one of the designers pointed out when he wasn't there, I bet you Brian is in pain. I bet you there's something going on with him. He's in pain. So the next time he came around, I think Sharon actually pulled him aside and like got to know him a little bit and it turned out he had a chronic
[00:03:23] FAWN: disorder. he was in pain all the time things shifted after that because of the fact, I think that we cared enough to understand what was happening with him and we saw him as a human rather than, you know, a robot that's there to just work and like get things done. Right. There was compassion on both sides and the relationship changed. 
[00:03:45] FAWN: And I'll never forget that. So I always ask myself, is that person experiencing pain 
[00:03:50] MATT: or is this person just out of balance? Is this person not being heard? Is this person on and on and on. One of the things we were taught in Aikido was, if you're in an, if you're about to get in a fight with somebody, if somebody really wants to like throw a punch at you,
[00:04:08] MATT: it centers around, it can center around the person doesn't feel heard. The person is so desperate to make a point that he's willing to lash out physically. That person is not centered, and that's why in Aikido and the more upset or any martial art, the more upset a person is, the easier it is we call it taking your center, which means basically put you on your butt.
 today specifically, we're talking about the physical body as opposed to not being heard. Well, actually that's a good point because Okay, that's a good point because we're, today we're also going to talk about hearing as well. So it is about being heard and, hearing what's going. It's everything.
[00:04:54] FAWN: I mean, I, I was really thinking more about the physical body and how we feel. 
[00:04:59] MATT: It's, it's about being centered on all levels from the physical to the emotional, to the spiritual level. 
[00:05:05] FAWN: You 
[00:05:06] FAWN: are right Matt. 
[00:05:07] MATT: Wait, wait, what was that? 
[00:05:08] FAWN: Oh my God. You are right Matt. You're right. So you guys, we have a new friend to introduce you to today.
[00:05:15] FAWN: Her name is Jacqueline Fusari. She's an acupuncturist more than an acupuncturist. She's. A special acupuncturist. She is not only a great healer,She works with asl, American Sign Language. So hearing is an issue like. Hearing is a different realm here.
 I would like to introduce you all to Jacqueline Fusari. Jacqueline, welcome. Welcome. Thanks for being 
[00:05:43] JACQUELINE: here. Hello. Thank you for having me. 
[00:05:47] FAWN: Jacqueline, you mainly, like right now, you're mainly reading our lips as we're speaking to you. 
[00:05:53] JACQUELINE: I, I do read lips a little bit.
[00:05:56] JACQUELINE: I'm hard of hearing. Um, not all deaf and hard of hearing people can read lips. It's actually very difficult, but I find it helpful to read lips. 
[00:06:09] FAWN: Got it. So Jacqueline is an amazing acupuncturist and we asked her to be here today so we can explore
[00:06:18] FAWN: what. What acupuncture really is. How does it work? what's the history? How can we better understand our bodies? How can we feel at home in our bodies? I also wanted to ask Jacqueline, from her perspective, what are the major challenges that most of us are having on this planet right now 
[00:06:41] FAWN: In terms of our physical bodies, feeling good and maybe not feeling our best. I find Acupuncture to be so profoundly amazing. It has helped me so much. I have so many stories of how throughout the years, acupuncture has literally saved my life. It's changed my life for the better. I love it so much.
 it's my first go-to acupuncture and Ayurvedic medicine are my first go-tos for everything. I'm really excited that Jacqueline is here to share with us everything. Welcome, Jacqueline. I'm gonna turn it over to you. 
[00:07:20] JACQUELINE: So, acupuncture I found has saved my life also and I've experienced profound benefits from acupuncture, and that's why I got into this medicine so I could learn it and share it with other people.
 acupuncture is part of Chinese and East Asian medicine. It's been used in China for around 3000 years and is based on channels throughout the body that serve to. Flow 
[00:07:52] JACQUELINE: Chi and blood, 
[00:07:54] FAWN: how many channels are there? Is it like, are there channels that we may not even have discovered yet? 
[00:08:03] JACQUELINE: Oh, that's a good 
[00:08:04] JACQUELINE: question.
[00:08:05] JACQUELINE: Maybe 
[00:08:06] JACQUELINE: if you're talking about the primary channels, there are 12, And they're associated with the organs. So you have a stomach channel, a liver channel, a spleen channel, and so 
[00:08:18] JACQUELINE: on.
[00:08:19] FAWN: Is there one particular channel that you think we're all having challenges with?
[00:08:25] FAWN: It's like the, is like, um, is there like a standard channel that needs to be tuned for most people? Like if you couldn't talk about it, like in a general sense, do you know what I'm saying? 
[00:08:37] JACQUELINE: So I don't think 
[00:08:38] JACQUELINE: there's one channel that needs to be, I guess, tuned up for everybody. There are points, specific points that could probably be beneficial for most people, right?
[00:08:53] JACQUELINE: That especially now during the pandemic, when we're more sedentary, when we have a lot of emotional tension building up. 
[00:09:05] FAWN: that's my other point is I have gone to acupuncture, Jacqueline, for not only physical ailments, but I've gone, when I have been experiencing extreme grief, it's helped me with grief.
[00:09:19] FAWN: It's helped me with crazy spider bites. It's helped me with bronchitis. Bronchitis. No bronchitis. Yes. No. What is the thing where your, um, your lungs have fluid and you're coughing a. Bronchitis or pneumonia, that kind of thing. Like I've pretty much had it all. Uh, traveling the way I did as a photographer and coming back with all kinds of stuff.
[00:09:47] FAWN: Acupuncture has helped me with all of it. 
[00:09:50] JACQUELINE: It's a pretty amazing 
[00:09:52] JACQUELINE: medicine.
[00:09:53] FAWN: It really is. 
[00:09:54] JACQUELINE: Yeah. And people will ask me, you know, what is it good for? What will it treat? But the things that it treats are, can provide benefits for are so, I mean, it's such a vast list. It's hard to, to narrow it down. 
[00:10:14] FAWN: Yeah. And it's been here for thousands of years, so Wow.
[00:10:18] FAWN: There's seriously like probably it would. Many years to talk about all of the things. how did acupuncture come into your life?
[00:10:27] JACQUELINE: So I kind of had a roundabout trip to acupuncture. It started when I was in high school and I had pretty severe back pain. And I saw chiropractors and I had to ice my back every day, but they only brought temporary relief, right? And I was searching for something that would help relieve my pain, and my mom ended up bringing me to her acupuncturist.
[00:10:59] JACQUELINE: It was the only thing that worked. It was amazing. After one treatment, I finally had relief. 
[00:11:07] FAWN: And, and didn't they want you to go through some crazy surgeries? 
[00:11:11] JACQUELINE: They, one doctor recommended 
[00:11:13] FAWN: the western doctor. That is nice. 
[00:11:17] JACQUELINE: Spinal surgery. Um, I believe it was spinal 
[00:11:22] JACQUELINE: fusion, 
[00:11:23] FAWN: and you ended up not doing that?
[00:11:25] JACQUELINE: I did 
[00:11:25] JACQUELINE: not do that.
[00:11:26] JACQUELINE: You didn't? 
[00:11:28] JACQUELINE: And I don't have any back 
[00:11:29] FAWN: pain. That's ama I'm gonna knock on lid. Beep, beep, beep. 
[00:11:32] MATT: Ab. Absolutely. They do say, don't they, that acupuncture actually helps like your body, like wakes up your body and says, Hey, how about some endorphins? How about some dopamine, all natural from your own body?
[00:11:46] MATT: That that is one of the things I think people do say about acupuncture, that it helps do that, 
[00:11:53] JACQUELINE: and that's why it relieves pain so well because it stimulates the body to produce more endorphins, which relieves your 
[00:12:02] JACQUELINE: pain 
[00:12:03] MATT: and gives you a general sense of wellbeing and euphoria. An awful lot like being centered.
[00:12:08] FAWN: Matt is giving me this look because he's thinking about martial arts, right? 
[00:12:13] MATT: Well, I'm thinking, thinking about just, and, and honestly, you know, welcome to, the more centered you are, the more likely you are to be a good host. The more likely you are to be a good guest, the more likely you are to be a good person.
[00:12:26] MATT: I think, you know, in, in many ways, just like the, uh, the gentleman at your design studio, it was hard for him to be a good guest because he was 
[00:12:34] MATT: in pain
[00:12:35] JACQUELINE: So. I was planning to go study acupuncture, but when I was in college, I studied asl, American Sign Language and was fascinated by deaf culture and the language, and I ended up down a different path for about 10 or 15 years, and I became a sign language interpreter and worked in the deaf and hard of hearing community.
[00:13:03] JACQUELINE: yeah, it was about 10 or 15 years later when I decided to go back and study acupuncture. so.
[00:13:11] JACQUELINE: Not only did acupuncture help me with my back pain, but I also struggled with anxiety. Who 
[00:13:19] MATT: doesn't? What's that? I mean, we all deal with anxiety at times. And you're saying acupuncture help with that, huh? 
[00:13:25] JACQUELINE: Huge because it, it calms the nervous system, right? So not only do we feel calmer and more grounded, but within our, bodies, we possess an innate ability to heal.
[00:13:41] JACQUELINE: And so from that place of being grounded and calm and when the nervous system is quieted, then we're able to tap 
[00:13:51] JACQUELINE: into that. 
[00:13:52] FAWN: A few years ago we went through some major, major terrible, shocking trauma for our family, and I had to go to the regular doctor, for a checkup at that same time. 
[00:14:10] JACQUELINE: If you, if you saw me back then and had to speak for whatever reason, I would just immediately start sobbing, like crying. And so the doctor was like, what's wrong with you? And , so I, I tried to explain really quick, well, this is what I've been through the past few weeks. And she immediately asked, well, aren't you taking medication?
[00:14:33] JACQUELINE: Because everything I was experiencing at that point was emotional like we had gone through trauma and then all of a sudden now I was feeling the aftermath of everything we went through and I was so off, off centered, off center. I was so feeling so much grief and I was scared and all of that. You name it, I was feeling it.
[00:15:02] JACQUELINE: And so were the kids and, and so was Matt. Um, but Matt in a different way, I think, than we were. Um, so basically we almost lost Matt. It was, it was really, really scary. It was horrible. And, but what, what struck me was that this doctor, a gynecologist was telling me w was, was basically grilling me why I wasn't taking some pharmaceutical drug to, to deal with the grief
[00:15:33] JACQUELINE: I was feeling, something that happened like a couple weeks before and I was like, oh man, can you just please just do whatever exam you have to do and leave me alone? Like seriously. It just made me feel like, so we are not allowed to go through trauma and feel our feelings. We need to be put on drugs. And granted, the feeling was so, so strong.
[00:16:00] JACQUELINE: The grief was so bad that I was having major panic attacks several times a day. Um, there was so much and it was unbearable. It was horrible. And I was thinking, oh my God, am I gonna be like this forever? I, I can't live like this. It was, it was terrible. And, and yet I didn't. I felt like if I did take whatever drug that this random gyno was recommending, that it was just going to mask some stuff.
[00:16:34] JACQUELINE: And then also, um, god knows what kind of side effects it would have. So I went to the pediatrician that we had that was the acupuncturist. She was one of the leading. Wow. Do you guys hear the sirens in the background? Sorry. As I'm talking about stress, every time I do that on our podcast, there's sirens outside.
[00:16:56] JACQUELINE: Have you noticed? I'm just waiting 
[00:16:59] MATT: for them to roll on by cuz they're just gonna get louder. And there's the lights and there we go. 
[00:17:07] FAWN: So, This woman was the leading pediatric acupuncturist, I think in, in the country. I wanna say we were lucky enough to live near her, and I had taken the kids to see her. So I went to her and she was like, don't worry, Fon, we can, we can make you feel better. You're gonna feel better. And I couldn't, I was feeling such intense pain, that emotional pain that I couldn.
[00:17:35] FAWN: I couldn't imagine a life getting better. I couldn't, I couldn't see the light. I couldn't see every, everything just was bad. And it, it was so bad that I didn't think that it would ever change, you know? And I remember crying to her, asking her if it's ever going get any better, and being the wise, you know, Eastern influence.
[00:18:03] FAWN: Eastern amazing doctor that she is. She said, of course, of course it's gonna get better. Of course you're gonna feel better. You know, I never hear a regular doctor saying that regular as in like Western Doctor. And with her help I did. And pretty quickly too, it helped. And it was through acupuncture. 
[00:18:24] MATT: It was probably through a combination of things.
[00:18:26] MATT: Acupuncture definitely in there but also, I mean, oh my goodness. Somebody who actually listened and didn't just say, you know, do this thing that you didn't feel comfortable doing. My goodness. 
[00:18:39] FAWN: Well, it's like, here, take this. It'll numb you. Yeah. 
[00:18:42] MATT: Let's, let's stress you out a little more. So now here you are, you have this big suitcase full of emotions.
[00:18:48] MATT: Yeah. Let's just tuck those away. Sounds like, sounds like what I do. 
[00:18:54] FAWN: So, Jacqueline, what's your perspective on that? 
[00:18:59] JACQUELINE: So I think that all of our emotions are part of our, it's a natural part of life, right? And we're meant to experience all these things. When we experience something hard, then being sad and grieving is appropriate, right?
[00:19:18] JACQUELINE: We just, we don't want to hold onto that. We want to experience it. And allow it to move through us and process it and move through us. So as long as we keep our emotions flowing through us, then I think we're fine. And that's healthy. It's only when we hold onto them that they can become pathological and cause physical symptoms.
[00:19:46] FAWN: Mm-hmm. And I think it's, isn't it Jacqueline? We tend to hold onto it. Like we tend to want to not talk about it or not feel it. So we push it down in our bodies or we get super busy and we just throw ourselves into work. Whatever kind of work that will take our minds off of things. And I find on a spiritual level also what happens is, I think that's when accidents happen, you know?
[00:20:20] FAWN: I'll just use one of our kids as an example, every time our youngest would get upset, she would get so upset, so mad or so frustrated. Inevitably there would be an accident. She would fall down, so things would accumulate. So not only was she emotionally upset, but now her knee was scraped or you know what I'm saying?
[00:20:44] FAWN: Or she like fell and her tooth got knocked and was bleeding. You know what I'm saying? I feel like when we're off balance, then everything comes tumbling down like dominoes. Or and then we have other things to deal with. Like all of a sudden there's a physical ailment because you got into an accident, 
[00:21:07] FAWN: all because. Weren't feeling what we were feeling, but again, this has to do with feelings. I also wanted to talk about getting quiet or however way we have to get in order to listen to our bodies, because I feel like our bodies are amazing, supernatural, beings and it can do amazing things and it can communicate to us.
[00:21:33] FAWN: So getting the series going of the Art of Communication, I want to further delve into communicating with our bodies and allowing our bodies to communicate to us. Can you delve into that a little bit, Jacqueline, and talk to us about how we can achieve that? 
[00:21:55] JACQUELINE: So I think that when it comes to communicating with ourselves, our bodies clearly, so that we can present ourselves.
[00:22:06] JACQUELINE: Authentically to others so that we're in the best place to make friends and communicate clearly. Then we have to find that balance for ourselves, right? And that looks different for everybody, and we have to navigate and find how that works for us. But things that can get in the way of that are poor sleep, poor diet, excessive work, excessive exercise.
[00:22:44] JACQUELINE: And these things I think make it hard for us to be receptive to our bodies' communication with us. And so just taking care of ourselves the best we can and making sure we get enough sleep and we're eating nutrient rich food and we have moderation in our life. We take time to be quiet. Then I think our body's able, better able to communicate with us and we are more receptive to receive that.
[00:23:17] FAWN: Are there some examples of how the body can 
[00:23:19] FAWN: communicate with us? Like what are some things we should be listening for or feeling?
[00:23:28] JACQUELINE: I think pain is a big one. 
[00:23:32] MATT: Oh yeah. 
[00:23:34] JACQUELINE: Oftentimes when people experience pain, they just take medicine to relieve the pain, you know? But that's obviously a message to you from your body, not to push through, but to 
[00:23:49] JACQUELINE: listen.
[00:23:53] FAWN: Yeah, and that's why me personally, I don't like to take painkillers because I'm like, well, what if my body doesn't want me to walk a certain way or do a certain thing if I'm not feeling the pain, I'm like, I don't know what I'm not supposed to be doing. Like, what if I keep stepping on the heel that is messed up a certain way and I keep doing that, that's not gonna help.
[00:24:18] FAWN: So I need to be aware of where the pain is and how I can maneuver so I don't aggravate it. 
[00:24:24] MATT: Yeah. And also, oftentimes if you're encountering, discomfort somewhere in your body, then all of a sudden your musculature starts to adjust to try and deal with it. And then a foot pain turns into a knee pain turns into a hip pain turns into a whole left side pain or 
[00:24:40] MATT: whatever it is.
[00:24:41] FAWN: So what are all the different ways that acupuncture can help us? Like, I've heard so many stories about how drug addicts can get off of drugs. Like, it helps with addiction, it helps with everything. I know a lot of people are also afraid of acupuncture who've never tried it, especially people who are afraid of needles 
[00:25:01] JACQUELINE: So, Acupuncture works with the system of channels in the body to promote smooth flow of chi and blood. So when a patient comes in with a chief complaint, whether that be pain or in digestive issues, mental emotional issues like depression or anxiety, brain fog, the list goes. And so the acupuncturist will ask a ton of questions that may seem unrelated, but they're not because everything is connected and it's a holistic medicine that looks at the whole person and their lifestyle and patterns to try to put pieces of the puzzle together and see the big picture.
[00:25:52] JACQUELINE: And. Chinese medicine does not compartmentalize people. So if you come in for shoulder pain, we're gonna talk a lot more about a lot more than just your shoulder. We'll cover everything. We'll ask you about your eyes, nose, ears, throat, your digestion, your breathing. Do you have palpitations? How is your sleep? What is your energy level? Do you have pain anywhere else in your body? Are you constipated? Do you have diarrhea? 
[00:26:23] FAWN: Yeah, what does it look like? What does that poop look like?
[00:26:26] MATT: Oh dear. 
[00:26:26] FAWN: Stick out your tongue. What does your tongue look like? What color is it? Does it shake? Can you see your teeth impressions? I remember one of the times that I went to acupuncture, Jacqueline, this was a long time ago I had decided to get an a nose prc. And I did it ceremonially, like I went to a professional piercer, but for me it was ceremony to find, to sniff out my true love in in the world, like where is he?
[00:26:53] FAWN: So I got a piercing on the nose and then I went home. Um, I went with my friends actually, and they're baby, by the way, into this hardcore tattoo parlor. Little baby Isha in the little baby seat
[00:27:11] FAWN: surrounded by these hardcore tattooed piercing artists. And I got my nose pierced. Everybody was like, okay, we're gonna find true love. All right. So I went home and when I went home, there was like this ex-boyfriend that had become this stalker. He showed up. Ooh. And it was trauma. And so the next day, my nose got infected.
 I shared a house with these, emergency room physicians so they saw my nose. They're like, uhoh, fawn, you better have that checked out. You may need surgery. I'm like, surgery. Oh my God.
[00:27:51] FAWN: And so they scared me so much. I went and, you know, and they scheduled surgery and I remember thinking, I have to run to the acupuncturist. And I did. And I went to the school. It was Baier. Baier was in Seattle, right. I've traveled so much you guys, I forget where is what. But so it was a, it was a, um, a place where people get trained to become acupuncturists.
[00:28:16] FAWN: So when you go, at this particular school, not only did you have the acupuncturist students, the acupuncture students there, you had, the professors there, but not only the professor of acupuncture, you had a psychology professor there, an Ayurvedic professor there. Um, you had like the various different branches, right?
[00:28:39] FAWN: Covering all the bases. And then you had their, like top students there who were about to graduate. Mm-hmm. So you had a whole bunch of people in the room all asking all kinds of questions. I mean, here I am with just a piercing and my nose was infected. So they were like, what's going on in your life? Like, Um, are you going to the bathroom?
[00:29:00] FAWN: How many times? Like all these questions. I'm like, okay. But I was very familiar with acupuncture, so I'm like, okay, yeah, just shoot me the questions. Here you go. Here it is. But they were like, so let me get this straight you. And they didn't look at me like I was crazy. They're like, okay. So you went in honor of finding true love, you pierced your nose and then you went home and then this happened, or, well, it's perfectly clear.
[00:29:24] FAWN: You pierced your nose to find true love, but what you found was something horrible, 
[00:29:30] MATT: something that 
[00:29:30] MATT: smelled really bad, 
[00:29:31] FAWN: something that was horrible. It was not true love. It was quite the opposite. So it would make sense that that created disharmony and your nose was infected and make, does that make sense to you?
[00:29:43] MATT: As I'm explaining it to me, it's a very mind over 
[00:29:45] MATT: matter kind 
[00:29:46] FAWN: of a thing. it makes sense that it was done for finding true love, and what I found was the opposite in that moment in time. So it got infected, and as soon as that conclusion was made, they took care of it with whatever they did.
[00:30:03] FAWN: Like they just took care of it and, and then the next morning it was gone. There was no infection, no trace , nothing. Canceled the surgery. Thank you very much, but thank you Acupunc. Do you know what I'm saying? But like they, it was because they asked me questions. a normal like Western doctor would be like, okay, here's surgery.
[00:30:28] FAWN: But it's like, why did you pierce your nose? What happened when you did? What happened after? Right. You know? Right. Those are important questions, and that's what happens when you go into a treat. With acupuncture. 
[00:30:42] MATT: Well, finding somebody who will listen to you, you know, as opposed to just scheduling surgery or antibiotics is, you know, they get thrown around nowadays.
 also looking at the patterns and looking at every aspect, A holistic view of life, your life force. That's why I brought up Life Force, like I heard, I think it was Russia. That before anyone goes into surgery, they check your life force to make sure your spirit can actually handle the surgery that you're going to have.
[00:31:16] FAWN: And if you're not strong enough, they won't operate on you. life force is a big component in how things work, 
[00:31:22] JACQUELINE: Yes. And your chi. Chi seems like this abstract concept that people are always ask, what is your chi? What does that mean? But you have your heart, and your heart is beating because of chi.
[00:31:41] JACQUELINE: It's your life force, your energy that beats your heart, It's the chi that moves the blood through the vessels.
[00:31:49] MATT: And, and your blood goes through and part of what your blood does is it provides good stuff in and it kind of removes bad stuff, you know, from a strictly, you know, from a western kind of point of view. it brings oxygen and it pulls the carbon dioxide out of your, all of your cells, you know, in many ways.
[00:32:08] MATT: Um, you know, I've heard that organs will, much like your stomach and your intestine system, sometimes they'll get locked up with bad stuff and they won't be able to clear themselves. And it, it strikes me that what, traditional Chinese medicine really is doing in acupuncture specifically.
[00:32:27] MATT: Is it takes a look in this whole kind of, what is it, the yin and the yang of every organ and making sure that it's working right and making sure that everything you're chi or you know, perhaps I'm more comfortable thinking of it as just, you're bringing in the good stuff and you're taking out all the bad stuff.
[00:32:44] MATT: And that's the point of acupuncture is really looking at your body holistically 
[00:32:49] JACQUELINE: So, and in Chinese medicine, it identifies both excess rate, stagnation or accumulation in the body that shouldn't be there, or deficiency. Are your intestines deficient and they don't have enough chi to move things through, and as a result, you're constipated. So it looks at excess and deficiency and clears away excess where you have excess and tonifies where you have deficiency to bring the body back to balance
[00:33:24] MATT: which means everything is working. It's like getting a tuneup. 
[00:33:28] JACQUELINE: Yeah, tuneup for. Acupuncture tuneup.
 I remember hearing, when someone had sprained their ankle, it was either a sprain or a break when my friend came back from the treatment, this was again a long time ago, so I don't remember all the details, but it was something like the acupuncturist concentrated on the healthy ankle to what, what did they do?
[00:33:57] FAWN: They like transfer the, the healthy one and, and remind the other ankle of the healthy. So 
[00:34:05] JACQUELINE: because our channels run throughout our body, you have the same channels in the left leg and the right leg. And so if I sprain my left ankle and it's too tender to treat, then I treat the right ankle and that that's connected.
[00:34:22] JACQUELINE: So you treat this end of the channel over here and the benefits transfer via the channel to the other side. And you can treat and heal issues and traumas on one limb by treating the other. You can treat the foot by treating the hand. it's using mirror images, so using the channel. 
[00:34:50] FAWN: So I wonder if someone, so one of our dear friends
[00:34:55] FAWN: got into an accident, and their nerve is pinched to the point where their hand is numb right now, and there's no, um, the doctor can't find anything wrong except for a pinched nerve. So can acupuncture help with a pinched nerve to bring back the feeling?
[00:35:15] FAWN: It 
[00:35:15] JACQUELINE: can. And so that would just require getting an assessment from an acupuncturist to see what they think based on the individual. But definitely, 
[00:35:27] FAWN: and for those of you who are afraid of needles, Jacqueline, can you explain that It's really not scary. Matt doesn't like acupuncture, by the 
[00:35:38] MATT: way. And yet, you know, the, the whole welcome to endorphin town is not something to be, uh, kind of under spoken here. 
[00:35:46] JACQUELINE: So a fear of needles. it's a common fear of some patients. and a needle is only the size of a human hair.
[00:35:55] JACQUELINE: They're very tiny. And for patients who are more sensitive, I can use even smaller needles. 
[00:36:03] FAWN: And they're not needles that go in your veins to take blood out. It's not like that. Nothing like that. It's nothing 
[00:36:12] JACQUELINE: like that. The 10th of a hypodermic needle, the 10th of a size.
[00:36:17] JACQUELINE: Most patients don't even feel the needles, and once that stimulation of endorphins happens, they just settle into this really calm and peaceful place. But if you really, really don't like needles, then you can talk to your acupuncturist about Acupressure. So you can still stimulate a point by using acupressure.
[00:36:46] FAWN: And there are also so many other tools you have in your, office room, by the way, when you go, what I love is when I look forward to going to the acupuncturist, like, I look forward to going to you as a doctor. I'm like, I can't wait because it's, it's an hour where I can feel like I'm on vacation while my body is being healed.
[00:37:12] FAWN: Do you know what I'm saying? I do. You walk in, there's usually a beautiful like cushy table that you lie down in and they make sure that you're warm or cool, whatever. Whatever temperature you wanna be, you've got it. If usually there's like music in the background if you want it. If not, no problem. But like the lighting is pretty, you don't have that ugly fluorescent like scary.
[00:37:39] FAWN: Scary western doctor feel. It smells good in there. And then you have like beautiful things to look at, but you also have like those, those bowls. The, the suction, the cups. The cups. Cups cup. Yes. The cups. You. You have these tools? Uh, it's called Gua Guha Tools. Oh, I love it so much. But like, do y'all remember?
[00:38:08] FAWN: Maybe some of you don't, but do you remember, I think it was the Oscars and Gwyneth Paltrow wore a backless dress and everyone was horrified cause they saw these round bruises on her back. And I immediately, I immediately was like, she goes to acupuncture, but everybody was like, what happened to you?
[00:38:30] FAWN: It was, it was scary looking, but Can you explain what that is, Jacqueline? 
[00:38:35] JACQUELINE: So cupping, both cupping and Guasha might leave these bruise like marks on the skin and it's not painful, but that's a sign of toxins being pulled out of the tissues and so cupping many are familiar with. You create suction to create myofascial decompression of the tissues.
[00:38:59] JACQUELINE: Bring in fresh blood, flesh out toxins, cellular waste, bring in fresh oxygen, and the more toxins and stuff trapped in the tissues, the darker the bruise and guasha uses a smooth edge tool to scrape along the skin to create a similar effect 
[00:39:23] FAWN: and for like other reasons that are, what do you call it, superficial reasons.
[00:39:29] FAWN: Superficial and maybe not so superficial, but like Jacqueline, have you had people come to you or nevermind maybe, I don't know. Let me just say this, but you can also get acupunc. To make your face look better, like to reduce wrinkles or like to, to look rejuvenated. 
[00:39:52] JACQUELINE: So I personally don't specialize, but there is a specialty of facial acupuncture that rejuvenates the face.
[00:40:01] JACQUELINE: And I do talk with patients about facial quasha, and that helps rejuvenate the face and bring. Fresh blood, reduce lines and move lymph. 
 I actually had a 
[00:40:16] MATT: question. So when we studied Aikido, at the end of every class, our instructor would be like, okay, this has nothing to do with Aikido, but we called it the thymus thump.
[00:40:28] MATT: And so you basically take like almost like your first, your four fingers and you tap your breast bone. And he said, well, yeah, this brings on a sense of wellbeing. And is that part of the acupuncture? 
[00:40:45] JACQUELINE: That's not really part of acupuncture. But I remember in massage school, I had an instructor that said every time she experienced joy and she wanted to send that message out into the universe, like, I wanna cultivate more of this in my life.
[00:41:03] JACQUELINE: Then she would tap on her breast bone with her fingertips to just send that message out in the universe and to stimulate her immune system. That's 
[00:41:13] MATT: what it does. It stimulates the immune system. 
[00:41:17] FAWN: Okay, guys, I'm gonna take this to a dark place, but oh no. In my culture, when a lot of, if you see Middle Eastern people that are experiencing grief, they're pounding their chests as they're crying and screaming.
[00:41:30] FAWN: And tearing their clothes. Is that, but that's not the same point, is it? It's more towards the heart. But I wonder, I wonder why that is though. It's, there must be a link somehow. It's 
[00:41:41] MATT: expressing, I thought it was more about expressing grief. Exactly. And when we're grieving, we're definitely not in harmony and there is no balance.
[00:41:49] MATT: So 
[00:41:49] FAWN: it's not, but I wonder, I wonder though, if they're doing that because they need some help.
[00:41:58] JACQUELINE: That makes me think. So in Chinese medicine, certain emotions are tied to certain organs and grief is associated with the lungs. So by pounding the chest, then they're stimulating chi to move their grief. 
[00:42:15] FAWN: Maybe. Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. When you are, when you can't bear it anymore and you're, and usually they're like crying for help, you know, or like trying to explain to God what they're feeling.
[00:42:28] FAWN: Like if you look at them, they're always looking at the sky, like it just such anguish. It makes sense. It makes sense. I always talk about how the lungs are associated with emotions and how, a long time ago someone taught me, If you watch smokers, as soon as they experience something that's really, uh, unbearable for them emotionally, they immediately start to light a cigarette because nicotine numbs the lungs.
[00:42:56] FAWN: Like the chemical just numbs that area. But, uh, but again, yes, you were gonna say something that's 
[00:43:04] JACQUELINE: interesting 
[00:43:06] FAWN: and I watched, like I had a cousin who was 16 at the time, who's dad died and who, I mean, it was like there was just so much trauma with that family. And every time I watched her get so emotional, immediately she would light the cigarette if anything came up that had to do with something that she was feeling immediately reached for the cigarette.
[00:43:35] FAWN: And ever since then, everyone I watch who's a smoker is the same thing immediate. They go for that numbing tool, and we don't have to, there's a, there's a better way you guys, there's a better way. There's acupuncture, there are friends you can talk to. You can like tap your, can you hear it? Tap your, do the thymus thump, you know, or just reach out to Jacqueline.
[00:44:06] FAWN: You can reach Jacqueline by going. fusari acupuncture.com. That's F U S A R I acupuncture.com. It's Jacqueline Fusari is her name. So again, Fusari acupuncture.com. Jacqueline, thank you so much. Is there anything else you wanted to add before we go? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just like cut it out,
[00:44:28] FAWN: so 
[00:44:29] JACQUELINE: I just wanted to add.
[00:44:30] JACQUELINE: That sometimes when we're navigating we can be really hard on ourselves and we have negative self-talk. And so I think to counter that, We find affirmations and positive self-talk, and that might mean going on YouTube and finding something that resonates with you and listening to just five minutes every day so that that becomes the default for our 
[00:44:59] JACQUELINE: self-talk.
[00:45:00] FAWN: Will do. Will do. 
[00:45:03] MATT: Sounds good. 
[00:45:04] FAWN: And before we go,
[00:45:06] FAWN: if you can think of it. No. No pressure. But Jacqueline, if you can think of one of, I mean, what an amazing education you've had to become an acupuncturist. The training you get must have been phenomenal. I mean, I always say if I wasn't doing what I'm doing, I would, I would study acupuncture. I love it so much.
[00:45:27] FAWN: I respect it so much. Thinking about the teachings you've had. There must have been so many profound conclusions that you learn along the way from teachers that teach you acupuncture. Is there anything that comes to mind that you can pass along to the rest of us,
[00:45:45] JACQUELINE: Honestly, what comes to mind is that we're all in this together. So as we move forward through life, we're here to support each other, not to judge, not to criticize others or ourselves, but we're all in this together. 
[00:46:04] FAWN: Well said. Well said. Jacqueline. Thank you so much for coming and talking with us. 
[00:46:11] JACQUELINE: Thank you for having me.
[00:46:14] FAWN: Again, to reach out to Jacqueline, go to Fusari acupuncture dot.com And I think there they can find your email if they wanna reach out to you, right, Jacqueline? 
[00:46:26] JACQUELINE: Yes, all my contact is 
[00:46:27] FAWN: there. Fabulous. And if you need to talk to anyone, please email us also our friendly world podcast.com. We're here. We would love to talk to you.
[00:46:39] FAWN: And anything else, Matt?
[00:46:40] FAWN: This is a podcast. Matt just shakes his head. No, Matt's good. Sorry. No, 
[00:46:46] MATT: I'm absolutely good. 
[00:46:47] FAWN: Thank you. All right, we'll talk to you in a few days, guys. Take care. Be well. Bye.