Danielle Hampton - Acupuncture and herbs

1. If you could reinvent your practice or the system in which you work, how would you do it?

In truth, my practice is being reinvented with each individual patient. The foundation is oriental medicine which dates back around 5000 years. The adaptability of this treatment to changing times and conditions is evident in its continued survival and application. Core principles, such as yin/yang theory (a theory emphasizing balance in the body and universe), and the five element theory (which views the human body in direct relationship to nature), remain the same, though the methods of treatment continue evolving. For example, the rise of bio-energetic treatments such as NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique), JMT (Jaffe-Mellor Technique for Arthritis and auto-immune disorders) and EFT (Emotional Freedom technique) all have their roots in ancient Chinese medicine and integrate dynamic and effective alternatives.

2. What’s your vision of ideal medicine?

Ideal medicine incorporates the entire being - physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. It employs what works for each individual patient whether its Western, Eastern, or otherwise. Ideal medicine is patient focused rather than medicine focused. And, it is centered around wellness, rather than illness. In the ideal setting, the patient and the practitioner enter a relationship that fosters conscious communication, trust, and a humble willingness to facilitate positive change and health. Humility on the part of both the practitioner and patient is important. Being willing to not know the answer is often what facilitates the solution. This level of health education recognizes that the overall health and resilience of our physical bodies is a direct manifestation of what we think, eat, listen to, watch, etc. Individual responsibility in these areas is seminal to a well being.

3. Surgeon General top five:

A spiritual practice. It is well proven that those who have some kind of relationship with a power greater than themselves heal more easily.
Eat food that remembers it’s mother. I would promote whole healthy foods that are processed as little as possible, free of chemicals, and that retain original genetics. I would ban all Nutrasweet and any other poisons with the pretense of food.
I would demand severe restrictions to stop the widespread mis-use of antibiotics in humans as well as in animals raised for food. I would highly scrutinize and examine thoroughly the over-use of vaccinations and the insufficient research on which usage is based. Ideally, all drug and medical studies should be done only by independent researchers who do not stand to profit from the outcome.
Service. It is my experience that people who include service to others as an integral part of their lives more easily transcend any of their own health (or other) problems. They live in more fulfillment and with greater gratitude on a daily basis.
I would educate people on how taking care of the health of the planet is the same as taking care of the health of ourselves. Many of the present approaches we use to generate energy, raise food, manufacture things we want are in fact harming us in the long run. We need to be more aware of how we are part of the earth - our bodies are made out of the same molecules. So when we change the genetic structure of a vegetable or use a chemical to kill off a whole group of insects it will have some effect on our bodies even if scientists can’t tell us what that is at the moment.

4. What’s your take on the crisis in health insurance?

<<sigh>> What a phenomenally tangled web we weave. I believe that as long as any aspect of health has its primary motivation in financial profit, crisis will ensue.

I was first drawn to Chinese medicine because of my experience with getting migraine headaches. After unsuccessfully trying everything allopathic medicine had to offer, it was one acupuncture session that ended them. My current practice is generated by my desire for creativity and education in a context of health and healing.

5. Is it like you thought it would be?

It’s a thousand times better and more fulfilling. I never expected to feel so honored on a daily basis.

6. What would you like to tell the world about who you are and what you can and can’t do as a practitioner?

I am a practitioner who cares about each and every one of my patients. I tend to develop close individual relationships with each of my patients. I see myself as more of a facilitator rather than a healer. The patient and the divine are the healers. I promote the awareness that every experience has value and can be uplifting.

7. Describe your ideal client in terms of which attitudes would best facilitate their healing.

The ideal client takes responsibility for their own health and well-being and avoids victim consciousness. At the same time, they have an open and trusting attitude. Clients with a strong spiritual focus move more easily through illness.

8. Anything else you’d like to add?

Your mind will say things to you, and then your eyes will start to look around for whatever it is that your mind says you lack. Then your emotions start to follow that, the feelings start to hurt, the body grabs a hold of it, and pretty soon you’re sick.

So now you know how to be sick, and you know how to make yourself even sicker. Yet you can reverse that. You do it by watching where you put your eyes. Watch what you hold in your mind. Watch where you put the feelings as they come up. Put your emotions where where you want your body to go. These are very simple directions for just living life.

"Forgiveness-The Key to The Kingdom" by John-Roger

THE ELDORADO SUN