One of the most satisfying things about Manchester Acupuncture Studio is our connection to a bigger network of affordable acupuncture providers and patients. We want acupuncture to become more affordable and accessible to as many people as possible. That's why we are among the founding members of
The People's Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA).
POCA is a cooperative created to include anyone who has a stake in seeing more affordable acupuncture options; patients, acupuncturists, acupuncture clinics themselves, needle manufacturers, etc. etc. The point is to join together in order to more effectively move broad affordable acupuncture opportunities forward.
For example, among other initiatives, POCA provides micro-loans to help support new or expanding affordable clinics all over the country. POCA has also helped to create the first affordable acupuncture technical school, POCA Tech.
POCA Tech - a fully accredited school of Acupuncture - affords its students a complete acupuncture-centered education at ~ 25% the cost of a traditional acupuncture program. Upon successful completion, POCA Tech graduates are job-ready to provide their communities with affordable, high-quality acupuncture treatments.
Again, POCA's membership is made up of patients, organizations, clinics, and acupuncturists. Many of us have been members of POCA for many years.
Benefits for POCA membership are pretty impressive - while the cost is modest.
For as little $25/year, each member receives:
- 3 free new patient treatment coupons to give to friends and family, accepted at any POCA member clinic. (These alone are valued at over $75 dollars)
- A membership card that gets you a free treatment the week of your birthday at your POCA clinic of choice.
- A POCA "passport" to take with you when you travel and visit Community Acupuncture clinics around the world.
- Free e-books available on POCA's website. This, just in case you want to geek-out on Chinese medical theory.
- Access for POCA's monthly e-newsletters.
In addition, MAS runs specials for current POCA members throughout the year.
To wit: for the remainder of April, all acupuncture treatments in Manchester & Nashua are $10. Just bring in your POCA membership card.
In addition, treatments will be completely free of charge on May Day - Wednesday, May 1st. Yay!!
We offer specials like these in order to help bring more members into the POCA fold and say a big Thank You to our fellow members.
Please join, or renew, your POCA membership today.
Clinic-goers in Manchester,
Thank you very much for your patience with the extended parking crunch at Dow Street Plaza, our home in Manchester for the past four years.
We know it's been frustrating for you and has even limited your access to acupuncture treatments here at times.
We know you've had to park in places that have required extra effort for you to enter the clinic.
For what it's worth, it's been a taxing eighteen months for all of us in different ways, once the parking lot became available to a large number of off-site vehicles.
Because of this situation, we've made the decision to move MAS Manchester operations in order to ensure plenty of free parking available to you, period.
When we say we will always work to provide you with access to affordable, acupuncture treatments, we aren't kidding.
This will always come first here.
As it turns out, not only will the next MAS Manchester home clinic offer lots of free, convenient parking – it also sits right on a bus route.
Look for announcements for the date of the grand opening at the East Side Plaza on Hanover Street over the next weeks.
Until then, thanks again for sticking with us.
It's a long-held truism in the realm of Chinese medicine, that Springtime is a favorable time of year to include natural sour-flavored foods to one's plate in small amounts at each meal.
The thinking here is it's an advantage to do so for the parts of our system that are involved in clearing the heavier residues of the winter diet and assisting getting things moving anew upward and outward.
Read more about recommendations the Chinese medical classics make for us down below.
Aside from citrus juices like lemons and grapefruit, a number of natural sour-flavored foods can be found among those that are fermented. Fermented foods are produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms.
Think pickles or sauerkraut or kimchi as common examples.
Adding to the case for fermented foods in the Springtime, or any time of year for that matter, is information like this that comes out of modern research. This research from the National Institute of Health suggests fermented foods have the measurable effect of aiding the beneficial bacteria in the lower digestive system, but also improves our ability to perform various mental processes such as memory recall, orientation to the outside world, learning and furthering language skills.
The transition from operating as a for-profit for 10 years, to non-profit for the past 2 has been interesting in many ways. In fact, we're planning to write a about this in more length over the next few weeks, here on the blog.
In the meantime, we'll offer up a quick-format review of the year that was 2018 at MAS in the form of an executive summary.
Full-color printed copies are currently available at MAS Manchester & Nashua clinics, in case your heart desires a copy to hold in your hands.
As always, comments, questions and compliments are welcomed via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
At MAS, we know that acupuncture only works when people have access to it. As part of the People's Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA) our mission is to make acupuncture affordable and accessible to as many people as possible.
That is why we are happy to know New Hampshire now offers tiered-licensing for providers of acupuncture. Lay practitioners such as recovery coaches, peer counselors, and other health professionals can now be certified as Acupuncture Detoxification Specialists, providing a very helpful and specific ear acupuncture point combination.
Last week, the Governor's Recovery Task Force voted unanimously to support this expansion of access to ear acupuncture. You can read more about it here.
