We recently connected with Emily Smith and have shared our conversation below.
Emily, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
One of my early memories was confusion about why some people have more but do not share it and why some have so much less. After I left my marriage of 22 years with nothing, I began to change my ideas about money and security. I have been supported by forces beyond my comprehension and people I am eternally grateful to. During COVID-19, many domestic workers found my acupuncture practice. None of us had money! They had pain and stories of the people whose houses they clean– Oohlala, these are the sweetest women you will meet, yet they are disrespected by the people they work for. It makes me furious, and it breaks my heart! I set up trades whenever possible and find ways to pay it forward if someone helps me. Life is a blessing, and all of us might find ourselves in a pinch tomorrow. It just feels better to share than to hoard. Tip Big! Make someone`s day!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I practice Japanese acupuncture. The needles are thin and shallow, and the experience is relaxing and rejuvenating. The needles penetrate only the fascia or connective tissue, not the muscle. As we are learning more and more, the fascia is the miraculous layer where the superconductive qualities of water allow our cells to transfer electricity, nourishment, and information. It`s a wildly exciting time to learn about our bodies and their capacity for healing and change. I also help people learn about their breathing. This is the furnace of our physiology. Because few of us appreciate this capacity, we tend to sit too much, slouch, and otherwise douse the fires we need for a healthy metabolism. Movement is another part of what I teach. We accumulate stress just from living, not to mention from the society, culture, and world we all share. Learning to release stress regularly through movement breath, self-care strategies, etc., brings us back to our life force– our vibrant birthright. This life force often gets side-swiped in our society– inappropriate, wild, creative, intuitive, and empowered. Most of us have been trained to play small and medicate the pain, anxiety, and depression instead of listening to our wise inner guidance and intuition. The cost is our aliveness. I know from experience our aliveness is our true human dignity. I love helping people reclaim theirs.
I prefer to work in person but also do coaching over Zoom.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Movement is our medicine. We have done more harm to our bodies by forcing ourselves into chairs, our feet into shoes, and seated at desks over a lifetime. We are meant to play and move, challenging our bodies to expand our possibilities. What matters to us lives in our bodies. Think of someone or something you love or care for deeply. Your body will likely respond to this image with warmth, longing, or happiness. Now, think of something or someone you dislike. Again, your body responds, perhaps with tension, contraction, or an unpleasant emotion. We are wired to feel boldly. Because so much of our lives has required us to put aside our feelings in the moment, many of us no longer have access to sensation. We need help from medication, caffeine, alcohol, or another outward stimulus to feel alive. or to diminish the overwhelm or despair we feel regularly. My gift is feeling. I love feeling all the messy, gooey, juicy stuff that is human. This is aliveness to me. I also enjoy many of the fabulous things available to us but also feel the cost of over indulging. The secret is to know within our body that we each have a solid knowingness or clarity– A Hell Yes! or Hell No! We must cultivate this knowingness because it often becomes a whisper we can easily deny or confuse with something from our past experiences or patterned behaviors. Once we become comfortable with our bodily responses to experiences, we can settle into our authentic sense of peace and calm regardless of what is happening around us. Priceless!
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents loved each other. My father was very sick, and that meant my mother was stretched way too far. Once my father died, my mother went into a tailspin, unable to manage her emotions and confusion. Having had my early experiences with my loving father, with his sickness, challenging life, humor, and intelligence, has reminded me again and again that I am lovable. My mother and I have had a challenging relationship. I triggered her from the get-go. I learned to hide and connive to protect my authenticity, but I lost my voice and freedom to take up space or know that I matter. Over the years, we have done good work to unpack the pain we caused each other and have fallen in love! She is near the end of her life with many health challenges and some dementia, but we are finally enjoying the spark between us. As a mother, I learned I must be nourished, supported, and encouraged to be safe, happy, and empowered. Our society sadly prefers mothers to be undervalued, exhausted, and struggling. I stayed in a loveless, lonely marriage for many years longer than I should have.. I did not have the financial resources to leave. When I finally left, my kids came with me, and despite the challenges, we grew closer and more loving because we knew we valued and deeply loved each other despite the bumpy times. We had several rough years, but life grew us all. Now, my kids are my best friends and most reliable allies. Such blessings!
Contact Info:
- Website: EmilySmithAcupuncture.com
- Instagram: Emily Smith Acupuncture
- Facebook: Emily Smith Acupuncture
- Linkedin: Emily Smith Acupuncture
- Yelp: Emily Smith Acupuncture
Image Credits
Laura Reoch from September-Days Photography: https://september-days.com/
