In New York City walking past famous people is commonplace. For me, the most memorable sighting was an acupuncturist who changed my life.  I first met him in the spring of 2010.

At that time I was living in a beautiful condo, operating the first wellness clinic Cleveland had seen at that time plus all the trappings of a great life. On paper my life was great and I should have been very happy.  But something was missing.

Earlier that year I’d done a walking meditation along the Cuyahoga River to get in touch with why my heart was not happy and what I could do to change it.  The feeling of being excitedly hopeful and optimistic when I had the desire to move to New York City came up. I was taken by surprise as I had long since closed that chapter.  Because of arduous paperwork and roadblocks to transferring my license (to work), NYC seemed unreachable and I had abandoned the idea of living in the big city. Instead, I decided to double down with current life and created things that could have brought much happiness.

So, I scheduled a trip to NYC to make sure what I was yearning for still existed and wasn’t just a memory that had become fuzzy with time.  My trip was powerful and confirming and wrapped up with a continuing education course in cupping.  Cupping is an Eastern medicine practice which identifies blockages and stagnation in the body and brings blood flow back to an area for healing.

The course was short and sweet and the instructor was amazing. [He was the acupuncturist whom I passed on the street].  Practitioners paired up and were given clear instructions on how to apply the cups and what to look for.  After my partner applied the cups, she paused before calling the instructor over for a consult.

I’ll never forget what the instructor said:

“Ah, yes, this is dampness.  But you see the rings around that are red?  That’s where there’s fire that can squelch the dampness.  Because this is showing up directly behind her heart it’s most probable that there’s something in her desire that she has kept repressed for quite some time, but the ring around shows us that she still has the passion to move forward with her dreams.  It’s going to take a little bit of work.”

At that point, I was face down in the face cradle and crying.  This acupuncturist I had just met knew my story inside and out without me having said much more than hello.  It was time for me to move to NYC.

In the book The Alchemist, author Paulo Coelho teaches us that when you truly, deeply want something with your heart’s desire that voice cannot be quieted.  And in my case not taking action toward what I wanted was affecting my health.

Heart’s that are unhappy present in other ways too. Not being able to sleep through the night is also a symptom of imbalance Heart meridian energy.

There’s one more indicator of a happy heart: laughter! When we are laughing our heart is open and free.

So I ask you (whether you’ve ever tried cupping or ever will) is your heart damp?  Is there something that you truly want with your heart’s desire and you’re repressing it for whatever reason?  Is there some passion that you really want to ignite in your life right now but you’re letting time go by instead?

Don’t wait.

Follow your heart, it’s good for your health.

Developer of The Schatz Method™
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