The Gift of Your Own Medicine
Whether you manage people or not (including the wee ones at home or in your neighborhood), take a moment to name why your presence matters, how it touches others, and the ripple of change that it creates.
You are amazing and so powerful!
That’s acknowledgement and it’s a powerful skill.
Acknowledging yourself is medicine. And offering it to others, is also medicine.
It says: I see you. You matter!
Why It Matters
A few days ago, I was listening to an interview with Priya Parker, an amazing guide in the art of how to have meaningful conversations at gatherings. She's interviewing author and restauranteur Will Guidara on six takeaways on hospitality, meaning-making, and treating even not-great moments as magical.
Will was emphasizing making his team feel appreciated and valued for their service and how they interact with clientele. We all know that a content and happy human will ripple into a room that can help cultivate a unique and unforgettable experience.
And I've recently returned from a city that is the cultural expression of hospitality, New Orleans, so I'm loving this conversation.
Because hospitality, in fact, all (service) work can be medicine. And his term is unreasonable hospitality (also the name of Will’s book) as a leadership skill.
I say it's rooted in a practice I call the art of acknowledgment because it has this seemingly magical transformation - if done honestly and authentically - of honoring a human, which can melt a persons defenses, transforming them, the workplace culture and the dynamics with customers or clients and people at home!
As I was listening, I was also thinking about a comment on LinkedIn that same day about leadership but a different scenario and perspective. There are senior leaders out there who claim they don’t want to know or hear employee concerns fearing legal obligations. What is going on here? This is like ignoring an infection that you’ll hope will go away. This is silence that could be broken by simple, human‑to‑human conversation, including listening and acknowledgement.
Isn't this what true leadership is all about?
I know it is because I built a business that puts genuine human connection first. Yes, the medicine I've been trained in is powerful in and of itself. But after treating so many stressed out, sick senior leaders (of households too), they'd forgotten how to be human to their people and also to themselves.
Relearning how to listen and acknowledge others by paying attention to your reactivity is the best medicine for EVERYONE.
A Real‑World Example
One client, facing intense personal and professional challenges, began to observe her body each time she walked through the office door. I started with giving her this very simple to see what she observed and see if she had any choice in her aches and pains (literal and figurative). Within minutes, she noticed tension in her shoulders and shallow breathing, all signs of stress. By deliberately observing her shoulders and her breath she:
Became present in the moment.
Asked herself will tensing help her day in any way?
The exercise didn’t stop at work. She reported she was tensing at home. And also noting it wasn’t helping her in any way, she saw how she could intentionally relax her body and breath. All it took was a brief, intentional pause. No extra time, no special tools outside observing her brilliant body.
What You Can Do Today
Name Your Why Write down why your role matters, who benefits, and how it changes lives.
Check In With Your Body Before any meeting or stressful moment, feel where you hold tension. Does tightening help, or make a difference in a way that would serve?
Model Calm When you show up relaxed, others follow. Meetings become more impactful, relationships improve, and you physically, mentally and emotionally feel better.
These two simple practices, awareness and designing intentional calm using your wise body, restores trust in ourselves and free us from being prisoners of our thoughts.
Leadership Is Everywhere
Leadership isn’t confined to titles. It appears:
At the kitchen table, sharing hard truths with children.
With a partner, negotiating wants and needs for the future.
In business, delivering unwelcome news with composure.
True leadership means listening, staying curious, acknowledging others, and filling the cup of those around us authentically. Every one of us holds that capacity.
Action:
Start today: Choose one interaction, whether with a colleague, a client, or a family member—and apply the body‑awareness technique. Notice the shift in your own energy and the response of those around you. Then, share that experience with someone else.
—-A Personal Note —-
Thank you for being part of my business-as a client or a patient, as a reader of my emails or blogs.
It's fills my heart to be able to be of support to so many stressed out folks who are finding their way back, remembering who they are.
I'm deeply grateful.
This is a shout-out to all small businesses and the rough waters we’re in.
Like so many that make our communities thrive, I’m a small, DC, woman-owned business and depend on people sharing my work to make my life work.
I care about what you want to heal.
I also care about the people you love.
If you’ve thought about working with me or are considering gifting this work to someone who could use steady support, consider this your invitation!
How We Heal egift cards are available for purchase starting at only $25!
You can apply a dollar amount towards for any of my services including in-person community or 1:1 acupuncture, online coaching and qigong classes.
Regardless if you're buying for yourself or for someone else, all you need to do is go here and create an account.
If this is a gift for another, your account is created to make the purchase and to receive your receipt.
Every year I've had people gift my services for themselves or someone they love.
This act means so much to me and the patient!
They feel better, heal and learn some powerful skills to keep their health on track.
This is medicine that lasts long after the holiday season ends.
Please be in touch for any questions!
Merry Everything and wishing you much joy now and into 2026!
