March 28, 2025 • 26 mins
In this second episode of In Your Element, Kathleen Kenneally shares her personal origin story and how her path to becoming an acupuncturist unfolded. From her childhood in a medical household to her unexpected intuitive awakening, Kathleen’s journey is filled with surprising insights and powerful moments of self-discovery.
Growing up with a doctor father, Kathleen learned hands-on skills from a young age—assisting with animal care and even drawing blood in her dad’s clinic at just twelve years old. Despite this early exposure to traditional Western medicine, her path took a surprising turn when she discovered her intuitive gifts while working in cosmetics—realizing she could physically sense the pain and energy of others simply by touch. This pivotal experience, combined with her father’s wise suggestion to study acupuncture, set her on a journey to integrate modern healing with ancient wisdom.
Kathleen opens up about the core principles that guide her practice, including the powerful Five Element Theory central to Chinese medicine. She explains how the elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—interact with our bodies and minds, influencing both physical and emotional health. Listeners gain insight into how liver and gallbladder energy relate to springtime renewal, while adrenal health and managing stress take center stage as she discusses practical ways to support the body’s natural rhythms. As an intuitive healer, she also shares how her empathic abilities help her tune into clients’ needs, moving beyond physical pain to address stuck emotions and energetic imbalances.
From her expertise in acupuncture to her mastery of NAET allergy elimination, Reiki, and Akashic Records readings, Kathleen’s holistic approach weaves together ancient practices and modern insights. She shares the magic of seasonal acupuncture treatments that align the body with the changing seasons, offering support during transitions like the spring awakening. With her signature warmth and depth, Kathleen invites listeners to explore their own journeys of healing and transformation while staying open to new possibilities. To learn more or schedule a session, visit KenneallyAcupuncture.com or call 661-252-4100. Don’t forget to subscribe and share this episode with anyone who could use a dose of inspiration and balanced living!
#empath #healingarts #alternativemedicine
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:35):
Alright.
Welcome.
Welcome.
I'm Kathleen Kenneally and thisis in your element with Kathleen
Kenneally of Kenneally Acupuncture.
So happy to be here today.
And the goal here is to inform you,enlighten you, make you laugh even,
and walk away feeling that somehowthere's been something of value that
(00:56):
you have received from this experience.
we're not just talking about Chinesemedicine gonna talk about all kinds
of stuff , you know, so it's also beingin your element is about, feeling...
in your element!
Feeling at home, in your, body, feeling athome in your life, feeling at home, being
who you are in its fullest expression.
(01:17):
but that's kind of as I'm thinkingabout like, really what this is about
and what elements of your life need alittle tweaking, need a little work, need
a little help, need a little support.
And so I really see this podcastas being kind of a broader, more
expanded way to encompass all thingsthat make up our lives and I spend
(01:37):
so much of my day having wonderfulconversations with my patients.
You know, I talk to them and they tellme their stories, they tell me their
successes, they tell me the thingsthey're struggling with, and I feel so
honored to be part of their journey.
You know, I get to kindof be a witness to it.
I get to hold space for them.
I get to just participatein it to some degree and,
(02:00):
I just feel so blessed to be in aposition to do what I do with people.
of course people, you know, think ofacupuncture as you're putting needles
in and you're taking needles out andyou're, this is, you know, for pain
management and, you know, that's kindof like the broader view of like what
people think of when they do acupuncture.
But for me, acupuncture and themedicine around it is so rich with
(02:25):
history, so much to it that there'sstuff that I will never learn and I've
been doing this for over 20 years.
And so it's that richness, it's thatdepth and it really is about the spirit.
It's a mind body, spirit connection.
It's not the separation from the, youknow, that we're only treating the body.
And so, so much of my practiceis working with people.
(02:46):
On those emotional levels, on,in those places where their
emotions are stuck in their bodyor are, and they don't even know.
And it's like, it's, you don'thave to go through therapy.
It's more like, Hey, let's checkin and see what's stuck... where
do we have to move the energy sothat you can have better clarity
so one of the things that I loveto do with people is I love to help
(03:07):
identify where these, what emotions,let's say, are stuck in the body.
I call them emotional hooks and doingtreatments to release those emotional
hooks, if you will, so that a personcan then, from a place of, more clarity.
Um, of more flow can make decisions,or make choices or move forward
in a way that feels much freer.
(03:28):
and so yes, this kind of thing canhappen in an acupuncture treatment.
And again, I can only speak for thekind of work that I do with people.
I cannot speak for other acupuncturiststhere's a lot of, uh, different ways.
There's so many ways that people practiceacupuncture and there's so many types.
I'm just speaking about theway I like to work with people.
So if someone's interested in workingwith me, there's a whole range of things.
(03:51):
Yes, we are gonna address the pain.
Absolutely.
And if they're open, we're also goingto open up some things that need to be
cleared on all the levels of the body.
'cause that's where healingreally truly happens.
so that's kind of my thought thatI was thinking on my walk today.
And these are some of the thoughts that Iwant to somehow integrate into my podcast.
(04:14):
and another big thing that I'm passionateabout is, working within the seasons
and working again, hence the name,the connection to the seasons and the
elements and so on in Chinese medicine.
And I've did an additional year of, uh,studying, let's say postgraduate studying,
uh, specifically in five element theory.
(04:36):
What does five element theory people are?
What do you ask?
You're like, what is five element theory?
Well, in Chinese medicine thereare five elements that we work
with, so it's, we have wood.
fire, earth metal water.
Wood fire, earth, metal, water, right?
And so they work together as ateam and see when I say when these
(04:59):
elements each, there's organs that areconnected to each of these elements.
There are, sounds, emotions, taste.
feelings, all of this, all this is wrappedup in colors and, this is all wrapped up
in how I look at people and we diagnose.
You look at these elements and yousay, ah, I've been talking a lot
(05:20):
about the liver and the wood energy'cause we're moving into spring.
And so for example, you know, theassociations I've told is liver
and gallbladder are the organs.
The sound is anger.
Or shouting, actuallythe sound is shouting.
The emotion is anger.
So if you're talking to somebody, and Ithink I said this the other day, didn't I?
I was talking about how if youlisten to somebody whose wood
(05:41):
energy is out of balance, theysound like they're shouting at you.
That's just kind of, and somepeople just, that's how they talk.
So they're potentially, like, that'stheir major element that needs to be
balanced just in general, ongoing or.
They're specifically reactingto something that's going on
in their life at the moment.
So there's the sound.
The sound is shouting,the, the emotion is anger.
(06:04):
The taste that goes along with thewood element is the, the taste of sour.
So we're thinking lemons,we're thinking citrus, we're
thinking things that are sour.
It astringes.
It helps detoxify, ithelps clear the energy.
so that's the taste.
Um, we talked about the sound,the taste, the color is green.
Um, so for example, Someone comesinto my office and I'm going over
(06:25):
their paperwork and it's a first timepatient, I'm looking at them as well.
So I'm using my sense of, I'm lookingat them and seeing what colors I see.
I'm listening to them to hearwhat sounds that I'm hearing.
I'm also smelling them to see,if I smell any particular scent.
Don't be alarmed.
I know that sounds kindof creepy, but it's not.
(06:47):
It's actually part of the medicine interms of we're looking at where the
imbalances are and so that's why like totell people, don't wear fragrance, don't
wear fragrant hair products, all the restof it because again, if there's something
that smells out of order in terms of analignment or, or connected to a particular
element being out of order, then, that'sthe kind of thing I'm looking for.
(07:09):
And so, for example, someone sittingacross me might look at them and I think,
oh, there's something about their face,or there's something about, I see shadows
in their face or under their eyes thatmight have an ever so slight green tinge.
And so again.
These are the clues that I'm lookingfor when I'm diagnosing somebody
or seeing where the imbalances are.
What colors am I seeing on their face?
(07:31):
What colors, you know, are, are therenails, is, is there any kind of ridges?
Things like that.
So this medicine is so fascinatingand so rich, like I said earlier.
With the way that we kind of discern andlook at things, and again, as we push
into nature, looking at the green, right?
So we're looking at thegreen, there's the color.
(07:52):
We're looking at how things are,again, sprouting and moving forward.
Right now that's allpart of this wood energy.
Um, so all of Chinese medicineis basically based on looking
at nature because what else didthey really have to look at?
So they're looking at the nature,they're looking at people's bodies
and trying to apply what they'reseeing in nature to the human body.
(08:15):
And this was over 2000 years ago.
They don't really have the exact,but at least, at least 2000 years
ago when this medicine first cameabout, more than likely it was
much, much further back than that.
But they have records of stone needles.
Stone needles.
So that tells you how longit's been stone, right?
I bet that hurt.
(08:37):
By the way, regular, the needleswe use now are stainless steel.
They are sterilized singleuse, and they do not hurt.
They're very, very thin and they'rewith a skilled practitioner.
You will feel minimal painjust as an FYI, as a sidebar.
okay, well we're gonna take a breakright now and, um, with that, and
we'll talk more about, Chinesemedicine and, uh, five elements
(09:01):
and, what that medicine's all about.
So when you come to see me, just to giveyou an idea, you, we make an appointment,
you come in, we spend some time talking.
I go over an extensive, intakeform that I have you fill out
before you come in, which again is.
It gives me just a wholeoverview of information.
I ask things that, oftentimespeople say, wow, I've never seen,
(09:23):
nobody's ever asked me that before.
'cause again, Chinese medicine is lookingat things through a different lens.
After we talk, I explain whatwe're gonna be doing for the day.
And it might be, I also do,I didn't mention this before.
I also do a, a type of.
healing modality called NAET, whichis actually, it's a very, very, it's
incredible, allergist Nambudripad'sAllergy Elimination Technique.
(09:47):
And I've been doing this for over 22 yearsas well, and I integrate that and it.
I basically check on food sensitivities,um, emotional sensitivities,
there's all different areas, andthen I do a treatment to clear you.
So if you have an allergy for toapples, there are treatments that I
can do that actually clear you forthat allergy so that you'll be able to
eat apples and not have any problem.
(10:07):
So it's not just identifyingit, but we also treat it.
Okay?
So that's, again, additionally I didn'ttalk about that, but we determine
what your treatment plan is gonnalook like, at least for that day.
Are we gonna do allergies?
Are we gonna do NAET are wegoing to do pain management?
What exactly is happening?
And then you might take off yourshoes and socks you may take off more.
(10:28):
Generally speaking, it's minimalremoval of clothing unless
I'm working specifically onyour back or what have you.
and then you will, will do the treatment.
I'll use the fine, you know,sterilized single use needles.
In various points to activatethe energy and then you rest
for about 25 to 30 minutes within a beautiful, relaxing space.
We've got relaxing music.
(10:50):
The lights are dimmedand it's, it's amazing.
People always feel better.
I can guarantee.
Regardless of what's going on, youwill always feel better leaving
my office than you did coming in.
That is for sure.
Can I, people say, well, how longis it gonna take me to get better?
How long is it, you know, that'sa little more difficult to
determine because everybody's body.
(11:13):
Responds differently to thetreatments, but the most
important thing is to get started.
So if you have anything that you arewondering if acupuncture can treat,
if there's anything that I can do tohelp you, or acupuncture in general.
Um, and I do nutritional counseling.
I look at foods.
I look at all kinds of stuff whenI'm, when I'm talking to people.
(11:35):
Then gimme a call.
I can do a freeconsultation over the phone.
We can have a 15 minute discoverycall and kind of see if this is a
good fit or what, we can do for you.
And then additionally, I do my seasonalacupuncture treatments four times a year.
these treatments are amazingand they basically align your
energy with the energy of theseason that we're moving into.
(11:57):
So I do specific points.
in this case, it's activating, thewood points that are connected to
the spring energy so that you get aboost, you get an alignment, and um,
it gets you right into the next season.
So with little or notransition time for you.
So please give me a call.
Check out my website,keneally acupuncture.com.
(12:18):
I can be reached at 6 6 1 2 52 4100, and, , this is in your
element with Kathleen Kenneally.
Okay.
Hi, back.
with, in Your Elementwith Kathleen Keneally.
I thought I'd take a little, afew moments to kind of share with
you my origin story, if you will.
(12:39):
Like how, how did I become anacupuncturist and, um, it's very
interesting because I grew up in amedical household, meaning that my dad
was a doctor and from the time I canremember, I was always his assistant.
We had animals.
I grew up like kind of on a farmand I was always assisting him with
repair, helping the animals andsewing them up, and the dogs and the.
(13:02):
Chickens and the Yeah.
Rabbits and all of that.
And, um, as I got a little bit older,then I started working in my dad's clinic.
My dad had several women'sclinics where he, uh, took care
of and offered many services.
And so I started working in his office.
I. Uh, I learned how to draw bloodwork 'cause back then, which was quite
a long time ago, I was able to, undera doctor's supervision, I was able,
(13:26):
he trained me and I learned how to dophlebotomy and so I was drawing blood
on patients when I was 12 years old.
And, and interestingly enough, and I hadmy scrubs and I was very professional
and, um, it was so fascinating because.
Nobody, honestly, nobody questioned me.
Nobody questioned whetherI was old enough to do it.
(13:46):
Nobody questioned whetherI should be doing it.
No one said a word.
And so it was one of those justnatural things that I learned
how to do and I was good at it.
And, you know, I didn'thurt people and, and so.
It's kind of, again, not manypeople have this first experience.
So as things evolved and so on, and I, Icontinued to work and go to school and I
(14:07):
was working at my dad and then, you know,I've decided I needed to go find what I
was supposed to find that was mine to do.
I. As one does in your twenties.
And I went around and did allkinds of different things.
I did retail, retail management.
I worked in cosmetics for a long time,which was really fun and enjoyable.
(14:27):
And there was one day whenI was working in cosmetics.
I mean, I lived abroad, I lived in London.
I traveled, I did all kinds of amazingthings, became a Montessori teacher.
And so when I came back from beinga teacher and teaching, I went back
to cosmetics because I was againattempting to figure out my next
best steps and those next beststeps came in a very unexpected way.
(14:51):
I. So I was working in cosmetics.
A woman came into my work fora company called Prescriptions,
where we did custom blending.
And so they had to sit in the chair andyou had to look at their skin and so on.
And so the woman sat down in mychair and I'm trying to find her
right matched makeup, and whenI touched her, I got a splitting
headache in the front of my head.
(15:13):
And I don't get headaches.
So it was noticeable.
And I thought, well,that's really strange.
And I don't know what exactly promptedme to ask her, but I asked her and I
said, do you, do you get headaches?
And she looked at meand she said, Ugh, I do.
In fact, I have one right now.
And she placed her hand on herforehead exactly in the spot
that I was feeling the pain.
(15:35):
And she said, right, I haveone right now, right here.
Well, the minute she touched herforehead, the pain in my head went away.
And I thought, oh, wellthat's kind of interesting.
So We continued.
I helped her find her makeupand so on, and she left.
Well, from that moment forward, everysingle person that sat in my chair where
I was finding their makeup, or anytimeI touched somebody that was in my chair,
(15:58):
it was specifically in this realm.
I would feel something in my body.
And so I got into the habit ofasking them, and every time I
felt something in my body, itcould be a pain in my shoulder,
it could be a cramp in my stomach.
It could be a headache.
Like before anything, the person sittingin my chair would tell me, oh yes, I'm
having this pain or that pain or whatever.
(16:19):
It's the same thing happened.
And so this went on for a littlewhile and I thought, I, I'm really
being called to do something more.
And I love helping people and Ilove helping people feel better,
which really was fulfilled in thisjob with working in cosmetics.
'cause people walkedaway and they felt great.
So I went to my, my dad, the westernmedical doctor, very much a man of
(16:41):
science, not a spiritual bone in hisbody or so he says, and I went to him,
but he was, and he was not judgemental.
There was not, he did not judge.
He was very, very.
Open and receptive to everythingand hearing what people had to say.
So I said, Hey dad, lemmetell you what's been going on.
So I told him everything that hadhappened and I said to him, I said, I
(17:02):
think I know I'm supposed to be doingsomething more to help people and
I'm just not quite sure what it is.
So I listed off physical therapy,massage therapy, aromatherapy, All
these different types of things.
'cause I said I really like touchingpeople physically and I really
love helping people feel better.
So I started lift listing off of some,some several things and he patiently
(17:24):
listened and then he looked at me withhis beautiful wise blue eyes and he said,
"Why don't you study acupuncture?" And.
then I remembered that when I was 19, heactually sponsored a doctor from China
who set a practice in one of his clinics.
And, um, I actually had had an acupuncturetreatment after a car accident.
And again, that wasn't my ahawoo, you know, songs from the
(17:48):
Heavens coming down Lightning Bolt.
That wasn't the moment for me where.
Oh my gosh, I have to do this.
But I remember exper experiencingit and feeling relaxed and
it was a great experience.
So I remembered that and mydad said, yeah, why don't
you become an acupuncturist?
That way you can become aprimary care practitioner.
You can have your own practice, and thenif you wanna do a aromatherapy or massage
(18:09):
or whatever else energy work you want toadd into it, then you can also do that.
But this is what I would think.
I think this would be a reallygreat path for you to go down.
Well, my father throughout my wholelife was always my best guide, and there
were several times at these momentsof aha moments where he, you know,
pointed me in the right direction.
(18:30):
Of course, I still had to make the choice,but he just had an innate intuitive sense.
he would be arguing with meabout that, but nonetheless,
um, he was very intuitive.
He was a very gifted healerand he had the most incredible
healing hands when he touched you.
Um, but again, he didn't reallybelieve in all that, but he
did believe in acupuncture.
(18:51):
And so it was that moment thatI started looking at acupuncture
schools and finding where to go andseeing if I could move back home
in order to go to school full time.
And.
I was 34 years old.
and, it was a very big turn in my life.
And so that's when I started studying.
And now I'm 64, so, gosh, that was, wow.
(19:11):
30 years ago.
Crazy.
It's been that long.
Uh, but yes, I have enjoyed and loved.
Every single moment of this journey.
And I continue to grow and learnmore things so that I can keep being
observers, keep bringing healing tomy community, and, um, I just can't
imagine, well, the other thingsthat I do add into the acupuncture.
(19:35):
So I just thought it wouldbe really, uh, great.
So you guys kind of got a feelingand so as things have evolved in my
practice, you know, more this wholeintuitive, you know, then I later
found out when I started school, thiskind of being able to feel what's
going on under other people's bodies.
That's called being an empath.
And so I didn't know it had a name.
But there is a name and so that'skind of something that has continued
(19:59):
to grow in me, this ability to feelwhat's going on in people's bodies.
I mean, I can feel people's emotions.
I mean, I, when, as I was refining itand getting actually actively plugging it
to try to utilize it versus just being akind of a random, like, here I'm gonna to
touch you and I feel, feel your feelings.
Um,
I'd really.
(20:20):
Began to notice more about not only amI feeling people's feelings or what's
going on in their body, but other sensesbegan to develop and my ability to
kind of internally see things, whichI know might sound really out there.
But again, all of these senses, these,they're called Clairs, clairsentience,
which is just knowing things.
(20:40):
Clear audience, which is hearing things.
But we can save that for another.
episode, but basically all ofmy senses became very activated.
So that's something that I utilizewith my treatments as well, and it's
from that intuitive level that reallytaps into the, I like to call it
the magic of the medicine, but it'sobviously something even deeper than
(21:02):
that because this is such an ancient,ancient modality and so much of it.
Became very westernized for itto be able to translate into
coming into the United States.
However, there are many, many schoolsthat certainly, bring in the energy
around the Taoism and, and, andspirituality part of it as well.
So, um, this is kind ofjust a little bit about me.
(21:26):
So I'm an empath, I'm an intuitive.
I am an acupuncturist.
I am a reiki master practitioner,which is the type of energy healing.
I am an Akashic Records readerand practitioner and teacher.
and again, if you have questionsabout that, we can certainly
get to that another time.
And these are all the modalities thatI am bringing to the table when I'm
(21:49):
working with people and healing people.
. Okay, so back to the Chinese medicine.
traditional Chinese medicine, you know,I was talking about in the beginning
about the five elements, and like Isaid, it started over 2000 years ago,
and these five elements would fireearth, metal and water, and all the
associations go into our diagnosis.
(22:10):
And so again, looking at nature, wesaw how nature would be in excess.
Or deficiency.
So what does that mean?
That means, like for example,when we're having a drought,
that's deficiency, that's dryness.
Okay.
How does dryness show up in the body?
So people might come in and theyhave a dry mouth, or their skin is
dry and that's not, they don't haveenough yin, which is the fluid, right?
(22:32):
That's the, the liquid.
That's the moistening,that's, the moisture in our
body is yin and the yang energy.
We've got yin and yang.
People say yang, but it's actually yang.
Yang Energy is more the active energy.
it's the movement,energy, it's the action.
Yin is the fluid.
Yin is the moistening.
Yin is the receiving energy.
(22:54):
So we've got the duality thatexists in our world, and we have
the duality that exists in ourbody, and they work hand in hand.
We cannot have the yin without the yang.
That one does not exist withoutthe other, and there's always a
little bit of each, in each one.
So there's a little bit of yin and theyang, a little bit of yang and the yin.
So again, this is the foundational,information about how we approach
(23:17):
the body with the yin and the yang.
And then we also look at Qi, whichis energy, and that is The vital
force that resides within us.
, that's the vital force, meaningthat's what activates our organs.
That's what moves our blood.
That's what gets our heart beating.
that's what keeps everything movingthat makes us stay alive basically.
(23:39):
And then we have the Jing,and the Jing is our DNA.
That's what we were born with.
We are born with a certain finiteamount of Jing, and as we age, our
jing becomes less so we get gray hair,you know, our body starts to change.
And that's, whats happening with the Jing.
Now, we can't build more Jing per se,but what we can do is we can slow down
(24:03):
how quickly we, use it up, So people,for example, that are working, crazy
hours, drinking tons of caffeine andcoffee, not getting enough sleep, those
people are burning through their jinga lot quicker than people that are
being mindful, people that are takingtime for their rest, people that are
doing, activities that bring them joy.
(24:25):
The body is brilliant.
It has, it's built into it, its ownability to heal itself, what I'm mainly
doing is I'm finding out where it'sgot some gaps, why it needs a little
support, where it needs, you know,more supplements or, or just exercise
or sleep or whatever the case is.
So I'm assisting the body in its ownself-healing mechanism because the body
(24:49):
is brilliant and it knows how to do this.
So all of these things are combined withinthe framework of Chinese medicine, if
you will, just to give you a little tasteof, how the system works in the body.
So again, the idea is to seewhere the imbalance is and
how I can best support it.
So that's what, is up fortoday please give me a call.
(25:10):
Check out my website,keneally acupuncture.com.
I can be reached at 6 6 1 2 5 2 4100,So until next time, this is in your
element with Kathleen Kenneally.
please subscribe to my podcast,share it with friends or anybody
you think that might be interestedin learning more about, oh, I don't
know, all kinds of cool things.
So wishing you healthand abundance and joy.
Alright.
Welcome.
Welcome.
I'm Kathleen Kenneally and thisis in your element with Kathleen
Kenneally of Kenneally Acupuncture.
So happy to be here today.
And the goal here is to inform you,enlighten you, make you laugh even,
and walk away feeling that somehowthere's been something of value that
(00:56):
you have received from this experience.
we're not just talking about Chinesemedicine gonna talk about all kinds
of stuff , you know, so it's also beingin your element is about, feeling...
in your element!
Feeling at home, in your, body, feeling athome in your life, feeling at home, being
who you are in its fullest expression.
(01:17):
but that's kind of as I'm thinkingabout like, really what this is about
and what elements of your life need alittle tweaking, need a little work, need
a little help, need a little support.
And so I really see this podcastas being kind of a broader, more
expanded way to encompass all thingsthat make up our lives and I spend
(01:37):
so much of my day having wonderfulconversations with my patients.
You know, I talk to them and they tellme their stories, they tell me their
successes, they tell me the thingsthey're struggling with, and I feel so
honored to be part of their journey.
You know, I get to kindof be a witness to it.
I get to hold space for them.
I get to just participatein it to some degree and,
(02:00):
I just feel so blessed to be in aposition to do what I do with people.
of course people, you know, think ofacupuncture as you're putting needles
in and you're taking needles out andyou're, this is, you know, for pain
management and, you know, that's kindof like the broader view of like what
people think of when they do acupuncture.
But for me, acupuncture and themedicine around it is so rich with
(02:25):
history, so much to it that there'sstuff that I will never learn and I've
been doing this for over 20 years.
And so it's that richness, it's thatdepth and it really is about the spirit.
It's a mind body, spirit connection.
It's not the separation from the, youknow, that we're only treating the body.
And so, so much of my practiceis working with people.
(02:46):
On those emotional levels, on,in those places where their
emotions are stuck in their bodyor are, and they don't even know.
And it's like, it's, you don'thave to go through therapy.
It's more like, Hey, let's checkin and see what's stuck... where
do we have to move the energy sothat you can have better clarity
so one of the things that I loveto do with people is I love to help
(03:07):
identify where these, what emotions,let's say, are stuck in the body.
I call them emotional hooks and doingtreatments to release those emotional
hooks, if you will, so that a personcan then, from a place of, more clarity.
Um, of more flow can make decisions,or make choices or move forward
in a way that feels much freer.
(03:28):
and so yes, this kind of thing canhappen in an acupuncture treatment.
And again, I can only speak for thekind of work that I do with people.
I cannot speak for other acupuncturiststhere's a lot of, uh, different ways.
There's so many ways that people practiceacupuncture and there's so many types.
I'm just speaking about theway I like to work with people.
So if someone's interested in workingwith me, there's a whole range of things.
(03:51):
Yes, we are gonna address the pain.
Absolutely.
And if they're open, we're also goingto open up some things that need to be
cleared on all the levels of the body.
'cause that's where healingreally truly happens.
so that's kind of my thought thatI was thinking on my walk today.
And these are some of the thoughts that Iwant to somehow integrate into my podcast.
(04:14):
and another big thing that I'm passionateabout is, working within the seasons
and working again, hence the name,the connection to the seasons and the
elements and so on in Chinese medicine.
And I've did an additional year of, uh,studying, let's say postgraduate studying,
uh, specifically in five element theory.
(04:36):
What does five element theory people are?
What do you ask?
You're like, what is five element theory?
Well, in Chinese medicine thereare five elements that we work
with, so it's, we have wood.
fire, earth metal water.
Wood fire, earth, metal, water, right?
And so they work together as ateam and see when I say when these
(04:59):
elements each, there's organs that areconnected to each of these elements.
There are, sounds, emotions, taste.
feelings, all of this, all this is wrappedup in colors and, this is all wrapped up
in how I look at people and we diagnose.
You look at these elements and yousay, ah, I've been talking a lot
(05:20):
about the liver and the wood energy'cause we're moving into spring.
And so for example, you know, theassociations I've told is liver
and gallbladder are the organs.
The sound is anger.
Or shouting, actuallythe sound is shouting.
The emotion is anger.
So if you're talking to somebody, and Ithink I said this the other day, didn't I?
I was talking about how if youlisten to somebody whose wood
(05:41):
energy is out of balance, theysound like they're shouting at you.
That's just kind of, and somepeople just, that's how they talk.
So they're potentially, like, that'stheir major element that needs to be
balanced just in general, ongoing or.
They're specifically reactingto something that's going on
in their life at the moment.
So there's the sound.
The sound is shouting,the, the emotion is anger.
(06:04):
The taste that goes along with thewood element is the, the taste of sour.
So we're thinking lemons,we're thinking citrus, we're
thinking things that are sour.
It astringes.
It helps detoxify, ithelps clear the energy.
so that's the taste.
Um, we talked about the sound,the taste, the color is green.
Um, so for example, Someone comesinto my office and I'm going over
(06:25):
their paperwork and it's a first timepatient, I'm looking at them as well.
So I'm using my sense of, I'm lookingat them and seeing what colors I see.
I'm listening to them to hearwhat sounds that I'm hearing.
I'm also smelling them to see,if I smell any particular scent.
Don't be alarmed.
I know that sounds kindof creepy, but it's not.
(06:47):
It's actually part of the medicine interms of we're looking at where the
imbalances are and so that's why like totell people, don't wear fragrance, don't
wear fragrant hair products, all the restof it because again, if there's something
that smells out of order in terms of analignment or, or connected to a particular
element being out of order, then, that'sthe kind of thing I'm looking for.
(07:09):
And so, for example, someone sittingacross me might look at them and I think,
oh, there's something about their face,or there's something about, I see shadows
in their face or under their eyes thatmight have an ever so slight green tinge.
And so again.
These are the clues that I'm lookingfor when I'm diagnosing somebody
or seeing where the imbalances are.
What colors am I seeing on their face?
(07:31):
What colors, you know, are, are therenails, is, is there any kind of ridges?
Things like that.
So this medicine is so fascinatingand so rich, like I said earlier.
With the way that we kind of discern andlook at things, and again, as we push
into nature, looking at the green, right?
So we're looking at thegreen, there's the color.
(07:52):
We're looking at how things are,again, sprouting and moving forward.
Right now that's allpart of this wood energy.
Um, so all of Chinese medicineis basically based on looking
at nature because what else didthey really have to look at?
So they're looking at the nature,they're looking at people's bodies
and trying to apply what they'reseeing in nature to the human body.
(08:15):
And this was over 2000 years ago.
They don't really have the exact,but at least, at least 2000 years
ago when this medicine first cameabout, more than likely it was
much, much further back than that.
But they have records of stone needles.
Stone needles.
So that tells you how longit's been stone, right?
I bet that hurt.
(08:37):
By the way, regular, the needleswe use now are stainless steel.
They are sterilized singleuse, and they do not hurt.
They're very, very thin and they'rewith a skilled practitioner.
You will feel minimal painjust as an FYI, as a sidebar.
okay, well we're gonna take a breakright now and, um, with that, and
we'll talk more about, Chinesemedicine and, uh, five elements
(09:01):
and, what that medicine's all about.
So when you come to see me, just to giveyou an idea, you, we make an appointment,
you come in, we spend some time talking.
I go over an extensive, intakeform that I have you fill out
before you come in, which again is.
It gives me just a wholeoverview of information.
I ask things that, oftentimespeople say, wow, I've never seen,
(09:23):
nobody's ever asked me that before.
'cause again, Chinese medicine is lookingat things through a different lens.
After we talk, I explain whatwe're gonna be doing for the day.
And it might be, I also do,I didn't mention this before.
I also do a, a type of.
healing modality called NAET, whichis actually, it's a very, very, it's
incredible, allergist Nambudripad'sAllergy Elimination Technique.
(09:47):
And I've been doing this for over 22 yearsas well, and I integrate that and it.
I basically check on food sensitivities,um, emotional sensitivities,
there's all different areas, andthen I do a treatment to clear you.
So if you have an allergy for toapples, there are treatments that I
can do that actually clear you forthat allergy so that you'll be able to
eat apples and not have any problem.
(10:07):
So it's not just identifyingit, but we also treat it.
Okay?
So that's, again, additionally I didn'ttalk about that, but we determine
what your treatment plan is gonnalook like, at least for that day.
Are we gonna do allergies?
Are we gonna do NAET are wegoing to do pain management?
What exactly is happening?
And then you might take off yourshoes and socks you may take off more.
(10:28):
Generally speaking, it's minimalremoval of clothing unless
I'm working specifically onyour back or what have you.
and then you will, will do the treatment.
I'll use the fine, you know,sterilized single use needles.
In various points to activatethe energy and then you rest
for about 25 to 30 minutes within a beautiful, relaxing space.
We've got relaxing music.
(10:50):
The lights are dimmedand it's, it's amazing.
People always feel better.
I can guarantee.
Regardless of what's going on, youwill always feel better leaving
my office than you did coming in.
That is for sure.
Can I, people say, well, how longis it gonna take me to get better?
How long is it, you know, that'sa little more difficult to
determine because everybody's body.
(11:13):
Responds differently to thetreatments, but the most
important thing is to get started.
So if you have anything that you arewondering if acupuncture can treat,
if there's anything that I can do tohelp you, or acupuncture in general.
Um, and I do nutritional counseling.
I look at foods.
I look at all kinds of stuff whenI'm, when I'm talking to people.
(11:35):
Then gimme a call.
I can do a freeconsultation over the phone.
We can have a 15 minute discoverycall and kind of see if this is a
good fit or what, we can do for you.
And then additionally, I do my seasonalacupuncture treatments four times a year.
these treatments are amazingand they basically align your
energy with the energy of theseason that we're moving into.
(11:57):
So I do specific points.
in this case, it's activating, thewood points that are connected to
the spring energy so that you get aboost, you get an alignment, and um,
it gets you right into the next season.
So with little or notransition time for you.
So please give me a call.
Check out my website,keneally acupuncture.com.
(12:18):
I can be reached at 6 6 1 2 52 4100, and, , this is in your
element with Kathleen Kenneally.
Okay.
Hi, back.
with, in Your Elementwith Kathleen Keneally.
I thought I'd take a little, afew moments to kind of share with
you my origin story, if you will.
(12:39):
Like how, how did I become anacupuncturist and, um, it's very
interesting because I grew up in amedical household, meaning that my dad
was a doctor and from the time I canremember, I was always his assistant.
We had animals.
I grew up like kind of on a farmand I was always assisting him with
repair, helping the animals andsewing them up, and the dogs and the.
(13:02):
Chickens and the Yeah.
Rabbits and all of that.
And, um, as I got a little bit older,then I started working in my dad's clinic.
My dad had several women'sclinics where he, uh, took care
of and offered many services.
And so I started working in his office.
I. Uh, I learned how to draw bloodwork 'cause back then, which was quite
a long time ago, I was able to, undera doctor's supervision, I was able,
(13:26):
he trained me and I learned how to dophlebotomy and so I was drawing blood
on patients when I was 12 years old.
And, and interestingly enough, and I hadmy scrubs and I was very professional
and, um, it was so fascinating because.
Nobody, honestly, nobody questioned me.
Nobody questioned whetherI was old enough to do it.
(13:46):
Nobody questioned whetherI should be doing it.
No one said a word.
And so it was one of those justnatural things that I learned
how to do and I was good at it.
And, you know, I didn'thurt people and, and so.
It's kind of, again, not manypeople have this first experience.
So as things evolved and so on, and I, Icontinued to work and go to school and I
(14:07):
was working at my dad and then, you know,I've decided I needed to go find what I
was supposed to find that was mine to do.
I. As one does in your twenties.
And I went around and did allkinds of different things.
I did retail, retail management.
I worked in cosmetics for a long time,which was really fun and enjoyable.
(14:27):
And there was one day whenI was working in cosmetics.
I mean, I lived abroad, I lived in London.
I traveled, I did all kinds of amazingthings, became a Montessori teacher.
And so when I came back from beinga teacher and teaching, I went back
to cosmetics because I was againattempting to figure out my next
best steps and those next beststeps came in a very unexpected way.
(14:51):
I. So I was working in cosmetics.
A woman came into my work fora company called Prescriptions,
where we did custom blending.
And so they had to sit in the chair andyou had to look at their skin and so on.
And so the woman sat down in mychair and I'm trying to find her
right matched makeup, and whenI touched her, I got a splitting
headache in the front of my head.
(15:13):
And I don't get headaches.
So it was noticeable.
And I thought, well,that's really strange.
And I don't know what exactly promptedme to ask her, but I asked her and I
said, do you, do you get headaches?
And she looked at meand she said, Ugh, I do.
In fact, I have one right now.
And she placed her hand on herforehead exactly in the spot
that I was feeling the pain.
(15:35):
And she said, right, I haveone right now, right here.
Well, the minute she touched herforehead, the pain in my head went away.
And I thought, oh, wellthat's kind of interesting.
So We continued.
I helped her find her makeupand so on, and she left.
Well, from that moment forward, everysingle person that sat in my chair where
I was finding their makeup, or anytimeI touched somebody that was in my chair,
(15:58):
it was specifically in this realm.
I would feel something in my body.
And so I got into the habit ofasking them, and every time I
felt something in my body, itcould be a pain in my shoulder,
it could be a cramp in my stomach.
It could be a headache.
Like before anything, the person sittingin my chair would tell me, oh yes, I'm
having this pain or that pain or whatever.
(16:19):
It's the same thing happened.
And so this went on for a littlewhile and I thought, I, I'm really
being called to do something more.
And I love helping people and Ilove helping people feel better,
which really was fulfilled in thisjob with working in cosmetics.
'cause people walkedaway and they felt great.
So I went to my, my dad, the westernmedical doctor, very much a man of
(16:41):
science, not a spiritual bone in hisbody or so he says, and I went to him,
but he was, and he was not judgemental.
There was not, he did not judge.
He was very, very.
Open and receptive to everythingand hearing what people had to say.
So I said, Hey dad, lemmetell you what's been going on.
So I told him everything that hadhappened and I said to him, I said, I
(17:02):
think I know I'm supposed to be doingsomething more to help people and
I'm just not quite sure what it is.
So I listed off physical therapy,massage therapy, aromatherapy, All
these different types of things.
'cause I said I really like touchingpeople physically and I really
love helping people feel better.
So I started lift listing off of some,some several things and he patiently
(17:24):
listened and then he looked at me withhis beautiful wise blue eyes and he said,
"Why don't you study acupuncture?" And.
then I remembered that when I was 19, heactually sponsored a doctor from China
who set a practice in one of his clinics.
And, um, I actually had had an acupuncturetreatment after a car accident.
And again, that wasn't my ahawoo, you know, songs from the
(17:48):
Heavens coming down Lightning Bolt.
That wasn't the moment for me where.
Oh my gosh, I have to do this.
But I remember exper experiencingit and feeling relaxed and
it was a great experience.
So I remembered that and mydad said, yeah, why don't
you become an acupuncturist?
That way you can become aprimary care practitioner.
You can have your own practice, and thenif you wanna do a aromatherapy or massage
(18:09):
or whatever else energy work you want toadd into it, then you can also do that.
But this is what I would think.
I think this would be a reallygreat path for you to go down.
Well, my father throughout my wholelife was always my best guide, and there
were several times at these momentsof aha moments where he, you know,
pointed me in the right direction.
(18:30):
Of course, I still had to make the choice,but he just had an innate intuitive sense.
he would be arguing with meabout that, but nonetheless,
um, he was very intuitive.
He was a very gifted healerand he had the most incredible
healing hands when he touched you.
Um, but again, he didn't reallybelieve in all that, but he
did believe in acupuncture.
(18:51):
And so it was that moment thatI started looking at acupuncture
schools and finding where to go andseeing if I could move back home
in order to go to school full time.
And.
I was 34 years old.
and, it was a very big turn in my life.
And so that's when I started studying.
And now I'm 64, so, gosh, that was, wow.
(19:11):
30 years ago.
Crazy.
It's been that long.
Uh, but yes, I have enjoyed and loved.
Every single moment of this journey.
And I continue to grow and learnmore things so that I can keep being
observers, keep bringing healing tomy community, and, um, I just can't
imagine, well, the other thingsthat I do add into the acupuncture.
(19:35):
So I just thought it wouldbe really, uh, great.
So you guys kind of got a feelingand so as things have evolved in my
practice, you know, more this wholeintuitive, you know, then I later
found out when I started school, thiskind of being able to feel what's
going on under other people's bodies.
That's called being an empath.
And so I didn't know it had a name.
But there is a name and so that'skind of something that has continued
(19:59):
to grow in me, this ability to feelwhat's going on in people's bodies.
I mean, I can feel people's emotions.
I mean, I, when, as I was refining itand getting actually actively plugging it
to try to utilize it versus just being akind of a random, like, here I'm gonna to
touch you and I feel, feel your feelings.
Um,
I'd really.
(20:20):
Began to notice more about not only amI feeling people's feelings or what's
going on in their body, but other sensesbegan to develop and my ability to
kind of internally see things, whichI know might sound really out there.
But again, all of these senses, these,they're called Clairs, clairsentience,
which is just knowing things.
(20:40):
Clear audience, which is hearing things.
But we can save that for another.
episode, but basically all ofmy senses became very activated.
So that's something that I utilizewith my treatments as well, and it's
from that intuitive level that reallytaps into the, I like to call it
the magic of the medicine, but it'sobviously something even deeper than
(21:02):
that because this is such an ancient,ancient modality and so much of it.
Became very westernized for itto be able to translate into
coming into the United States.
However, there are many, many schoolsthat certainly, bring in the energy
around the Taoism and, and, andspirituality part of it as well.
So, um, this is kind ofjust a little bit about me.
(21:26):
So I'm an empath, I'm an intuitive.
I am an acupuncturist.
I am a reiki master practitioner,which is the type of energy healing.
I am an Akashic Records readerand practitioner and teacher.
and again, if you have questionsabout that, we can certainly
get to that another time.
And these are all the modalities thatI am bringing to the table when I'm
(21:49):
working with people and healing people.
. Okay, so back to the Chinese medicine.
traditional Chinese medicine, you know,I was talking about in the beginning
about the five elements, and like Isaid, it started over 2000 years ago,
and these five elements would fireearth, metal and water, and all the
associations go into our diagnosis.
(22:10):
And so again, looking at nature, wesaw how nature would be in excess.
Or deficiency.
So what does that mean?
That means, like for example,when we're having a drought,
that's deficiency, that's dryness.
Okay.
How does dryness show up in the body?
So people might come in and theyhave a dry mouth, or their skin is
dry and that's not, they don't haveenough yin, which is the fluid, right?
(22:32):
That's the, the liquid.
That's the moistening,that's, the moisture in our
body is yin and the yang energy.
We've got yin and yang.
People say yang, but it's actually yang.
Yang Energy is more the active energy.
it's the movement,energy, it's the action.
Yin is the fluid.
Yin is the moistening.
Yin is the receiving energy.
(22:54):
So we've got the duality thatexists in our world, and we have
the duality that exists in ourbody, and they work hand in hand.
We cannot have the yin without the yang.
That one does not exist withoutthe other, and there's always a
little bit of each, in each one.
So there's a little bit of yin and theyang, a little bit of yang and the yin.
So again, this is the foundational,information about how we approach
(23:17):
the body with the yin and the yang.
And then we also look at Qi, whichis energy, and that is The vital
force that resides within us.
, that's the vital force, meaningthat's what activates our organs.
That's what moves our blood.
That's what gets our heart beating.
that's what keeps everything movingthat makes us stay alive basically.
(23:39):
And then we have the Jing,and the Jing is our DNA.
That's what we were born with.
We are born with a certain finiteamount of Jing, and as we age, our
jing becomes less so we get gray hair,you know, our body starts to change.
And that's, whats happening with the Jing.
Now, we can't build more Jing per se,but what we can do is we can slow down
(24:03):
how quickly we, use it up, So people,for example, that are working, crazy
hours, drinking tons of caffeine andcoffee, not getting enough sleep, those
people are burning through their jinga lot quicker than people that are
being mindful, people that are takingtime for their rest, people that are
doing, activities that bring them joy.
(24:25):
The body is brilliant.
It has, it's built into it, its ownability to heal itself, what I'm mainly
doing is I'm finding out where it'sgot some gaps, why it needs a little
support, where it needs, you know,more supplements or, or just exercise
or sleep or whatever the case is.
So I'm assisting the body in its ownself-healing mechanism because the body
(24:49):
is brilliant and it knows how to do this.
So all of these things are combined withinthe framework of Chinese medicine, if
you will, just to give you a little tasteof, how the system works in the body.
So again, the idea is to seewhere the imbalance is and
how I can best support it.
So that's what, is up fortoday please give me a call.
(25:10):
Check out my website,keneally acupuncture.com.
I can be reached at 6 6 1 2 5 2 4100,So until next time, this is in your
element with Kathleen Kenneally.
please subscribe to my podcast,share it with friends or anybody
you think that might be interestedin learning more about, oh, I don't
know, all kinds of cool things.
So wishing you healthand abundance and joy.
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