Where I come from – A little bit about Jeanpaul

I arrived at acupuncture, and healing in general, in a fairly straightforward way. As a child I had terrible allergies, and I was always sick. I don’t think I breathed through my nose at all in the first six or seven years of my life.

My mother was an RN at the time, and when I was seven or so, she started working as a colonic therapist and assistant in a busy naturopathic clinic, here in Victoria. At the time the clinic was owned by Drs. Schaeffer and Kempling, both excellent and caring men whom I came to look up to greatly. Dr. Kempling in particular took a shine to me, and in many ways was a father-figure, or big brother to me, as my parents had already divorced by that time.

One of the treatments Dr. Kempling gave me was almost as miraculous as it was excruciatingly uncomfortable. It involved expanding my sinuses by way of inflating small balloons into my nasal passageways. I hated it, but boy did it do the trick. I have been in excellent health ever since.

That was my first experience with natural medicine. Dr. Kempling later introduced me to martial arts, which I took to like a fish to water. I trained in the same martial art for over 16 years, digging deeply not only into the physical side of it, but also the deeply spiritual aspects too. We practiced hours of meditation and Qi Gong, and to be honest I enjoyed this part of the training more than the ‘kicky punchy’ side.

It was during this time that I met Arnie Lade, a local acupuncturist. Again I had an amazing result from only a couple of treatments by him, and I was hooked. Acupuncture really appeals to the meditative side of my being, allowing me to be totally present while I am giving a treatment. I have found that the more attention I am able to bring to bear on a treatment, the better the experience by the patient, and the better the overall results.

I am grateful to these men, and to my martial arts teacher, for giving me the opportunities and the gifts of health that I received from them. Acupuncture is in my heart, now, and if I spent the rest of my days practicing and refining my art, I’m sure I could die a happy man.