By Pamela Dozois
Contributing Writer
Plants, animals, trees and people have an innate ability to heal themselves. On occasion, though, the electrical system or life force, also known as Chi, gets blocked and inhibits the healing process.
This is when Santa Ynez Valley resident Kaaren Jordan can step in to help. Her work draws upon more than 33 years of study in traditional Asian healing arts and holistic nutrition, as well as Western natural healing modalities.
She finds that acupressure, via the Asian art of Jin Shin Jyutsu, can be helpful in unblocking the stagnation. Using only minimal pressure, the hands are used as “jumper cables,” contacting 26 energy locks to redirect or unblock the flow of healing energy.
“My goal is to empower people to help themselves and their animal friends to stay happy and healthy,” said Jordan.
Acupressure dog being treated
Jordan became interested in Chinese medicine when in 1983 after she was diagnosed by specialists at UCLA with severe kidney problems that would necessitate surgery to remove one kidney and that most likely she would have had to be on dialysis for the rest of her life.
“Due to a series of synchronistic events, I was introduced to Master Ni, a doctor of Chinese medicine who, over a period of one year, healed my kidney issues with a combination of herbs, acupuncture, and meditation techniques,” Jordan said.
“I vowed after that to study traditional Asian medicine so that I could help others. I embarked on a course of study in acupuncture at the California Acupuncture College in West Los Angeles and later at Samra in Los Angeles, as well as studying privately with many Asian healing masters.
“After adopting a greyhound named Lexi in 1993, who needed a lot of help to heal from his experiences on the racetrack, both physically and emotionally, I expanded my acupressure practice to include animals — dogs, cats, horses, reptiles, exotics, and even dolphins on occasion,” she said.
“Prior to learning Jin Shin Jyutsu (from 1993 to 2001) I had used straight Chinese medicine acupressure for animals, but it was too difficult to teach the owners how to do it themselves,” Jordan said. “So I switched to using only Jin Shin Jyutsu on my human and animal clients in 2001, when I learned the method.”
“I’m all about teaching the owners personalized Jin Shin Jyutsu acupressure routines for their fur babies and themselves,” explained Jordan. “It’s very simple to teach and easy to learn, and the routines are so effective that it takes only 10 to 15 minutes a day to produce good results for animals and their human friends. … It can help with travel anxiety, separation anxiety, concentration, and even help our senior animals to age gracefully.”
Jordan emphasizes that her techniques are not a substitute for Western medicine but a compliment to it and to any treatments recommended by a veterinarian.
Kaaren Jordan
“It’s a wonderful adjunct to Western medicine and can often neutralize or minimize the side effects from medication and enhance any other holistic modalities that you choose to do,” she said.
Jordan has maintained a holistic health care practice in Southern and Central California, teaching clients to create optimal health and well-being by understanding how to balance food choices with lifestyle in conjunction with acupressure sessions and personalized self-help acupressure routines.
“I offer in-person Jin Shin Jyutsu acupressure sessions which include a personalized self-care acupressure routine for animals and the human companions. I also offer four-hour workshops where you learn the basis of the self-help system for animals and yourself and a 1 ½-hour weekly class in natural healing for animals in the garden at Buttonwood Winery or inside Zinke Wine Co. when the weather outside is too hot,” said Jordan.
Valley resident Michele Britton is a fan of Jordan’s work.
“I have a 12-year-old Jack Russell, Nicole, who was in pain. We attended Kaaren’s workshop at Zinke. Kaaren put her hands on certain pressure points and my dog became very relaxed. Nicole seems to be doing much better now. I give her treatments twice a day. … I’ll be going back for my second session shortly,” Britton said.
Sonja Larsen, a long-time resident of the valley, is also a fan.
“She’s helped me with my dog, a large Doberman, who suffers from anxiety. I went to two of her classes at Buttonwood Winery. She showed me the hand positions I needed to use to help my dog, and he has really responded positively. She also showed me techniques to calm myself, which have really helped with my stress and insomnia,” Larsen said.
For more information, call 805-245-9908 or visit www.kaarenjordan.com.
