‘My goal is to empower people to help themselves and their animal friends,’ Kaaren Jordan says

By Pamela Dozois
reporter@mntaynezvalleystar.com

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 blocking 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.

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 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 tradition-al 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 rou­explained 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.

“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 acualized 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.

October 10, 2012
Santa Barbra News Press

July 03, 2012
Santa Ynez Valley News

Holistic health care practitioner adapts human care to animal care

For more than 26 years as a holistic health care practitioner, Kaaren Jordan has enjoyed teaching people to create optimal wellness through understanding how to balance their lives with personalized natural foods, nutrition plans and Jin Shin Jyutsu acupressure.

As a life-long animal lover wanting to enhance the health and well being of her animal family, she also adapted the system of acupressure she uses for humans to work with her furry, feathered and scaly friends.

“My holistic health care practice eventually expanded into sharing the same simple, wellness enhancing acupressure routines I use for my animals with clients to improve the quality of their animal companions’ lives through low cost workshops and private ‘at home’ sessions,” said Jordan.

The centuries old traditional Asian wellness art of Jin Shin Jyutsu acupressure that she uses in her practice works with the subtle energy flows present in the bodies of all living creatures in a similar way to acupuncture, she notes, to restore and maintain physical harmony and mental and emotional well being.

By gently holding specific locations in combined sequences along these energy pathways, the practicioner can facilitate the release of stress and tension as well as unlock the body’s innate ability to heal itself naturally and create optimal wellness.

 “The ‘At Home Acupressure for Animals’ sessions are quite different from animal massage where a therapist comes to the home to perform massage on an animal,” said Jordan. “When I come to a client’s home or barn for a consultation, I not only do a Jin Shin Jyutsu light touch acupressure session (no needles involved) with the requested animal or animals, but also teach the owner or caretaker/groom a simple routine geared towards their animal friends’ needs that can be done in just a few minutes a day.

 “By learning to apply Jin Shin Jyutsu acupressure at home on your animal companions, you literally stay in touch with their needs and deepen your bond with them. In just minutes a day, you can help your animal friends to increase their confidence levels, relieve anxiety, regulate weight, promote relaxation, and facilitate abuse recovery,” she added.

Jordan says that no prior experience in the healing arts is needed to learn the routines — just a love of animals and a desire to help four-legged friends live a healthy, balanced life.

The creation of “At Home Acupressure for Animals” began in 1993, when she adopted a retired racing greyhound from Linda and Larry Brown’s rescue center in Acton, Ca.

From the start, her new companion, Lexi (aka “St. Lex”) needed a lot of help both physically and emotionally to heal from his experiences on the race track and to adjust to his new life with his new owner in an urban condo. So that Lexi could have the best of both worlds on his healing journey, Jordan employed the help of a veterinarian who also did acupuncture.

“Because Lexi did not like the needles involved in acupuncture sessions, I adapted the style of acupressure I used with humans to work with animals. Within a short period of time, our daily light touch acupressure sessions not only helped Lexi to heal physically and to release the emotional trauma, but also served as a deeply fulfilling bonding ritual we both looked forward to,” said Jordan.

Lexi died in 2001, but for her his legacy remains in the form of “At Home Acupressure for Animals.”

For more information, call 245-9908.