The other day while listening to a radio show I was reminded of how our “brain” is in fact three brains, each somewhat symbolic of the various stages of evolution. Tucked way down underneath the neo-cortex “thinking” brain that is most developed in humans, whales and elephants, are “older” parts of the brain that respond not to thought, but dance to the tune of hormonal tides and the Morse code of electrical impulse. These parts of the brain are what make us jump at loud noises, involuntary duck when something comes flying toward our head, rumble the stomach at the waft of something tasty, as well as quicken the pulse and throw fire into our eyes when some perceived transgression fires up our sympathetic nervous system. It all happens between one breath and another, and operates completely outside of conscious thought.

Modern life trips this adrenaline filled fight or flight response everyday. Regardless of whether it is a child following a bouncing ball into the path of our car, the announcement of more layoffs, multiple priorities that aligned themselves into a head-on collision, or receiving a call from your child’s school. All of these situations trigger the same response as being backed into a corner by a warthog.

Nature has created and tuned us to respond well to threats, but there are some facets of life in the 21st century that short-circuit this otherwise useful survival mechanism. One of the worse offenders is the computerized phone tree, followed closely by technical support from somewhere overseas.

You know this one, right?
You are trying to book an airline reservation, need to speak with the insurance company, or have to contact the phone company, but before you actually have an opportunity to talk to a person (if you are lucky enough to actually reach one) first you have to navigate a cheery voiced computer. Or, perhaps you do reach a person, but they are stationed 14 time zones away in Bangalore working in the middle of their night, reading from a script, and hoping to distract your frustration with a profusion of apologies; sadly they are just slightly less effective than using a Ouiji board to get your problem solved.

What happens?
The fight or flight response kicks in causing a chemical chain-reaction desire for, but without the possibility of, physical engagement. We marinate in a heart pounding adrenaline stew. Our biology is ready for physical action, but we are chained to a computerized “our call volumes are unusually high,” or tortured with ineffective excuses in an Indian lilt. We are all familiar with the headaches, hyper-ventilation and mental claptrap that comes from being wound tight and without the satisfaction of release.

What to do?
Cue the para-sympathetic nervous system. That is the wiring in our brains that turns off and then reverses the “fight or flight” response, and returns us to our normal self.

Dial “A” for acupuncture
At Yong Kang we are not immune to the challenges of modern life and after 30 minutes of being bounced from branch to branch of a phone tree and through various cubicles in a call center we are thinking an afternoon of target practice is a good idea.

We have a solution, and a simple one at that; a few needles in the ear. Auricular acupuncture is one of the most effective ways to dial down the adrenaline and coax a return to calm and wellbeing. We love this stuff, and think you will too. So the next time you are so frustrated with tech support that you can’t see straight, the next time you have a non-customer service experience that makes you want to cancel your cellphone and go back to a couple tin cans and a string, the next time you receive apologies instead action on your computer problem and find yourself wound tighter than a Tasmanian Dust Devil. Come on into Yong Kang for a free mini-stress buster treatment.

That’s right; FREE
Walk in anytime we are open (remember we close from 12-1:30 for lunch). If there is an open table, it’s yours. If we have a full house, relax on the couch. You will be treated with a few needles in the ear that will in short order give you a more relaxed and gentle outlook on life.

The other day while listening to a radio show I was reminded of how our “brain” is in fact three brains, each somewhat symbolic of the various stages of evolution. Tucked way down underneath the neo-cortex “thinking” brain that is most developed in humans, whales and elephants, are “older” parts of the brain that respond not to thought, but dance to the tune of hormonal tides and the Morse code of electrical impulse. These parts of the brain are what make us jump at loud noises, involuntary duck when something comes flying toward our head, rumble the stomach at the waft of something tasty, as well as quicken the pulse and throw fire into our eyes when some perceived transgression fires up our sympathetic nervous system. It all happens between one breath and another, and operates completely outside of conscious thought.

Modern life trips this adrenaline filled fight or flight response everyday. Regardless of whether it is a child following a bouncing ball into the path of our car, the announcement of more layoffs, multiple priorities that aligned themselves into a head-on collision, or receiving a call from your child’s school. All of these situations trigger the same response as being backed into a corner by a warthog.

Nature has created and tuned us to respond well to threats, but there are some facets of life in the 21st century that short-circuit this otherwise useful survival mechanism. One of the worse offenders is the computerized phone tree, followed closely by technical support from somewhere overseas.

You know this one, right?
You are trying to book an airline reservation, need to speak with the insurance company, or have to contact the phone company, but before you actually have an opportunity to talk to a person (if you are lucky enough to actually reach one) first you have to navigate a cheery voiced computer. Or, perhaps you do reach a person, but they are stationed 14 time zones away in Bangalore working in the middle of their night, reading from a script, and hoping to distract your frustration with a profusion of apologies; sadly they are just slightly less effective than using a Ouiji board to get your problem solved.

What happens?
The fight or flight response kicks in causing a chemical chain-reaction desire for, but without the possibility of, physical engagement. We marinate in a heart pounding adrenaline stew. Our biology is ready for physical action, but we are chained to a computerized “our call volumes are unusually high,” or tortured with ineffective excuses in an Indian lilt. We are all familiar with the headaches, hyper-ventilation and mental claptrap that comes from being wound tight and without the satisfaction of release.

What to do?
Cue the para-sympathetic nervous system. That is the wiring in our brains that turns off and then reverses the “fight or flight” response, and returns us to our normal self.

Dial “A” for acupuncture
At Yong Kang we are not immune to the challenges of modern life and after 30 minutes of being bounced from branch to branch of a phone tree and through various cubicles in a call center we are thinking an afternoon of target practice is a good idea.

We have a solution, and a simple one at that; a few needles in the ear. Auricular acupuncture is one of the most effective ways to dial down the adrenaline and coax a return to calm and wellbeing. We love this stuff, and think you will too. So the next time you are so frustrated with tech support that you can’t see straight, the next time you have a non-customer service experience that makes you want to cancel your cellphone and go back to a couple tin cans and a string, the next time you receive apologies instead action on your computer problem and find yourself wound tighter than a Tasmanian Dust Devil. Come on into Yong Kang for a free mini-stress buster treatment.

That’s right; FREE
Walk in anytime we are open (remember we close from 12-1:30 for lunch). If there is an open table, it’s yours. If we have a full house, relax on the couch. You will be treated with a few needles in the ear that will in short order give you a more relaxed and gentle outlook on life.

The other day while listening to a radio show I was reminded of how our “brain” is in fact three brains, each somewhat symbolic of the various stages of evolution. Tucked way down underneath the neo-cortex “thinking” brain that is most developed in humans, whales and elephants, are “older” parts of the brain that respond not to thought, but dance to the tune of hormonal tides and the Morse code of electrical impulse. These parts of the brain are what make us jump at loud noises, involuntary duck when something comes flying toward our head, rumble the stomach at the waft of something tasty, as well as quicken the pulse and throw fire into our eyes when some perceived transgression fires up our sympathetic nervous system. It all happens between one breath and another, and operates completely outside of conscious thought.

Modern life trips this adrenaline filled fight or flight response everyday. Regardless of whether it is a child following a bouncing ball into the path of our car, the announcement of more layoffs, multiple priorities that aligned themselves into a head-on collision, or receiving a call from your child’s school. All of these situations trigger the same response as being backed into a corner by a warthog.

Nature has created and tuned us to respond well to threats, but there are some facets of life in the 21st century that short-circuit this otherwise useful survival mechanism. One of the worse offenders is the computerized phone tree, followed closely by technical support from somewhere overseas.

You know this one, right?
You are trying to book an airline reservation, need to speak with the insurance company, or have to contact the phone company, but before you actually have an opportunity to talk to a person (if you are lucky enough to actually reach one) first you have to navigate a cheery voiced computer. Or, perhaps you do reach a person, but they are stationed 14 time zones away in Bangalore working in the middle of their night, reading from a script, and hoping to distract your frustration with a profusion of apologies; sadly they are just slightly less effective than using a Ouiji board to get your problem solved.

What happens?
The fight or flight response kicks in causing a chemical chain-reaction desire for, but without the possibility of, physical engagement. We marinate in a heart pounding adrenaline stew. Our biology is ready for physical action, but we are chained to a computerized “our call volumes are unusually high,” or tortured with ineffective excuses in an Indian lilt. We are all familiar with the headaches, hyper-ventilation and mental claptrap that comes from being wound tight and without the satisfaction of release.

What to do?
Cue the para-sympathetic nervous system. That is the wiring in our brains that turns off and then reverses the “fight or flight” response, and returns us to our normal self.

Dial “A” for acupuncture
At Yong Kang we are not immune to the challenges of modern life and after 30 minutes of being bounced from branch to branch of a phone tree and through various cubicles in a call center we are thinking an afternoon of target practice is a good idea.

We have a solution, and a simple one at that; a few needles in the ear. Auricular acupuncture is one of the most effective ways to dial down the adrenaline and coax a return to calm and wellbeing. We love this stuff, and think you will too. So the next time you are so frustrated with tech support that you can’t see straight, the next time you have a non-customer service experience that makes you want to cancel your cellphone and go back to a couple tin cans and a string, the next time you receive apologies instead action on your computer problem and find yourself wound tighter than a Tasmanian Dust Devil. Come on into Yong Kang for a free mini-stress buster treatment.

That’s right; FREE
Walk in anytime we are open (remember we close from 12-1:30 for lunch). If there is an open table, it’s yours. If we have a full house, relax on the couch. You will be treated with a few needles in the ear that will in short order give you a more relaxed and gentle outlook on life.