Rasa Spa welcomes Suzana Jelovecki, L.Ac. Suzana honors Rasa Spa's appreciation for connectivity by practicing Acupuncture in cooperation with Aromatherapy and Nutrition. By blending modalities, Suzana reminds us to acknowledge duality: the mind and the body, dynamic energy and resting energy, imbalances and balances, etc. Suzana helps each client establish harmony. Rasa Spa warmly welcomes Suzana.

Where are you from and how did you end up at Rasa Spa?

I'm originally from Croatia - a small, central European country. I emigrated to the United States in 1998 and, since 2009, settled in Slaterville Springs. I was warmly invited by Rachel to join Rasa's wellness team and to help her develop the Acupuncture program. 

How did you begin practicing Acupuncture?

I was introduced to acupuncture when I first met Rachel Koenig, a renowned NYC pediatric and gynecology acupuncturist. Koenig was one of the first students of Mr. Jeffrey Yuen (a Daoist priest and respected educator in classical Chinese medicine). At that time, Yuen was Dean of Academic Affairs at the Swedish Institute School of Acupuncture. It was Koenig who recommended that I study, under the mentorship of Yuen, Classical traditions of Acupuncture. 

I was fortunate to hear Jeffrey Yuen's fifteen minute presentation at an open house for the Swedish Institute and, immediately, I knew I was in the right place. It felt right. I was delighted to study Chinese Medicine within the lens of historical, spiritual, philosophical and cultural roots. I started my study and, eventually, my practice with a full appreciation of Acupuncture's historical, cultural, and medical value.

How does your work engage other modalities and what benefits have you seen from combining Acupuncture with Aromatherapy and Nutrition? 

I practice Classical Acupuncture based on channel energetics, not point prescription. In addition, I've studied Aromatherapy based on Chinese Medical theories and I find it very exciting to apply both practices together. The essence of the plant, used in Aromatherapy, can animate and change our essential energy. Scent helps to bypass the mind in the process of evoking change - to help get mental distractions out of the way for clear and conscious healing. 

 
Using Aromatherapy, the client is empowered and the treatment is improved: A client is also usually asked to anoint the points with the essential oil blend, and this enables the client to be engaged in her/his own healing process in between the treatments, which causes faster improvement of the particular condition.

Nutrition is another component of my combined practice. There is no other health care "prescription" which can be more used then food. When I counsel clients on diet, I focus on therapy, how therapy is based on food energetics too.

What kind of experience do you try to cultivate during a treatment for each client? 

It's written in Classics that everything is rooted in the spirit. I do believe that we are all spiritual beings regardless of spiritual practice or cultivation. We all are beautiful. Each time I am with a client, I connect with the spirit first: through the needle insertion, pulse palpation or just looking. Acupuncture treatment tries to restore and maintain harmonious resonance of our inner world, tries to value what is inside our body and mind and coordinate that "spirit" with outer the world.

I aim to create a space for a client to fully embrace her/himself in the present moment with whatever symptom or "disease" she/he has.

What does it mean, to you, to practice whole health care? 

Chinese medicine is a complex and very complete medical system that treats individual not by simply addressing symptoms. So, with that background, I seek to practice whole health care that accentuates specific, individualized care.

Recently, what healthy habits have you been pursuing for your own self care?

In Spring I usually practice some limitations. In Chinese medicine theory, Spring limits phlegm/dampness producing food: dairy, wheat, red meat and sugar. And when I say sugar that also means dried fruits, fruit sweetened products and tropical fruits. Cutting those, I increase my intake of greens with special emphasis on wild, edible plants that we can find in plenty around the Ithaca area. 

 
My favorite Spring foods are garlic mustard, dandelions, ramps and nettles.

Very soon I'll do my two days fast with five elements punch: a very special drink based on the five elements theory.

Find Suzana Mondays and Wednesday at Rasa, and by request on all other days.

Home  »  Specials & Gifts  »  Featured Staff Member  »  April 2012: Suzana Jelovecki, L.Ac.