Dear friends,
Two days ago was "international bee day." I was so happy to learn that there is a day dedicated to these amazing creatures who tirelessly serve, leaving sweetness in their wake. Critical pollinators, bees are a keystone species (a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically) and as such, have much to show us about what is important in life. Eat food? Thank a bee!
In Ang Roell's short talk "What honeybees can teach us about shaping change," they touch some of the essential lessons humans can learn from bees to inform the change necessary to survive the self-created extinction we are in. In the past ten years bees have been experiencing what is called "colony collapse disorder" due to rapidly changing climate, overuse of pesticides, loss of habitat, and rapidly spreading virus'. Sound familiar? She shared that when people ask her what they can do to help the bees she says "change the way we relate to the natural world and change the way we relate to each other."
Small is beautiful. Cooperation. Power sharing. Building consensus. Building trust. These tenants of bee life have been deep in my heart as we look at how and when to open the clinic after two months of mandated closure. BAP has always operated with these values and now more than ever, the survival of our practice depends on it.
We are looking to open within the month and are navigating the changes. Here are the updates so far: Each practitioner will be there one day per week and there will be no overlapping of people coming and going as treatments will be spread out in space and time alike. All payments will be done before hand online to decrease surfaces being touched and all surfaces will be sterilized after each use. We will require everybody to wear a mask and encourage gloves as well. There will be a simple screening before the appointment including asking about symptoms and taking temperature. Currently, new AND existing patients may need doctors referrals for acupuncture, through there is a strong movement to change that. All of this will be clearly laid out before and during opening. In the meantime, we are open on Wednesdays for herb pickups.
SO yes indeed it is s a changed world. I am grateful to Kidada, Mona, Jamil, Tim, and Donna for their willingness to come back and serve and for their participation in the "hive mind" it takes to make these decisions. We are sorry to say goodbye to Jasmine Stine who brought so much skill and sass :) to the clinic over the past few years and grateful she will stay on for herbal consults with Jonathan Edwards and myself on the virtual team as well.
Just when I thought I couldn't love this medicine anymore; seeing it provide so much help through the pandemic has deepened my respect and awe for it and its practitioners. As discussed in the last newsletter, herbs and acupuncture are powerfully protecting people preventatively, giving great relief and recovery, and ushering people back to optimal health (as they always have and always will). When we open, what BAP has to offer will be just the right thing for recalibrating our nervous systems from the collective trauma of the last months.
We will keep you posted with our reopening plan in the next few weeks and will let you know about some pre-paid packages that will be instrumental in keeping our hive alive! It is going to take all of us to make it happen. Already, at least three community acupuncture clinics in the city have closed and we want to make a different decision. We know BAP is a keystone species in the health of our community.
With the bees as teachers, we carefully step into this new era. As Ang says in her talk: "We can take lessons from inside the hives to build resilient communities." With collective care, decisions, resources, and hope; we will survive and thrive in this new world. BAP is a pioneer of the Community Acupuncture movement in NYC and we will continue to set a tone for creating, as Ang says, "new pathways to change (that) take back our humanity, intimacy, and shared understanding."
Thank you for your continued support and solidarity,
Sarah Natan LAcMAOM
founder/owner at BAP
