Enso Natural Medicine

Having trouble sleeping?

Insomnia is one of the most common things that Josh treats, and is something that responds quite well to acupuncture.

In Chinese medicine the treatments are not a one size fits all approach, but are rather highly individualized according to what is causing the symptoms for that specific person. Whether you are having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, tossing and turning, busy mind and/or anxious thoughts, or waking too early, this personalized approach can address the root cause of your sleep disturbance.

One of the most common causes of insomnia is too much qi or energy in the gallbladder channel (the upward and outward energy in the body) and not enough qi in the pericardium channel (the downward, inward, rooting energy in the body). Acupuncture can help restore proper balance between these acupuncture channels, allowing for deep and restful sleep.

From a scientific perspective, acupuncture helps with insomnia by activating the parasympathetic (or rest and digest) nervous system, as well as regulating melatonin.

If you would like to book an acupuncture appointment with Josh, click the link in the bio.

How do we meet what feels challenging, both individually and collectively?

Aspen suggests one of the most effective tools for navigating these challenges is learning to allow energy to flow through the body rather than contracting around it. What does this mean?

It involves permitting the waves of rage or grief to course through fully instead of tightening the stomach, hardening the chest, and becoming small, rigid, frustrated, or resigned.

Everything in the body is energy, and that energy is either flowing or contracted. Everyone knows the suffering that comes with a contracted experience—feeling trapped, limited, and deficient, often accompanied by judgment or shame. In contrast, the natural flow of energy opens individuals up to themselves, others, and life, allowing for a more authentic experience.

She sees it with her clients every day. When they learn how to allow a greater depth of sensation and energy to move through them they get bigger, they get qualities and parts and pieces of themselves back. They burst into tears at the remembering of who they are.

Curious to explore this further? Aspen offers two ways to engage:

In-person bodywork sessions at Ensō or online group classes in her Practice Space, with a new four-class series on FLOW starting November 9th.

Check out Ensō’s latest blog post in the website Reflections page to dive deeper into her work.

We got new photos for the occasion that everything is always changing.

With 2 new providers (Aspen - Holisitic/Nervous System Bodywork & Josh - Classical Acupuncture & Herbalist) last fall, and Leigh just now joining us doing women’s focused massage (including pregnancy!) & pelvic floor therapy all while staying good bye to Diane (for her to shift into full time OT at our friends over at Health in Motion) it was time for a refresh.

Time is a funny way of always being in flux with change – for better or worse. The sadness of saying goodbye and the opportunities to say hello that allow us to learn new ways in doing our work and being together.

We hope you are well in the constant movement of life.

On September 6th our community unexpectedly lost a light in this world. Joy Johnson was a beautiful soul whom we at Enso shared many patients with, saw for our own health and healing, and studied along-side. Her presence was so incredibly kind, genuine, and loving – someone we trusted to support those who were needing help in their most vulnerable moments. Her joy was palpable and her commitment to the healing-arts helped so many in need. We send love to her family in this time and know Joy continues to bless so many even in her physical absence. .mt

Summer’s end is represented by the Earth element in Chinese Medicine. It is time of year that we reap the harvests & lessons of what we have sown. It is a time to integrate everything we have accomplished into our being and move forward with more integrity in our knowing.

A few of our most fulfilling moments from our personal lives from behind the scenes this summer were:

Katie celebrated and ran 40 miles with Holcomb on a trail in the Tetons that was on both of their life lists to accomplish. Grateful their legs carried them through it together.

Karen’s biggest news of the summer is the graduation of her son from high school, and the arrival of her new horse, Dio. It’s been a lovely summer! Now celebrating 5 years of working at Enso with so many wonderful clients. Life is good!

Christina enjoyed a summer of peak experiences - running rivers, climbing mountains, and getting engaged! She looks forward to the grounding energy that comes with fall, to support her in continuing education opportunities intended to bring ease, embodiment, and optimized performance for her clients.

Aspen’s summer highlights were getting amazing new Bozeman clients at Ensō and lots of river floats!

We hope you can reflect in the abundance as our weather shifts into the first tastes of fall.

Community makes us more whole simply by being apart of it. Circles, even more so. We listen. We’re seen. We deepen and grow together.

Katie is hosting a year long gathering: Becoming, Together.

We will circle every other month starting in October to attune ourselves to the present moments and listen and learn from one another. Each gathering will begin with an hour of group acupuncture and somatic meditation followed by time to connect and reflect the season’s changes with wisdom gleaned from a Chinese medicine lens.

This circle is limited to 7 people and is already 1/2 full. Register online under “courses” or by calling front desk.

One of the most powerful tools Aspen teaches clients is how to work with what is here (the emotion, the stuck-ness, the reaction, the resistance, the collapse, the behavior,  etc.) as a body. How to meet it in an empowered, physical, tangible way. 

From a body standpoint, everything is energy. That energy is either flowing or contracted. When we learn how to work with the body in this way, everything changes. We grow up, we undo history, held patterns, and beliefs, we become freer.

Interested in exploring this? Here are a few simple steps to cultivate your own BODY practice: 

⭐️ Stand in a private space and drop into your body. Notice physical sensations (effort, temperature, tightness, movements). Focus on 1-2 areas that stand out and get curious without changing anything.

⭐️ Turn up the volume on what you notice. For example, if you feel tightness in your belly, tighten it a bit more. Spend a minute leaning into it, feeling the sensations and anything else that stands out.

⭐️ Deepen your breath, and slowly start to soften and let go. Bring in movement.

⭐️ Keep breathing and moving. Follow any impulses that support opening up the energy, letting your body take the lead. If unsure, start with continuous movement in the areas that stood out.

👉This way of relating to the body is like a new language, it takes time, AND as animals, our body has an inherent capacity to do this, so trust it. Playing music is a great way to help you drop in as well! 

👇
Want some guidance? Come in for a hands-on Bodywork session with me at ENSO or sign up for a free 15-minute consultation call to see if this work is right for you. (Link in bio)

Learning how to work with your body (the thing you do all the doing with) changes everything. 

Keep daring to explore!

Hope everyone is enjoying Labor Day weekend and having a little reflection on what it means and those who came before us.

A few years back we were at a crossroads as a business contemplating the ethics of what was (and still is) the best for everyone as the economy changed in what felt like overnight. As a service based industry we make our earnings by the hour which feels like a tricky conversation to put a price on our value.

After a lot of thought we decided to take everyone to contractors and not profit from an extra penny off earnings. Everyone sets their prices, hours, and takes home 100% after expenses are divided equally among all of us (including owners). Our couple employees (the amazing front desk) are paid as best as we can afford as a whole. We are trying to do our part in creating fairness in the workforce and appreciate the conversation of how to do better.

NEW Friday afternoon community acupuncture with Josh!

A shorter 45 minute treatment with time to rest comfortably in a private room. His powerful SAAM style uses minimal needles and re-blances the body’s natural flow Qi.

This treatment is intended to be more affordable at $60, or $50 each for a package for 4, for those who do not have insurance coverage.

Schedule just up opened online!

Any women with bloating, fatigue, food sensitivities and brain fog? Join Karen for 4 weeks in September in her new Gut Essentials course!

This course is for you if you:
🥦 Are confused by all the information on gut healing.
🍒You have IBS or SIBO or multiple food sensitivities.
🥑Have “troubles” in your digestion and feel like you’ve done it all and still don’t feel great.

You’ll learn proven steps to gut healing:
🍋How what you eat, when you eat effects gut health.
🥕How to listen to your body’s cues to begin to identify the root cause(s)
🫐How stress impacts your gut.
🥒How mindset improves gut health.

You’ll get simple and practical steps to dramatically improve your well-being.

The Course kicks off September 23rd, with weekly group sessions via Zoom, educational modules and a workbook to help you to feel your best.

Early Bird pricing ends August 31!
Link in bio!

We are thrilled to welcome our newest team member, Leigh Dennis LMT, specializing in women’s focused massage and pelvic work from a somatic lens! Her holistic approach empowers women to connect with their bodies and promotes healing in a nurturing environment.

With expertise in pelvic care, prenatal and postpartum massage, and trauma processing, Leigh is here to help women navigate their healing journeys. 

Join us in welcoming Leigh to our community starting in September. More information is available on our website. Together, let’s create a safe space for healing and transformation! 


 


Jackie is expanding her hours. She just added Wednesday & Friday mornings — book them while they’re available!

Her bodywork is a beautiful blend of down- regulation for your nervous system & a deep release for your body.

Holistic Bodywork with Aspen is 25% off all of July!

Are you ready to create more freedom in your life?

Right now amidst the fullness of summer, Aspen is offering a summer discount to new clients for their first bodywork session.

Her bodywork is centered around learning and teaching the ways we limit our freedom, cut ourselves off, and in some way create suffering. She helps you find how to open stuck places, grow capacity, and allow energy to move — bringing you more into who you really are.

Hey moms! Are you struggling with bloat, low energy and taking time for yourself? Just need a whole-body reset?

Take time for YOU during the FREE Mother’s Day Healthy Gut Challenge May 13-14th with Karen, our integrative nutrition health coach.

Link in Bio!

This Mother’s Day Healthy Gut Free Challenge has helped moms achieve…

✅Improved mental clarity

✅Improved digestion

✅More control over their health

✅Awareness of supportive wellness habits

Diane just returned from a class focusing strictly on the nervous system and has even more tools to help your system get to a deep state of homeostasis.

A client in their 60’s recently sat up from a treatment with Diane and said they had never felt so relaxed. It’s wild (and common!) to go that far into life and not be able to fully relax.

Health presupposes a balanced, adaptable and powerful Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). Any imbalance in the ANS can lead to functional disorders and illness.

If we first treat the deep underlying patterns, we then prevent most every chronic illness from the start.

Aspen Marino joined our team in September, offering her one of a kind Holistic Bodywork. 🌿🌱

Her medicine is centered around learning the ways we limit our freedom, cut ourselves off, and in some way create suffering. She facilitates us, through our body, to grow our capacity & allow energy to move through us — bringing us ever more alive and into who we really are.

She weaves together different somatic based modalities through tools of touch, breath, nervous system guidance and awareness as a way to help clients create lasting freedom, personal power, and possibility in their life.

If you’re yearning for a deeper connection with your body and more agency and choice in your life, this is for you. Come start your new story today. ✨

Free Community Clinic with Josh!
Sunday March 3rd & 24th 1-5pm.

Acupuncture can help support your innate resilience, soften symptoms, and bring new-found vibrancy as we shift into spring energy.

Spring is ideally filled with abundant energy, potential, and creative expressions. Sometimes, the shift from winter (represented by the Water element) into spring (the Wood element) can bring challenges of feeling stuck or the opposite of feeling chaos as everything begins to grow. Preferably, we transition with ease and balance – physically, emotionally and energetically.

If you’re interested in trying acupuncture Josh is offering two complimentary community days for a brief taste of his work. These sessions will be shorter in length and depth and done while comfortably clothed using his traditional & powerful SAAM style of using 4 needles on your arms & legs that balances the energy of your entire system.

Josh has extensive knowledge of the body and can help you understand how to shift into the next season with better health on all levels. He is accepting new patients at Enso and takes most insurance plans that have acupuncture benefits if you’re interested in regular treatments.

Schedule online & spread the word for this free opportunity!

FUN night of supporting & celebrating community at BYEP Bingo 🧚‍♂️

During the coldest days of winter we are dreaming of summer as we launch this summer solstice retreat deep in Montana’s mountains.

Katie is joining with Kristin Jordan for our 3rd annual Spirit of Nature Solstice self-care & yoga retreat!

June 20-23rd at Homestake Lodge

We will unplug in nature, practice yoga, somatic meditations, treat ourselves to acupuncture & bodywork, time on mountain trails & time to restore under Montana’s big sky on the Continental Divide celebrating our sun. Together, we will cultivate change that comes when we deeply reflect and share collective wisdom.

This long weekend is all-inclusive with all meals provided and accommodations of your choice – from camping to glamping.

Child-care (“summer camp” for kids) is available during the retreat making it accessible to moms & families.

Space is limited to 12 participants. Link in bio!

In celebration of the holidays, new year, and first new moon we gathered to reflect and connect.

We explored words to bring into the new year as both individuals and as a collective.

Expanded
Container
Presence
Rooted
Trust
Alchemize
Brave
Safe haven
Ease
.were just a few mentioned in how each of us relate to our work and Ensō.

It was awe inspiring to hear stories of client’s transformations, everyone’s professional & personal learning and new year’s intentions. Cheers to continuing down this life path in supporting better health in 2024!

This season, we have been noticing clients with more frequent and less severe viruses taking hold.

Here are 5 tips to stay well this cold and flu season from Karen:

✨ Focus on building your wellness resilience. Get rest - not just sleep, also take time to do nothing.

✨ Eat whole fruits and vegetables with all the colors of the rainbow.

✨ 70% of our immune system occurs in the gut. Feed those bacteria with pre- and probiotics.

✨Consider taking Vitamin D and Zinc - immune boosters.

🤸‍♂️ Do things that make you happy! Laugh! Find Joy!

This season, we have been noticing clients with more frequent and less severe viruses taking hold.

Here is 5 tips to stay well this cold and flu season from Karen:

✨ Focus on building your wellness resilience. Get rest - not just sleep, also take time to do nothing.

✨ Eat whole fruits and vegetables with all the colors of the rainbow.

✨ 70% of our immune system occurs in the gut. Feed those bacteria with pre- and probiotics.

✨Consider taking Vitamin D and Zinc - immune boosters.

🤸‍♂️ Do things that make you happy! Laugh! Find Joy!

Tis’ the season of giving so.. we are giving away 1 FREE New Patient Acupuncture treatment with Josh and 1 month of customized Chinese herbs to one lucky & deserving person – valued at $250!

Tag all your friends in this post that deserve some support in their health this holiday season and we’ll randomly choose someone on the winter solstice.

We are looking for a new receptionist to support our providers and clients as well as keep our office vibrant!

This position will help keep our gears turning for appointment based treatments, the sauna and health-focused retail. We’re looking for the right fit to work 8:30-12, 3 or 4 days a week. The position starts at $17 DOE and includes perks of self-care treatments, supplement discounts and experience in a wellness center focused on a healthy work environment. Please email us at [email protected] your resume and cover letter.

Josh is in-network with BCBS and Pacific Source for acupuncture! And, as a reminder, Diane (as well as Medicare!) & Katie are too.

When you are choosing your new health insurance this fall check your acupuncture and occupational health coverage. Many plans are starting to cover our services before the deductible is met. We’re happy to do the submitting for you if you have coverage!