Who ARE You, And WHAT is Lumigrate? Progressive Info: Social Networking Links for Lumigrate (Blog Xfer from 2009)

Whether meeting someone in person or on the internet through facebook, I am having to answer this question a lot lately.  Which is great because it means people are finding out about us  and are interested.  Certainly, I refer people to look at Lumigrate.com's 'About Us' section (link below if you want to read later).  We have free information --- the blogs are packed with links to VALID sources to learn more about topics you are interested in and we think are important.  I get included in a lot of interesting information exchanges and have my radar up all the time, and then bring it to YOU on Lumigrate.   There is a free 'forum' area for everything from nutrition to fibromylagia and food allergies .... people are adding recipes now and finding it a valuable place to read or write so others can learn.  The video area descriptions have, at the bottom, products are identified that the providers in their real practice here in Grand Junction sell OR suggest to their patients (available at the local health food store and grocery stores) .. nothing we are 'selling' or getting anything for -- it just is a fast and free way for people to get headed in the right direction since everyone is SO busy but wanting guidance. 

The LINKS for these are at the bottom of the blog for your convenience: My intention is to make Lumigrate simple, streamlined, and offer valid information in a way that is as easy and straightforward as possible.  

Today I'm going to be heading out for a little bit of weekend fun (believe it or not a RockJam festival .. believe it or not on the state line between Colorado and Utah, of all places) and will be back before you know it getting back to work promoting innovative information about influenza, pain, and nutrition.  But here are answers to the questons I have been asked just in the last 12 hours:

What does your name mean?  Lumigrate is derived from the words 'Luminous' and 'integrate'.  "Luminous" means to light things up and our slogan is 'Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being'. I also like the idea that if someone is feeling really 'well', they appear luminous and radiant, and that is one of my personal goals in life.  "Integrate" means to bring together, and the information on Lumigrate is literally bringing information from allopathic/traditional medicine such as a medical doctor or psychologist (or marriage and family therapist) and occupational therapy such as myself,  with 'complimentary' medicine such as naturopathy and acupuncture (massage, yoga, nutrition).  It was actually a multi-month long process to find a name which was not 'taken' on the internet and which was federal trademark-safe, and getting that actually caused an unfortunate delay in our launch. 

How long have you been here?  Lumigrate went 'live' in late March, just before my 49th birthday... so that answers how long Lumigrate and I have been 'here'. 

What made you start Lumigrate?  I have had fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue since my 20s.  I have had periods of remission and health that then dissolved into a downward spiral several times, and in retrospect I believe my thyroid was kicking in/out and was not being properly tested, which was as much my fault as the doctors' I was seeing over the years because there IS information out there in books that I was not taking the time to read.  I realized that nobody can care more about you than YOU do and the key to each person's individual health care 'reform' is to get the concept that is found on the home page of Lumigrate (the 'You' model). 

A few years ago I was seeing patients in a busy and very good therapy practice in a busy and very good medical building in Grand Junction that had a busy and very good psychologist who specialized in head injury (as did I) and chronic pain (as did I personally but not yet professionally).  We teamed up and actually created the model on the home page -- he had the background with creating models and I had been pounced on by a rheumatologist pleading with me and drawing out a model for how to help patients with fibromyalgia about a year before.  That psychologist is Chris Young, PhD, who you see on Lumigrate.com.  His free video about Health Management is excellent and I encourage everyone to watch it.

He and I took an hour a week from our patient care schedules and met about starting an education group for people with fibromyalgia and it was a big success in short time.  AND I asked the local providers who everyone with fibromyalgia was going to if they would come and present.  These providers were also forming an integrative medicine center and took the time to come speak to the group BUT it was at a wierd time of day and the other providers couldn't come as they were seeing patients... the people with fibromylagia were tired at that time of day or it was cold out so the idea came to me to simply record their seminars and put them on DVD, but nowdays it's much easier for people to download (and soon we'll be streaming). 

And the other reason?  They were MY providers and I had made a real turnaround in my health and I wanted everyone in the world who had access to a computer to be able to have the same opportunity (and at a fraction of the cost as seeing them in person for an appointment).  I felt it was the right thing to do, and I'm approaching 50 -- Occupational Therapy in the insurance-based world is a difficult deal, plus I had an aging father who I wanted to be more able to help (such as an online business would allow).  I felt the economy was going to do something challenging and my profit margins seeing patients were eaten up by overhead from insurance billing and collecting from patients who owed money and thought it was the next 'move' for my career.  I always spent way more time educating patients and their families than most therapists and I would set up systems to enhance that aspect of programs wherever possible. 

How do I get the videos?  Last week we had a woman who had just been diagnosed with diabetes come home and download the Health Management video and have problems (she just needed to reboot her computer), but to see how it was working, I downloaded it myself.  It's our longest video and I have broadband and a MacBook and it only took about five minutes to download and it's as easy as pie. 

Go to Lumigrate.com and input a username and password (and write it down and don't lose it OR you can request it be emailed).  That is only so we can follow up or monitor any issues in the forum areas and to email out to our followers when we have any big news.  It is only for our purposes, we do not distribute the info and we are all secure and all that (certificates purchased with the background checks ... it's a whole deal for validation on websites and even the credit card company made sure we were a valid business)

Go to the 'Videos' tab.  You will not only get the video in a file emailed to you, but also the powerpoint that is shown by the provider and any handouts they gave at the seminar. 

Chose the video you want to watch and order it like you would any product on a website.  If there is a $0, it's free.  The others are $20 and the reality is, each one cost thousands of dollars to produce, so I hope people understand there is a charge.  I am working on ways to make that be less -- it's truly a case that if enough people were to order them we could charge less.  But for now that was our starting point.  Just like buying milk but without advertising on the carton!  It'll walk you through the steps, just to know what kind of files are useful to you. 

Wait until the email comes to you ... it might take a few minutes..... BUT you will get an email from Lumigrate which has the two files (video and handout which you can just look at on the computer or print). 

Watch, read, enjoy learning.... some of them require watching over for some people (myself included) but it is thorough information and training in order to make YOU as knowledgeable as can be about that topic (or your doctor if you ask them to purchase a video in order to help them know how to help you). 

And then: Please tell others!  You can copy the link to this page and email it to them, post it on your facebook, bring it up with your hairstylist or better yet, print out this page and take it with you (and thanks to a former coworker who has done that!).  

What are your biggest challenges?  The biggest challenge is that people who are interested in their health are initially distrustful of anything on the internet so we've had to prove ourselves and have gotten over that barrier (please look at our facebook page (Lumigrate Webucation).  Then the next hurdle is that people are afraid of downloading..... try it, you just might like it and it is EASY.  If your equipment can't handle it, just reset and order DVD perhaps.   And the biggest frustration?  People do not take the time .... five minutes to download and an hour to watch ... something even when it's FREE.  Great information we're providing as a service for FREE. 

I truly feel the 'Chronic Illness: Full Barrel Syndrome' video (20 minutes and free) would do more to lower costs and increase health than any one thing I've ever seen.  So I wish every person would watch it, including health care providers.  "Health Management" in 45 minutes but the information in it for people interested in health is incredible.  And FREE.  The other five are integrative and can help so many people -- we put very long clips both on the website and our YouTube channel so people really get an idea of if it is something they want to invest their resources in ... time (up to an hour), energy (lots of us are tired) and money ($20).  

Future products in development are more 'readable' or 'listenable' and we hope will be less costly to make and therefore less costly for you to purchase AND faster, easier, so we are responding.  But please support us, if even just taking the time to watch the free videos, because our desire and goal is to move health education forward. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME and ENERGY reading this ..... here's to your path to health and well-being being lit by some video watching!   -- Mardy

Those LINKS:

Videos:  www.lumigrate.com/catalog/seminars [1] 

Forums: www.lumigrate.com/forum [2]

Products: www.lumigrate.com/page/products [3]

About Us: www.lumigrate.com/page/about-us [4]

And be sure to join us at facebook: www.facebook.com/lumigrate [5]

And you can follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lumigrate [6]