February 13, 2017

Meet Conor Logan of The Living Point in Sherman Oaks

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Conor Logan.

Conor, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was introduced to Oriental Medicine when I was 19. I hurt my back simply lifting a case of water into the car for my mother. Fast forward 18 months and, after other forms of care, the surgeon said ‘wow! I really don’t want to operate on someone so young. Why don’t you try 6 sessions of acupuncture? If that doesn’t work, we’ll do surgery.’ On the 5th session, the practitioner (Eva Berend in East Stroudsburg, PA) work on a spot that completely released the issue. I remember this warm feeling coming over me and all the pain subsiding quickly. I said ‘wow, you fixed me!’ to which she replied (and I’ve copied with my patients) “No, Conor, you did. I might have been the ‘jump start’, but you’re the engine.”

After college, I spent my 20s working in Information Technology while playing drums and touring in punk rock bands. I had the honor of playing in one of my favorite bands, SHELTER, headed by a musical idol of mine named Ray “Raghunath” Cappo. I saw the world, playing all over North America and Europe. I’d link up to my job during the day, get my IT project work done, and then go play a show at night. It was quite the candle and I burned it at both ends, happily.

During that time I met and married my wife, Zena. Also a creative person, she was and still is, my biggest fan. I remember telling her of a van breakdown on a small tour for a band I was starting up. I said ‘well, I guess that’s it. Van’s done… guess we’ll head back home.’ She said ‘That’s what credit cards are for! Get the van fixed and keep going. You have shows booked and fans waiting to see you!’ What a partner, right!?!

When I hit 30, I made good on an internal promise: if I was still struggling to ‘make it’ as a musician, I’d check something else out. Through my 20s I’d stop at various acupuncturists, while on tour, to keep my body right (punk drumming sure takes a toll on your arms and legs.) Several acupuncturists along the way would tell me ‘you seem to have the energy for this… maybe you’re a healer…’ I’d always think ‘leave me alone, I’m gonna be a rockstar!’ I then was in that situation again, lying on the table getting acupuncture from Olivia Jung, who reiterated the sentiment of past acupuncturists and pushed me to take a few classes. That was it. I was down the rabbit hole. I fell in love with the medicine.

I continued working full-time in IT. I was working at Creative Artists Agency at the time as an Identity and Access Management Architect. Really a very fun environment there, and a great team to work within. I’d go to work during the day, then leave at 5 PM to drive to Alhambra and go to class from 6-9 at night. 4-5 nights a week, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. And my wife and I had our first child. Wow, was I tired, but absolutely loving it. I still maintained playing in my band and writing/recording new music too. It was that time of life where I was just pushing as hard as I could for what I wanted.

Nothing seems like a job when you love it, right? That was how Guided Meditation came into the fold. I was really resonating with my Qi Gong (Chinese Meditation, Movement and Energy Work) instruction and noticed how stressed out a lot of the people at Creative Artists Agency were (high-stress talent agency, wasn’t hard to notice that people could use some relaxation.) I developed a 25-minute program that I had the honor to deliver 3 times per week to interested staff members. It was quite a success and rooted Meditation in my life… teaching really brings it all home.

Along the way, my wife Zena became interested in what I was learning. She’d already been a beneficiary of my education as I’d practice on her and help her in her health goals. She’d start thumbing through my notes and then finally said ‘I like this. I think I’d be good at this.’ I agreed wholeheartedly and she followed me down the rabbit’s hole, a couple years behind. I always thought we’d be great doing something together as a business, but never thought it’d be this. Pretty awesome to have your best friend want to join you in what you find so important.

So we continued working our jobs, studying, preparing for the medical boards, having our first child, Sonya Genevieve… all while keeping our creative endeavors alive in our life. In 2015 I made the decision that I wouldn’t be in IT for too much longer, at least not as a primary focus. We opened our clinic in Silverlake and I started seeing patients there after work and on the weekends. Then I started seeing more during the day and flexing my time to get my work done… then more patients started coming while there was a lull in IT work… you see the pattern. I haven’t looked back. The corner was turned, organically, all I had to do was listen and be part of the waveform. I’m along for the ride on this one, Oriental Medicine has been a goal for me and it’s my job to align with it.

And that has The Living Point where it’s at today: full-time living and working with this wonderful medicine. My wife is now also licensed and joining the practice. We’ve started a Holistic Health Weekend Program, which had it’s launch a few months ago and we hope to bring it to more locations in 2017. We’ve started outlining the books that we want to write together. But… at the center, is the healing… the caring for our patients and the amazing reward that it leaves us with. Really, it’s more of an honor. We truly respect the trust afforded to us by our patients. Whether they’re coming in for fertility issues, stress, body pains, recovering from a stroke… whatever it might be… we work with them, their existing path and the path they want to take to move toward.

So now we have The Living Point Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. There’s the acupuncture point location you learn in books… then there is the location that takes intuition and a connection with your patient to find… and that’s what Zena and I are all about.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Working full-time, going to school full-time, having your first child… all at the same time. Whoa!

Business relationships…. learning all of the lessons that people wisely and generously impart to you, but you think ‘we can avoid that!’ You find that those situations have become cliches for good reason.

The Living Point – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Living Point is centered around the modalities of Oriental Medicine: acupuncture, herbal medicine, bodywork, and meditation. Combined and applied according to the patient’s needs, we can create effective treatment plans for most any condition.

Initially near and dear to Conor’s heart are the specific injuries of musicians. Think about the injuries a piano player may have with their fingers and forearms, or a violin player and the shoulder their instrument rests on. This extends into the pains from the average workday – repetitive motion injuries from working on a computer or texting, for instance. Over time, Conor has also gravitated to Men’s Health issues and couples’ fertility. Success in augmenting western fertility treatments for both men and women, and their resultant successes getting pregnant, has meant the world to him. Helping others reach their fertility goals has its obvious and long-lasting rewards.

Zena and Conor meet philosophically in the world of fertility and the treatment of the injuries and illnesses of everyday life, but Zena has her own interests in this medicine as well. She focuses on fertility, women’s’ issues, stress, and cosmetic acupuncture.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Influence and impact. I was given great advice during my music touring days, that has extended to the rest of my endeavors: be impressive through impact, not impressiveness. Kenneth Shalk told me that one night after a concert, and it has meant the world to me ever since.

Pricing:

Cash patients are $125 for initial visits and $85 for follow-up treatments.
We take most forms of insurance and can easily verify your benefits for you. Just give us a call!

Contact Info: