Hurricane Sandy devastated the east coast of USA. This last day of October is "Trick or Treat" night. The storm was a nasty trick. The treat is that Ying Yu Jade will donate profits from the October 31 Daily Special to the American Red Cross for disaster relief. One of the items is Guan Yin, Buddha of Compassion jadeite pendant. Contribute to compassionate disaster relief with your purchase of beautiful jade today. October 31

There's always so much to catch up when I return from time off, that I wonder if it's worth it to even take off for a few days. Today I was looking through my inventory for a jade bangle similar to one a customer purchased, but the size was too big. As I was going through all the boxes of jade bangles, I came across one that really appealed to me, although it was 3mm larger than my best size. I put it on my wrist and the qi energy from it feels so good that I'm going to wear it for awhile. My regular jade bangle is very yin, white with some soft green veins in it, and usually balances me very well. But with the cooler weather, I need a little more yang energy, mostly for my thyroid which requires a slightly higher dose of synthroid in cooler months. But the "new" jade bangle is mostly white, although has some lavender hues in it so it looks like a gray-white, and has some deep green veins for more yang. It's still in my inventory because it's a "best quality" lao pit, old mine jadeite with high chime, and has a value of at least $3800, and I haven't listed it. Most people looking for a jade bangle want what they think is "the best" color, a deep green. But actually most women need more yin energy from their jade. Two customers in the past month bought "good green" jadeite bangles, and when they got them they loved the color, but it didn't feel right. One customer's wrist ached, and another customer felt anxious. That's a sign of too much yang energy for your body. Experienced jade bangle customers know the best kind of jade for a bangle they will wear often is is soft color, light green or white, with a few really good green veins, and a high quality fine grain that has a high chime, because that's the kind of energy that is best for most women. October 29

We are taking a few days vacation this week before our holiday season gets started. We usually visit family in Ohio and Pennsylvania in October, but couldn't get away for that long this year, so we will do some local things for a change of pace. Then back to work, with new listings and "special" specials as we approach that gift-giving holiday season. October 21

This is the other end of the age spectrum from osteoporosis and wearing jade for health. Here's a photo of one of our favorite toddlers, 17 months. Her mother wears a jade bangle all the time, since it was given to her by her mother in law when she was engaged to her son. Toddler and family recently visited jade-bangle wearing grandmother, who was impressed with how much Toddler loves that jade bangle. "It was very interesting to see how a jade bangle can actually calm and soothe this toddler. She was dozing off in my arms and I noticed she had her little fingers through the bangle and held it like a security piece. Later, we watched her favorite Baby Einstein dvd. Again, she was rubbing my bangle and "latched" onto it. There's no doubt that she was enjoying the coolness of the jade and was totally relaxed. Really neat!" This is a reason why many Asian families purchase jade baby bangle bracelets, for all the good qi energy it gives Baby, and there are also larger ones for children. Watch for a jade baby bangle Daily Special later this week. (And thanks for the photos, S. from California) October 17

The comprehensive article for Calm Spirit is still in progress, but here are some of the highlights. Almost everyone who wrote is post menopausal and have a healthy lifestyle, doing the things we women are supposed to do for overall health, including exercise (many tai chi and yoga and other weight bearing exercise), eat right (most of the time!), and take calcium supplements. Those of us who are lactose intolerant have a challenge with calcium. Some healthy lifestyle women have had better bone density, but many had not. Some women took oral biphosphonates and actually had more brittle bones, as it seems the density achieved is not good quality bone. One woman wrote that she needed dental surgery but her dentist would not do it until she had been off the biphosphonates for three months because of the high risk of necrosis of the jaw. After she stopped taking it, she was amazed at how much better she felt and weight she lost. Some health care practitioners agreed with the point of the medication dose could not be adjusted, as it is "one size fits all", and that is what causes some of the negative side effects. My own research on alternatives to building quality bone after menopause include certain yoga poses, and there is a book about Yoga Builds Bones by Jan Maddern. I am going to find three poses I like and do those 3-4 times weekly. When I was in China, I saw women methodically striking the length of their bodies with bamboo sticks because the act of bone being struck causes it to build. I have done bone patting as a qigong exercise for years, but I got a bamboo stick from Lowes and cut it in two comfortable-to-hold pieces and do the qigong with the stick. And research is showing that vibration can also build bone, so I am doing a qigong vibration of the body, standing and raising the heels and then thumping them on the floor to vibrate my body, but I do it on a carpet so I don't put too much pressure on my back to injure it. And of course continue to eat healthy, take a calcium supplement with D, meditate and sleep well, and continue tai chi and qigong. Then my next bone density test will show if that has any effect. I also consider that fact that the drug company that made the first osteoporosis biphosphonate medication developed the bone density xray machine and procedure, and have some doubts of the validity of using only hip and lower spine to consider a persons entire body bone density. I may have some osteoporotic bones, but I believe they are healthy, and perhaps even stronger than the poor quality of whatever kind of bone the medicine retards and stays on the bone to show density, and "proof" that the medication "works". October 16

We received more email about the osteoporosis blog than any other jade blog! Thank you for sharing your stories, experience, comments. I'm working on compiling a good blog about them. The basis of the blog was about how at YYJ we are more precise with individualizing and getting your best jade bangle size than drug companies are about getting their doses for patient health care. I think women who wear a jade bangle all the time are more aware of their bones than the general public. We see our bangle size change over the years. Our wrist bones get bigger, smaller, or more sensitive at times in our lives. When I had my bone density exam, the physician called me back to also have the bone density in my arms checked to see if the loss of bone density was all over my body, or just in the areas of hip and spine that are routinely examined. And if you have had the bone density exam, you probably know that often the left hip, or the non-dominant side of your body, is examined because it is assumed that your less used hip will show the most loss of bone. So it was expected my left arm would have less bone density. But that's the arm I wear my jade bangle, and I was asked if I was ambidextrous because my left had more density than my right. Do you think my doc would believe me if I told him it was because I wear a jade bangle on my left wrist? I've had to wear a 1/4" smaller bracelet on my right wrist because the size I always used to wear seems to big now, but I have gone up a mm on my left wrist bangle size over the year. Do we need to sleep on jade, or wrap jade around us to improve our bone density? OK, jade girlfriends, there's your reason to buy more jade: "medical necessity", not just JAD (jade acquisition disorder). Next blog I will share what other women are doing to keep their bones healthy. You can probably guess....much of it is natural lifestyle and alternative strategies. So again, thank you all for contributing, and if you want to contribute your story, you can still do that today because I will work on an article to put on the calmspirit.net web site, our original web site that focuses on Chinese culture, travel and wellness. October 12
(This doesn't have anything to do with the discussion, but one of the emails had advice from an ob/gyn doctor about flu shots. Medical research shows that if you get a flu shot 5 consecutive years, your risk of Alzheimer increases. FYI for our readers)

Thank you for all the feedback on the last two blogs. Today i will share feedback about the October 8 blog. Most of the comments express concern that since JBB has been part of YYJ, that when another seller sells lower grade jadeite, and will probably state it is A grade even if it's not, it will reflect badly on YYJ. I had though about that, and wondered if customers would also consider that. The "new" JBB would hopefully be redesigned and have a different appearance to set it apart from YYJ. In these days, to sell jade the seller needs to make a decent profit, considering they will pay someone to shop for them in China, pay for expensive shipping from China to USA, pay the customs and duty taxes, pay to get them photographed, pay for the web site and getting new items listed, pay to accept credit cards, pay taxes on sales, pay income taxes on profits. Whew! And most jade customers don't want to pay for A grade jadeite, which currently doesn't have much color or "good green" in it. Most jade customers want that green but don't want to pay the price. And have no idea the reality of current jadeite prices in China, Burma now. Other jade sellers don't have a stash of jadeite they purchased years ago at lower prices when the "good colors" were available, like we bought mostly during 2001-2005. So their only alternative is to buy color treated that looks very natural and sell it as natural color. Fake certification is so available, so cheap in China (do I have a good story to tell you about other fakes in China when I get a chance!) But online business has to be profitable because it's a tough business to do, and without making a decent profit, it isn't worth the work. I often look on ebay to see what USA based jadeite sellers are selling, and that's how I know what they are doing. Thanks to your feedback, I am considering keeping the jadebanglebracelets.com domain that I own. It's a very valuable domain because it's also the keywords of the products sold on it. After I sell it, I have no control over what a new buyer will sell on it. October 11

YYJ business started in around 1999, very small, and seemed to be less "interference" with small business back then. Now every time I turn around it's something different to deal with, and if I don't comply the consequences are there. Sometimes the consequences are worth the price of not complying because it's so much time and work involved. I still simply want to buy and sell jade and enjoy doing it. I like the personal contact with the customers, my "jade friends". But I still need to conduct business properly, and make profit as this is our livelihood. And I will continue to be particular about the jade we sell. One of the time consuming tasks is helping first time customers choose their jade bangle, mostly getting their size correct. I think it's very important for the jade bangle to fit correctly, or you won't enjoy wearing it. That's why measurement is in mm and not inches, because mm is a small measurement that will give a more precise fit. Recently my health care providers have been sternly recommending I take the injectable medication for osteoporosis. Although I am tall, it seems I have thin bones. I wear a 52-53mm bangle, which is quite small. My objection to these once a year infusions is that the dose is the same, doesn't matter your body size. The side effects are numerous and frightening, and I don't feel safe with a one-size-fits-all medication. I always start a new medication with only a half dose because a full dose is usually too strong for me. And I don't want to have a stroke or heart attack taking these bone density medications when I feel fine now, but the side effects will probably make me feel awful. These pharmaceutical companies are big business, make millions of dollars in profits, so why not take the care to have the dose of the medicine suit the patient? I am more careful with getting the right size jade bangle, down to the mm, to my customers than the drug companies are with their dose of medication. Now you know one of my pet peeves! And by the way, I have been pursuing other alternatives for my "osteoporosis". I have done tai chi, yoga, walk and bike ride, eat right, for years, with my reward for staying "fit" meaning I have less estrogen-containing fat cells, causing the osteoporosis. Chinese medicine doesn't seem to have a treatment, but I am searching for ways to improve my bones, and will report on any true alternatives I find. Readers, do you have anything to share? October 10

There's a man interested in buying the JadeBangleBracelets web site with all of the bangles on it, and with the idea to keep it as a jade bangle selling web site. We are negotiating. One of the options is to purchase additional jadeite bangle bracelets from our inventory. He wants me to purchase from one of my suppliers 200 Burmese jadeite bangle bracelets that are B and C grade color treated pieces because he thinks they look nicer than the natural colors. And that's probably true, as most of the natural color that's available now is pale, or pale with small green veins. And he wants me to make some changes after the purchase, eliminating the Bargain Bangle section and setting up the sections by price range. He wants everything set up the way he wants it to be so he can sell for a few weeks while he gets used to using the software and the shopping cart programs. And he is located near a large Chinatown, and hopes potential walk in customers will look online first, then come to his store where they will be able to buy them "in person". That's and ideal situation, and wish I had a brick and mortar store, but I live in a very Hispanic area and would not be profitable to have a jade store. I don't feel comfortable buying B and C grade jadeite bangles. For one thing, being bleached with acid to remove color and inclusions would make them brittle and I would worry about them breaking in shipping from China to USA. And then I would get a "bad reputation" if my associates in China know I would accept that kind of jade. I do want to sell the web site, and think it would be a good business for both of us. So am thinking about it all. October 8

I received most of the jade I ordered this week. Some it it will be reserved for our Chinese New Year special, which will be Year of the Snake. Most of it is replacement for the Chinese jade products, including the jade rollers, gua sha tools, eggs and balls for kegel exercise. I ordered some traditional classic round Chinese jade bangles and received a big box of those, mostly in larger sizes. And some small size "river jade" bangles. And a few surprises you will see listed soon. I prefer to purchase the Burmese jadeite personally, and don't rely on someone else to buy those for me. But I will be getting another box of jadeite out of storage, so there will be "new" bangles listed on both YYJ and JadeBangleBracelets web sites. Keep in mind that jade bangles are one-of-a-kind, and if you see one you like and don't get it before someone else does, there won't be another one exactly like it. Natural jade and jadeite isn't cranked out to have a lot of them looking the same. That's the beauty of it. October 5

I read today that the USA is now allowing imports from Burma after several years of embargo. The embargo was supposed to be to punish the military regime by placing an embargo on oil and gas (Chevron) but of course big oil interests managed to lobby against that, and it got watered down to embargo jadeite and rubies. The result has been less jadeite being mined and Chinese jade carvers using their reserves of lower quality stone. Even though the jadeite comes from China, its origin is Burma, so the embargo still counted. And we all know how effective that has been, as many Chinese sellers sold jadeite to Americans, and most Americans didn't know it was illegal. But Ying Yu Jade has a big "web presence" and didn't do any illegal importing during the embargo. But it looks like now we can again. If customers buy more jadeite bangle bracelets, pendants, there will be more money in our pockets to buy more fabulous jadeite for you! October 2

We are starting October with "Make an Offer". Our new shipment from China is on its way to us, so let's clear out some of the old, making room for new items. Click here for Make an Offer.

The Calm Spirit / Ying Yu Jade complete October newsletter is available online now, click here. This month features Chinese medicine wellness information for October regarding balance of body, mind and spirit. There is information about what kind of jade to wear this month if you wear jade for your health, and more. October 1

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