If you are here, you are perhaps interested in studying acupuncture online or are already well underway in your course.

If you are studying with Animal Acupuncture Academy, bookmark this post as you might want to refer to it regularly during your studies!

The fact is, online study has a lot of advantages:

• Accessibility: anyone from anywhere in the country or the world can study, regardless of their personal background or personal constraints.
• On-demand learning: study when you are available and at your own pace, rather than at odd or inconvenient times.
• Global fellowship: e-meet students from around the world and be part of a thriving community.

However, studying online can also have some challenges, which we will address directly in this blog post.

Remember Your Why

It can be difficult to stay motivated when you are studying online from home. One key to being successful over the long haul is to remember your Why (or Why’s).

Here at Animal Acupuncture Academy, our Why is To help more animals by delivering world-class acupuncture training.

When the going gets tough, we try to remember our Mission, which is to transform animals’ and peoples’ lives for the better.

What are YOUR Why’s?

If you are studying or contemplating studying animal acupuncture, your Why’s may be:

• To help animals be healthy and happy using natural methods.
• To start a new career that you LOVE.
• To contribute to your community in a positive way.
• To take the time to study something that interests YOU.
• To start a profitable acupuncture business or add acupuncture as a valuable part of your existing business.
• And the list goes on …

If you’re still with me, take the time to write your Why’s on a post-it note or in your phone, and keep that note close to refer to it often.

Know that You Can Do Hard Things

There will always be times when online learning gets tough.

Maybe a personal crisis (or the day-to-day) is getting in the way of your study time. Maybe you are going through a crisis of confidence and are considering giving up.

The thing is, you can do hard things. Remember all the things that you’ve had to go through to get you here. You’ve made it on the other side, right?

Being challenged is part of growing and expanding as a person. In fact, this is also related to concepts of Chinese Medicine as our internal and external environments are always changing, challenging our body and mental balance. Will you rise to the challenge or give up?

At Animal Acupuncture Academy, we’ve designed our online course curriculum knowing full well that things can get hard (Dr Lucie used to teach online at the University of Melbourne, after all).

We want to remove as many roadblocks as possible for you, and we’ve done that through:

• Carefully crafted, comprehensive course: you will learn what you need to know (no more, no less) to become a confident animal acupuncture practitioner.
• Bite-sized learning: lessons are 30-45 min long to enable you to study when and where you can, in digestible segments.
• Online community: reach out to your lecturer or fellow students to benefit from the momentum of the group.

Which brings us to …

Know that You Are Not Alone

Online learning can appear on the surface to be quite lonely. No one to cheer you on, to understand what you are studying, or why you are doing it in the first place …

However, here at the Animal Acupuncture Academy, we have designed our course and cultivated a global community so that you never feel left out or left behind.

If you are feeling alone in your studies, there are multiple ways to reach out to like-minded folks:

• Reach out to your lecturer by email and ask a question (or let them know what is happening in your world).
• Contribute to the online course forum or participate in our monthly LIVE Q&As.
• Count the days to our LIVE Practical Weekend, or if you are doing your case studies, attend a LIVE clinical lecture to stay motivated and in-the-know.

You might actually feel more connected studying online with a global community than in-person!

Wrapping It Up

In summary, if you are feeling worried about successfully learning online or are currently experiencing a roadblock, it can be useful to:

• Write down a list of your Why’s (Why you are studying or considering studying in the first place) and keep it close and visible.
• Remember that you can do hard things and get to the other side when things get tough.
• Reach out to a global community of like-minded people (who GET your Why’s and what you are going through).

If you do all the above, your chances of making your online study a resounding success will increase exponentially!