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ASHLAND Getting a lift from climbing a tree For a break from and perspective on collaborative medicine, writing, speaking, playing and filming, 'Cedar' spends time perched in a redwood Comment By David Chuse DailyTidings.com By David Chuse Posted Jan. 18, 2015 at 6:11 PM Updated Jan 18, 2015 at 6:12 PM By David Chuse Posted Jan. 18, 2015 at 6:11 PM Updated Jan 18, 2015 at 6:12 PM » Social News From 70 feet up, the world is a different place. It wasn’t the main reason Jason and Kara Miller bought their house on Taylor Street four years ago, but stepping out on the deck overlooking the back yard that day really clarified things. Kara took in the spacious, sloping yard and saw gardens to come. For Jason, an inveterate climber of really big trees, there was a magnificent 110-foot coastal redwood, its big, sweeping lower branches nearly brushing the house. Also known to friends as "Cedar," Jason now has a favorite perch about 70 feet up, where three limbs protruding from the furrowed red bark form a comfortable seat. With his back against the trunk, an opening in the branches grants a sweeping view of Grizzly Peak and the valley. Here is a place to spend a peaceful half hour or hour, minus cell phone. “It gives me a nice perspective on things,” he says. “It’s a sanctuary.” Because, of course, life down below can be challenging. The Millers opened Jade Mountain Medicine in Ashland in 2006, following a study of traditional Chinese medicine. They earned master’s degrees in acupuncture and Oriental medicine in Portland, and trained further in Nanjing, China. Jason has also been trained in Asian bodywork therapy, and certified as an applied kinesiologist. Kara, who also has a background in midwifery, specializes in women’s reproductive health issues. Jason knew early on that he wanted to deal with difficult diseases. “My specialty is people with cancer, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, neurological disorders and ataxias (physical coordination disorders).” The focus of his work is “collaborative medicine,” he says, allowing him to integrate a wide range of healing practices in working with his patients, and in consulting with other doctors about his patients. The whole spectrum of medicine is useful when rightly applied, he believes, “everything from prayer and spirituality and Reiki all the way over to ... radiation and surgery, chemotherapy, drugs.” Jason also writes for professional publications and speaks at conferences all over the country on topics like, “The adrenal network, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia: botanical and nutritional solutions,” at a conference earlier this year (see jademountainmedicine.com for recordings of his talks.) The Millers often find balance for their professional lives in weekend hiking, camping, canoeing or kayaking, with family dogs Haiku and Jedi. Jason will occasionally go off to the coast to surf. They motorcycle and ski together, and sail their 21-foot wooden sailboat at lakes around Oregon. Jason is an accomplished musician as well, with a background in world music. He has played drums over the past 10 years for Southern Oregon groups Infusion, Trine and currently, Random Rab. He co-wrote and performed five of the tracks for last year’s “Release” CD and performed in 18 cities across the country with Random Rab Live last fall. And then there’s the TV show. In 2011 veteran entertainment talent developer David Yager, now also an Ashland resident, came to the Millers with an idea. The concept now has the Millers traveling the country, and later the world, filming people in diverse situations for a show now called “Life Authentic.” Yager says he intuitively “saw a special quality in Jason and Kara,” their “unique ability to be good communicators.” And, he says, “they have a wonderful message” about the quest for health and happiness. “It’s a cultural show,” says Jason, about “what’s meaningful for people.” And it needn't avoid “big issues in the world,” he says. “I want to have some influence.” They love adventure and travel, Kara says, and, “we meet a lot of amazing people,” people they think have something important to share. In a promotional video they made for the TV show, she says, “I don’t think anybody, at the end of their life, says, ‘Ah, I never should have had so much adventure. I should have stayed home more.’” Material for a pilot has been filmed and is now in editing. Yager, who has helped put together a whole team of people for the project, says he and the Millers are leaning toward developing an independent, Internet-based program, that can set its own creative standards. At home, there is the tree. Sometimes an adventurous friend will climb up with Jason. “It’s a great place to talk,” he says. But first there is a 12-foot free climb before reaching the branches, where you have to grip the bark with hands and feet something like a rock climber. Besides being a great meditation spot, “it’s exercise,” he says. “I really have to place my hands and feet with a lot of intention.” Fifty to 70 feet up is no joke. He always maintains three points of contact with the tree. There are a couple of places above 50 feet, though, where the gap in branches is greater, he says, and he has to make a sort of leap upwards. He has climbed to where his up-stretched hand is only 5 feet from the top. Jason says he experiences a close communion with the tree. “I’m inside another being’s space ... (there’s) kind of a magic about it.” David Chuse is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach him at [email protected].     By David Chuse DailyTidings.com By David Chuse Posted Jan. 18, 2015 at 6:11 PM Updated Jan 18, 2015 at 6:12 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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