Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine
Many tools and modalities beyond needles:
Hair-thin acupuncture needles, guide tube, and refined moxa on moxa rolling board
Acupuncture: Gentle correction of the relationships of your physical and energetic body. Using the traditional functions of the points and channels plus modern understandings of physiology, acupuncture helps to regulate the nervous system so that the parasympathetic (rest, digest, heal) outweighs the sympathetic (fight, flight, freeze). Patients report feeling more at ease, rested, calm, and grounded after treatment. Many patients fall asleep on the table during in-office treatment and often sleep better at home as well.
A variety of herbal medicines, including foods like orange peel and black sesame, powdered formulas, and tablet/pill formulas
Herbal Medicine: Personalized prescriptions for herbal formulas and supplements for symptomatic and root cause treatment. Taking a herbal formula regularly can decrease the frequency of recommended in-office visits.
Moxa/ Moxibustion: Depending on the causes and symptoms of your pattern, this herbal heat therapy can be very helpful to stimulate metabolic processes from ovulation to repair of chronic injuries as well as increase motivation, combat fatigue, and reawaken interest in activities. Patients have described it as feeling like painful or tight spots are melting or unwinding, that they can breathe deeper, and that they feel more awake. If applicable, I instruct my patients on how to do moxibustion safely at home as well as perform moxibustion in the clinic with you.
Indirect moxibustion does not touch the skin. A charcoal-like stick of compressed moxa is held above the skin to provide deep warmth.
Cupping: Using suction cups, we gently coax old material out of the muscles and bring it up to the capillary level where it can be cleared away. Feels like a massage in reverse. Extremely helpful for many causes of tight muscles (especially in the back and shoulders) as well as for colds and congestion in the lungs.
Note how only one area shows signs of stagnation, helping us figure out which area needs more attention and potential treatment
Helpful diagnostically as well as for treatment as we can often see areas where the tissue needs more movement. What might appear at first to be bruises are actually marks as they don’t indicate damage (vessels aren’t broken), they aren’t painful to the touch, and they fade from purple to red to pink, not blue or green as bruises would.
Gua Sha: Using smooth tools, we stroke the channels until a flush appears. Assists the lymphatic and immune systems. Often used in combination with cupping or on its own for an early stage cold.
Acupressure is a wonderful needle-free form of treatment, appropriate for all ages
Acupressure: Earseeds and self-massage as coping mechanisms between treatments and as regular care for treatment and prevention of symptoms. These methods are often subtle enough to be performed in the workplace or social gatherings without attracting attention.
Qigong: Breathing exercises and gentle movements. Ranging from short and sweet visualizations and meditative practices to healing sounds and simple movements that target the organ systems and channels that are out of balance. Most of the movements can be done while seated or standing and we can adapt them for your body's range of motion.
Essential Oils: Recommendations for home care to combine with acupressure points. Especially helpful for travel and nighttime symptoms.