How does it work?

In addition to looking at your current life and lifestyle, nutrition, health history, habits and traumas, hopes and dreams, we will employ the art of acupuncture and herbs to support you. Acupuncture is uniquely designed to support your bio-psycho-spiritual well-being. Each of the 12 meridians of the body, on which all of the acupuncture points are found, route Qi through the body. These meridians are all associated with the outerworld through seasons, colors, tastes and smells and they are associated with the inner world though organs, regions and functions of the body and emotions. Some of the emotions that are associated with meridians are anger, frustration, anxiety, nervousness, worry, grief, fastidiousness, uneasiness and fearfulness.

For example, the Liver meridian runs through the liver, starting on the big toe, going all the way up the inside of the leg, through the groin & reproductive organs and into the abdomen. It is responsible for blood, hormone balance, nourishing hair, eyes, nails, and even for smooth flow of Qi. It is also responsible for our ability to make decisions, to vision, to create, to hope, and to lead. The primary emotion associated with the Liver meridian is anger & frustration, which shows up when we are somehow thwarted. And the energy that moves these things that stand in our way is forceful, like the power of a flower pushing up through a sidewalk in the spring, and often comes out as anger., and when this is out of balance, excessive, depleted or suppressed can cause painful periods, tight neck, shoulders, sciatica, thinning hair & nails, eye problems, depression, difficulty making decisions, negative thinking, negative thinking and defeatism. There are 12 meridians that all have these types of associations.

When I had a herniated disk and found my way to acupuncture to resolve it, what I found was not just relief from pain, but a many faceted way to address this pain which stemmed from something deeper than a physical injury. The way that Chinese Medicine holds wellness gave me a beautiful way to simultaneously address my many interconnected layers of being as I faced that my back pain had as much to do with fear and anger as it did a painful herniation. Through my treatment, my physical pain was relieved, which was incredible, and I was able to process things from a multi-dimensional perspective that could hold the complicated being I was. And I was sold.

A teacher of mine once told me that there are very few purely physical ailments and I have come to see the truth in this claim. Most illnesses may have some reason we can point to in the physical world, but truly, their root lies in the psychological or spiritual realm. High Blood pressure, digestive ailments and migraines area examples of imbalances that even conventional medicine acknowledges sometimes has emotional and psychological roots.