Acupuncture
Acupuncture is one of the oldest and most commonly used systems of healing in the world. It is a relaxing and minimally invasive technology that gently stimulates your body’s inherent healing intelligence and self-regulatory capacities. It helps you manage stress, resolve symptoms, reduce pain, recover from illness, and build physical, mental, and emotional resilience.
Why Acupuncture?
Chinese Medicine has an established record of clinical efficacy going back many centuries. This, coupled with a growing body of modern research, points toward what practitioners know to be true from our everyday clinical experience: that for a long and diverse range of both acute and chronic health conditions, acupuncture and Chinese Medicine are as or more effective than many conventional, Western-style approaches.
From a Western perspective, research shows that acupuncture reduces inflammation, stabilizes blood sugars, lowers blood pressure, increases circulation of both blood and lymph, releases endorphins, and prevents the chemicals that signal pain from being formed. It also alters our brainwaves and nervous system to states associated with self-repair. How does this translate in terms of what you might experience? Patients come to me for all kinds of reasons:
Some are seeking support in the context of a formal diagnosis — to help them manage symptoms related to Crohn’s disease, PMDD, asthma, or arthritis, for example.
Some are suffering with symptoms that have stumped their Western providers — chronic fatigue, menstrual irregularities, infertility, or chronic pain, for example.
Some are tired of putting up with nagging symptoms that decrease their overall quality of life — sleep disturbances, digestive complaints, PMS, seasonal allergies, athletic injuries, or the soul-sucking drain of chronic stress and anxiety, for example.
And many others don’t have explicit complaints, they just know they feel better and more like their best selves when they receive acupuncture on a regular basis.
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine is highly personalized, giving it the flexibility to manage a wide array of symptoms in a wide array of people. And while it’s an excellent choice for symptom management, it also excels at addressing the root cause of illness. It understands that our personal constitutions and life experiences have shaped our bodies and our health, that even in a shared diagnosis or symptom we are still all unique, and that what is helpful for one person may not support another, at all. Because Chinese Medicine is always so tailored to the individual person in this way, and because it is so safe and minimally invasive, it’s beneficial for people of all ages and almost all health circumstances.
I currently offer the following Acupuncture services:
In-person acupuncture sessions for new and established patients
In-person or virtual Chinese Medicine consults for established patients
What does a session look like?
Understandably, newcomers to acupuncture and Chinese medicine often have questions. I’m always available to answer these in a free consultation, and my preference is to connect briefly with everyone in this way prior to their first visit; I like to learn a little bit about what you’re looking for and make sure I’m a good fit for your goals.
You’ll complete a comprehensive health history in advance of your first appointment, and when we meet we’ll identify your primary goals in working together. To help patients clarify their goals I often ask this question:
“Imagine it’s three months from now and you’re telling a friend how much acupuncture has helped you. What’s different for you then from how it is now?”
Once we’ve clarified your goals and gathered enough of your story to get started, we’ll move on to the treatment itself. I’ll have you remove bulky jewelry, extra layers of clothing, and socks, and you’ll roll up your pants to your knees and your sleeves to your elbows. This affords me access to the potent acupuncture points that populate your arms and legs. If you forget and wear leggings or skinny jeans, don’t worry; I always have sheets on hand for draping.
You’ll lie face up on the treatment table while I proceed with a few more diagnostics. I may take your pulses, ask to look at your tongue, and palpate different parts of your body, including your limbs and abdomen. All of this helps me piece together a picture of the unique landscape that is you.
You may be face-up or face-down on the table for the treatment itself, depending on the nature of your issues and the acupuncture points that will help you the most. If you have any strong preferences regarding position or touch, we’ll work together to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible throughout the session.
You’ll typically receive two sets of needles, and will rest with each set for about 20 minutes. Many people fall asleep during these rest times, or drift away into a deeply relaxing place that is truly unique to acupuncture. It’s also common to feel energized or notice different sensations, energies, or waves of temperature change throughout your body.
After your treatment we’ll check in about how it went, and I may recommend Chinese herbal formulations, nutritional supplements, or diet and lifestyle adjustments. These are always optional, but in many cases they will significantly expedite movement toward your articulated goals, and in some cases they may be — or may become — a fundamental aspect of your overall care.
When will you return to the clinic for your next appointment? Learn more in the FAQ.
Additional Modalities
Acupuncture is at the heart of my practice, but it’s only one of the treatment methods that are used in Chinese Medicine.