Treatment Sessions
Therapies Offered
In treating patients I incorporate various Chinese medicine techniques, manual therapies, lifestyle and nutritional counseling. I seek to empower patients to reclaim optimal health, which may imply changing some habits, and I support people through these changes. Modalities include acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping and gua sha, soft tissue work, Chinese herbal formulas, dietary therapy (food recipes with Chinese herbs) and holistic nutritional guidance.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin stainless steel needles through the skin surface to stimulate and balance the body’s energies and fluids. After the needles are placed, they are retained for twenty minutes to an hour, and may be adjusted by the practitioner at intervals, to reinforce the energetic shifts taking place. During this time, the patient reclines and rests fully, aided by endorphin, a sedating and strongly regenerative hormone naturally secreted by the body in response to the insertion of the needles.
Acupuncture treatments are an oasis from the rush of our daily routine, permit deep relaxation, time to collect our thoughts, to go inside. From this inner realm of quiet reflection and rest we can reset, get back in synch with a healthier rhythm, ultimately to arrive at a more vital state of mind and body.
Treatment Options
- personal appointment
- community acupuncture / group rate
- treatment packages
Massage Therapy
Deep tissue bodywork is therapeutic massage aimed to flush the muscular tissues of tension, stress and toxicity by means of deep pressure applied to specific areas of pain and dysfunction. Massage is a useful adjunct therapy to acupuncture, indicated for musculoskelatal complaints, motor vehicle, bike or other accidents/traumas, and reducing chronic stress and emotional states such as anxiety and depression.
Cupping and Gua Sha
Cupping and Gua Sha are alternate methods of moving the qi flow in areas of pain and dysfunction to relieve stagnation and help restore balance.
Cupping is done with glass, bamboo or plastic spherically-shaped cups that have an opening at one end. By use of a hand pump or flame, the air within the cup is vacuumed out and the cup is swiftly applied to the skin surface, causing suction of a small area of skin and fascia upwards into the cup. As the suction continues, stagnant energy in the local area is pulled out of the body and dispersed, leading to pain relief. The cups may sometimes make round bruising marks, but these only last a few days and then fade, a small price for their ability to eliminate chronic pain and pain of injury. Cups may be used as well as a method for dredging phlegm from the lungs in the case of common cold, flu or bronchitis.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion involves warming the acupuncture points or larger areas of the body, and is often used in conjunction with acupuncture, or it may at times be used in place of acupuncture. We burn the medicinal herb, Mugwort, which penetrates healing heat into the body, as well as disperses stagnant energy. Moxa can warm and nourish sore body parts while it disperses and helps release chronic pain.
Can Acupuncture help you?
Sit, chat, and ask questions.
*Refer a friend and receive a free 20 minute rub with your treatment ($35 value)