My Offerings for You, and Approach to Healing
In my practice, healing and health are about coming back home to ourselves. Literally. When we were born, our parents and ancestors gave us bodies that have their own strengths and vulnerabilities. The dynamic terrains of our physical experience are collaborations between our ancestral legacies and our own lives: the constellations of how we learn to live with our circumstances, chosen or not. I am here to help you find your way back to an understanding with your body, one that allows you to meet and experience your living wholeness and resilience.
This work is rooted in communication and deep sensitivity to your personal needs and boundaries. Whether you are looking for the intensity of traditional Chinese-style acupuncture treatments or prefer a gentler, non-invasive Japanese-style approach paired with craniosacral work, I aim to invite your nervous system into a state of healing. My primary strength lies in the ability to see and connect with you through a holistic mind-body-spirit approach, meeting you where you are, how you are, why you are, in the present moment- with precision, grace and compassion.
I offer in-person acupuncture and herbal consultations, as well as telehealth herbal consultations for those unable to come in person. Every session, in-person and telehealth, is tailored to meet you where you are, and serves as a dynamic facilitation of your specific health needs. First, I want to hear more about you and answer any questions you may have about my offerings, approach and this work. From there, let’s discover what combination of care best works for you.
If you would like to know about my approach and training, simply scroll down to the page below.
Lineage and training:
Menghe-Ding Shen-Hammer lineage: Trained and mentored by Drs. Brandt Stickley (DAOM), Melinda Iglesias Wheeler (DSOM), and Stephen Higgins (MSOM). This robust system of healing is a synthesis of a centuries old Chinese medicine lineage from the Menghe region in China, and the work of its contemporary holders: Drs. John H.F Shen and Leon Hammer, MD.
Craniosacral therapy: Trained by Michael McMahon, L.Ac, LMT through Moving Mountain Institute
Trauma-informed practice: Kate Busby, L.Ac, SEP, Trauma-Informed Acupuncture Primer (2023)
East Asian Meridian therapies: Trained in Japanese Kuma-style techniques from Dr. Iwashina “Bear” Anryu Sensei, Shudo-style meridian therapy, Toyohari via Dr. Robert “Bob” Quinn, DAOM, L.Ac and Daniel Silver, MCTCM, L.Ac.
Trauma Informed, Consensual Care
A key principle of my work is to honor the exceptionally tender needs of our nervous systems and histories, to facilitate safety, dignity and agency through continuous, responsive consent. Trauma and trauma responses are the ways that our bodies and nervous systems communicate their needs and boundaries. Alleviating suffering can only be possible if we honor, respect and orient to where you and your body are in your lived experience. As such, I am dedicated to moving in consonance with messages and boundaries that you and your body communicate, in action, word, and intention. I will work with you to create a dynamic and relationship that cultivates healing through safety, empowerment, and consent.
Heart-Centered Care
In Chinese medicine, the “heart” isn’t just the flesh organ that pumps blood around in the body. It is the system that embodies how we respond to the world on all levels, reflecting the crucial integration of the nervous system and cardiovascular system. Modern medicine describes this ecosystem through concepts such as Heart Rate Variability and vagal tone. Thus, “heart -centered” care leads us back to understanding trauma and its effect on us, our bodies. We experience trauma when someone or something overwhelms our “heart” resilience, our boundaries, and ability to intrinsically be ourselves. In many ways, trauma can leave us feeling less than, never quite whole again, and even estranged from ourselves. By connecting with you through this kind of heart-centered approach, we can foster resilience and healing in the face of trauma, through creating deep resources and helping you reconnect with your wholeness. In my experience, sustainable and enduring relief is most effectively achieved through this approach. I am committed to providing you this kind of care.
Healing
Ultimately, our symptoms are messages, ways our bodies communicate our needs in the face of trauma and disruption. Diseases are physical manifestations of vulnerability, suffering, and struggles to experience our wholeness viscerally. What you seek is a way out of suffering. At heart, the only way out is through- and I am here to help you find that way for you, at your own pace and time. What is your body telling us it needs? Let’s find out.