Acupuncture is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine in which small filiform needles penetrate the skin and are activated through gentle and specific movements to acquire and activate Qi in the body. The meridians in which this Qi flows help maintain balance and equilibrium in the body and help your system function as a whole. Disruption of this energy flow can cause disease and needling certain acupuncture points can restore health and well being. Acupuncture points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system and therefore stimulate the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Many studies have shown that acupuncture is very effective for a variety of conditions and ailments.

Cupping is one of the best deep-tissue therapies available. Cups are placed on oiled skin with heat to create a vacuum or suction to move stagnated Qi and encourage blood flow. It is used to relieve back and neck pain, stiff muscles, anxiety, migraines, high blood pressure, and break up phlegm in the lungs. The cups can be left in place for up to 15 minutes or can be moved around continuously. It is common for the cups to leave small circular bruises that can last anywhere from three to seven days.

When we have an injury or come down with the flu, blood flow is decreased and both lactic and uric acid can get trapped underneath the skin or within muscle tissue due to the lack of lymphatic drainage. Gua sha can help release these toxins by increasing blood flow to the area. Performing gua sha involves taking a spoon or a gua sha tool and repeatedly rubbing or scraping the tool on the skin to produce a petechia. “Sha” or petechia is best defined as the red splotches of metabolic waste products that appear on the skin from rubbing the spoon or tool repeatedly over the affected area. This sha is a positive sign for an initial treatment as it lets you know changes are happening in the underlying muscle tissue and blood flow is increasing to the area.

Nutrition and exercise are important tools for each patient to address within their treatment plan. Making smart choices about food combining, getting enough exercise, and dietary restrictions can improve the integrity of your gut and in turn help you produce more Qi and blood to decrease symptoms such as fatigue, IBS, and allergies. I provide whole food Standard Process supplements for my patients to make sure they are getting the nutrition they need that they are not getting from their everyday diet.

Aroma Acupoint Therapy is a gentle, completely safe and yet profoundly effective treatment modality that utilizes the energetic potential locked within pure essential oils. Treatment involves placing particular oils on specific acupoints or reflex zones on the body in order to trigger energetic changes in the individual that will bring her back to a state of balance. The basic premise is that essential oils, being energetically just as active as acupuncture points, have the ability to stimulate the points in a similar way as needles.

Sound Baths or Vibroacoustic therapy use audible sound vibrations to improve health and reduce stress. It incorporates a feeling of calm through the use of the harp, chimes, tuning forks, singing bowls, and percussion instruments. This therapy has been proven to reduce blood pressure, increase circulation, slow breathing and heart rate, alleviate aches and pains, strengthen the immune system and improve overall mood. Sound therapy can even be done through guided meditations, chanting, humming and overtone singing. For those who fear needles, tuning forks can be applied to certain acupuncture points to have a similar affect and efficiency. This therapy basically matches the frequencies within our body and literally resonates with our cells to create equilibrium. It can be great for anxiety/depression, post traumatic stress disorder, dementia and has also been said to help with tinnitus.