Oriental Medicine encompasses several modalities to help address your health concerns.  Including herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, clinical massage, cupping, and lifestyle coaching.

Acupuncture

These small filiform needles are an important tool to the oriental medicine practitioner. A founding principle of oriental medicine is: "Where there is blockage there is pain; where there is no blockage there is no pain." Whether it be a knot in your back or an overactive mind causing insomnia we use these needles to restore free flow, allowing for optimized health.  We swiftly penetrate the dermal layer, where your sensory nerves reside, so that the sensation you experience is nothing like a needle prick, and typically is a localized, dull, heavy feeling. 

Moxibustion

Moxibustion is simply an application of heat.  We burn moxa, an herb known as mugwort (Artemisia argyi), to heat specific areas. This herb compacts as it burns resulting in a deeply penetrating heat source that can reach even deep muscle layers.  This helps open up tissues, increase blood flow and potentiate the healing process.  In our diagnostic terminology we use often use environmental descriptors such as damp or cold. This heat source is a valuable, direct treatment for many diagnostic patterns. 

Clinical Massage

Shiatsu and Tuina are classic manual therapies that are often incorporated into treatment protocols.  Tuina means 'push, pull' and is just that.  By moving the various muscle layers back and forth we increase blood flow and quickly locate problem areas. Shiatsu is a direct, penetrating pressure on acupuncture points.  This allows to really pinpoint the source of a pain pattern for accurate treatment.  I am also familiar with swedish and polarity massage, which are very effective at gently releasing tight muscles.  These tools are instrumental in achieving accurate diagnosis and long lasting relief.

Cupping

Think of a reverse massage.  This technique has been made recently popular by actresses with circular bruise marks on their back.  While it may leave a mark, the pain you associate with bruising is absent.  This modality helps to break up capillaries, the most narrow of blood vessels, in the tissue.  These capillaries are easily clogged, which results in painful, unhappy muscles in need of circulation.  Luckily, we are constantly reforming capillaries and cupping lets us get rid of the old and welcome new capillaries and renewed circulation.  This is also a wonderful tool for getting ahead of a cold and reducing the achy muscles that may accompany it. 

Lifestyle Coaching

Oriental Medicine is rooted in the concepts surrounding a clean, free flowing, balanced ecosystem.  Many of our health concerns are most effectively dealt with by examining your own habitat, internally and externally, identifying potential causes of disease, and working to change or correct these disharmonies.  This empowering approach to health requires real interest and dedication to learning how to live better.  By offering insight into what habits may not serve you and realistic, attainable goals to change those habits we work together to gain an understanding of your unique picture of health and how to improve it.