Your initial visit is a 90 min session. During this session we will go over your clinical history, as well as your personal goals and expectations. I will ask you questions about your present and past health complaints, work and living habits, physical environment, family health history, and emotional life. I will check your pulse and your tongue. After we have talked about this, I will create a specific treatment plan for you depending on your unique conditions. I will combine different therapeutic and healing modalities that I feel will benefit you in body-mind-spirit. This may include: acupuncture, body-mind therapy, food cures, life style couching, cupping, Chinese therapeutic massage or Tui Na, electro-acupuncture, ear acupuncture, moxibustion, chinese herbs, chi kung, breathing techniques, meditations and visualizations. Please come in 15 min before your appointment time so that you can fill your intake and consent forms. Thank you and looking forward to our journey together!

I use new sterile stainless steel and very thin needles for each treatment. The insertion of needles is painless. The treatment in general should feel very relaxing and comfortable. You might experience a slight pinch when the needles goes in, sometimes you might not feel anything at all. I use a very gentle technique, and I believe that acupuncture can be effective, without being painful. Other sensations that you might experience around the needle insertion are numbness, pressure, tingling, traveling warmth, heaviness or ache. This are all normal and expected. If you do feel uncomfortable or in any kind of pain, please let me know and I will do my best to make you feel more relaxed and at ease. Needles remain in place for twenty to forty minutes. After treatment it is normal to feel like you want to rest more or feel immediately energized. You may notice a relief of symptoms or feel more energetic in the days that follow treatment. Most people are pleased to find that sessions are not uncomfortable and even look forward to them. Because Chinese medicine reverberates in the body and spirit, it can be a catalyst for subtle yet far-reaching and transformative change.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a complete medical system that has diagnosed, treated and prevented illness for over 3000 yrs. While it can remedy ailments and alter states of consciousness, Chinese medicine can also enhance healing power, boost immunity and cultivate the capacity for joy, pleasure, clarity, wisdom and love.

Within Chinese cosmology, all of creation is born from the marriage of two principal polarities, Yin and Yang. This are known as the primordial masculine energy and the primordial feminine energy, Earth and Heaven, winter and summer, night and day, cold and hot, wet and dry, inner and outer, body and mind. Harmony of this union means good health, good weather and good fortune, while disharmony leads to disease, disaster and bad luck. The strategy of TCM is to restore harmony. Each human being is seen as a micro-cosmic reflection of the Universe, a world in miniature, a garden in which doctor and patient together strive to cultivate health. Every person has a unique terrain to be mapped, a resilient yet sensitive ecology to be maintained. Like a gardener uses irrigation and compost to grow robust plants, the doctor uses acupuncture, herbs, chi kung and food to recover and sustain health.

Body Constituents: Just as Nature contains air, sea and land, the human body is comprised of Qi or Chi, Moisture, Blood, Essence & Sprit. Chi is the animating force that gives us our capacity to move, think, feel and work. Moisture is the liquid medium which protects, nurtures and lubricates tissue. Blood is the material foundation out of which we create bones, nerves, skin, muscles and organs. Essence or Jing is the most sutil energy of our physical body and correlates to the bio-chemistry and metabolic functions in our body. Shen or Spirit is related to the psycho-emotional and spiritual parts of our being.

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Organ System: as Nature is organized by five primal powers or elements - Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water - so the body is divide into five functional systems known as the Organ System - Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lungs and Kidneys. These Networks govern particular tissues, mental faculties and physical activities by regulating and preserving Chi, Moisture, Blood, Spirit and Essence.

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The LIVER System is responsible for the storage of Blood, flow of Chi and evenness of temperament so when the Liver is affected it can manifest as tension in the neck and shoulders, high blood pressure, headaches, cramping, moodiness and impulsive behaviour. The Liver is associated with the emotion of anger, the colour green and the season of spring.

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The HEART System not only moves blood through the vessels, but contains the Spirit or Shen and governs the mind. Symptoms as varied as anxiety, restless sleep, angina and palpitations occur when the Heart is agitated. The heart is associated with the emotion of joy, the season of summer and the colour red. ​

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The SPLEEN System is in charge of the assimilation of foods and fluids, as well as ideas, so when this system is disturbed, indigestion, bloating, fatigue, scattered thinking, and poor concentration can manifest. The Spleen is associated with the emotion of worry, the colour yellow and the season of late summer. ​

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The LUNG System sets the body rhythm, defends its boundaries and affords inspiration. A troubled Lung might trigger tightness in the chest, skin rashes, vulnerability to colds or flus, rigid thinking, or melancholy. The Lung system is associated with the colour white, the emotion of grief and sadness and the season of fall.

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The KIDNEY System includes yet extends beyond the job of managing fluid metabolism which we in the West ordinarily associate with the kidneys. The Kidney System stores the Essence or Jing responsible for reproduction, growth and regeneration. It controls the teeth, bones, marrow, brain and lumbar region, and is associated with the emotion of fear, the will and the capacity for sharp thinking and perception. So problems such as delayed growth, infertility, low back pain, paranoia, apathy or despair are viewed as dysfunctions of the Kidney System. ​ The Kidney system is associated with the colour black and the season of winter.

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Body Climates: Wind, Dampness, Dryness, Heat and Cold. In Nature, extreme wind, dampness, dryness, heat and cold have a strong effect on the planet. These same forces can bring unbalance within a human body, affecting or obstructing the movement of Qi in the organs. As winds shakes the trees of the forest, internal Wind can produce vertigo, unsteady movement and trembling. As saturated earth generates swamps, so Dampness becomes phlegm and edema in the body. As aridity withers vegetation, so Dryness causes chapping or cracking of membranes. Just as ice blocks the rush of water in a winter stream, so internal Cold blocks circulation and stops metabolism. And just as fire scorches the earth, so internal Hear may inflame tissue.

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Health and Illness: Qi, Moisture and Blood circulate within a web of pathways called channels or meridians that link together all the parts of the organism. Health exists when adequate Qi, Moisture and Blood flow smoothly. Symptoms as varied as joint pain, headache, anxiety, fatigue, menstrual cramps, high blood pressure, asthma, indigestion, and the common cold occur when their circulation is disrupted. All illness is understood as a consequence of either a depletion or a congestion of Qi, Moisture, and Blood. Depletion leads to weakness, lethargy, frequent illness, poor digestion and inadequate blood flow. Congestion results in aches, tension, tenderness, pain, a distended abdomen, irritability, and swelling.

Because Chinese medicine views people as ecosystems in miniature, it seeks to improve our capacity to balance and renew our resources. Chinese medicine can maximize the flow of nutrients by increasing circulation, and help prevent bottlenecks that obstruct movement. Often Western medicine has nothing to offer for nagging chronic complaints that Chinese medicine can help. The two are not a substitute for each other. They are often complementary. Where Western medicine can heroically rescue us, Chinese medicine can protect and preserve our health day to day.