My first memory of traditional East Asian herbal medicine is from the observations of my grandparents when I was around age five. My grandmother cooked dried raw herbs in a black round cray pot which was covered with a white paper lid. I remembered the strong bitter scents while she carefully ran the cooked herbs through a linen pouch, squeezing with a wood stick, sifting the decoction into a porcelain bowl. I guessed she did not want to miss a drop of herbal liquid, and it looked like a very time-consuming process.

Patients are always asking, “What made you get into acupuncture?” The story has multiple players but chronic sinusitis was a major character. In the early 2000s I was living in Florence, Italy. Life was great, except for one stone in my shoe: chronic sinusitis.

There was once a young philosopher who traveled to Greece in search of spiritual wisdom from the orthodox monks. He would hang around the monastery in hopes of receiving spiritual guidance. One day, Father Seraphim offered him some advice: “You must learn to meditate like a mountain.”

The philosopher tried to sit and be firm but his body ached and his mind was full of thoughts.

As acupuncturists, pain from sciatic nerve irritation is one of the most common, and urgent, complaints that we see. Cases can vary from the acute entrapment-- caused by muscle spasms, misalignment, or a bulging disc-- to the very chronic and intractable. We often work with cases of sciatica that have been resistant to multiple steroid injections, medications, even surgical interventions. How can acupuncture help in these cases?

Although all many unwelcome changes are a natural part of aging, we can delay the progress of deterioration, prevent the severity of symptoms, and maintain a healthy condition through the use of therapies that enhance our natural health such as acupuncture and herbal medicine.

“Honey, can you please call my phone? I lost it… again…”

“You just need to pay attention to where you put things,” my husband reminded me. It wasn’t so much as an “I told you so,” and it didn’t irritate me; but that word “attention” stuck with me. The last time it stuck with me was when I was in acupuncture school and one of my mentors did an entire lecture on “attention and intention.”

Due to its robust evidence base, acupuncture is recommended by the American College of Physicians as a first-line treatment for chronic low back pain. Acupuncture is one of the best non-drug treatments for pain available-- but why?

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is known to be closely associated with reduced exposure to daylight, so as we near winter solstice on Dec 21, it's really time to keep an eye on how you're feeling. Here are a few of our favorite tips to elevate your mood and fend off the SAD--while also keeping your sanity during the holidays!

In the clinic lately, I have been seeing more and more patients with depression. This is an issue that many people I love suffer from while those around them never even know. Everyone feels sadness from time to time. It is a natural and useful emotion when needed. But sometimes sadness or a low mood may linger and begin to interfere with our daily lives.

You may have heard the words "cupping therapy," and perhaps even seen the marks that are left behind after a session, but what is cupping therapy really?