Laughing Tao Acupuncture

Laughing Tao Acupuncture Laughing Tao is a nonprofit healing center providing Chinese medicine acupuncture and herbal medicine in East Peoria.

We offer acupuncture treatments, herbal medicine, qi gong classes, and self defense classes.

Lower back pain doesn’t usually start with one big moment. It slowly sets in through long days, stress, computer work, o...
03/01/2026

Lower back pain doesn’t usually start with one big moment. It slowly sets in through long days, stress, computer work, or that one “I’ll be fine” workout. And then suddenly your back isn’t just tight — it’s, as our patients like to say, "very chatty!"

In Chinese medicine, we look at low back pain not just as a muscle problem, but as a sign that circulation, nerves, or even your nervous system might be stuck in a protective pattern. Acupuncture helps the body remember how to move freely again. We can help ease spasms, calm irritated nerves, and bring fresh blood flow to tired tissues.

What most people notice isn’t magic. I’s more like their body slowly becoming less guarded:
• easier bending and twisting
• less morning stiffness
• fewer “ouch” moments upon movement
• more confidence in your body

Book a free 15-minute phone consult — we’ll talk about what your pain feels like, what sets it off, and whether acupuncture could be a good fit for you.

Some things don’t just live in your mind. They live in your body.With PTSD, the nervous system often stays on high alert...
02/25/2026

Some things don’t just live in your mind. They live in your body.

With PTSD, the nervous system often stays on high alert long after the danger is gone. Muscles stay braced, breath gets shallow, sleep gets light, and your body keeps acting like it has to survive instead of live. This can result in some pretty serious conditions: infertility, cancers, severe allergies, degenerative disease - the list goes on.

But this is how we, as Chinese medicine practitioners, approach the healing of PTSD as the root of all those real and physical health struggles: Acupuncture doesn’t “treat a memory.” What acupuncture does is much quieter - and in many ways more powerful. It helps your system downshift so that the health concerns you struggle with have space to heal.

Needles, breath, and touch can give your nervous system permission to relax, to feel safe, and to slowly release what it’s been holding for years. Many people describe it as their body finally being able to exhale.

Sometimes healing looks dramatic. More often, it looks like:
-sleeping better
-less constant tension
-fewer startle responses
-feeling more present in your own body
-having more space between trigger and reaction

If you’ve been doing all the talk therapy and still feel “stuck,” your body may need support too.

If you’re curious, let's what this could look like for you. Book a free 15-minute phone consult and learn how Chinese medicine can support your health.

02/20/2026

Shoulders can get so stubborn. And even if you really take care of your neck, back, and shoulders, they inevitably get sore after a night of weird sleep, periods of high stress, a workout gone wrong, etc.

In this video I’m doing gua sha on Glenn’s shoulder. It’s slow, intentional scraping with a miso soup spoon along the muscle and fascia to get blood moving again and help tight tissue actually soften.

It can look a little dramatic, but most people end up saying it feels relieving - like the tension is finally being allowed to exhale. And honestly, after their first time with guasha, 99.9% of our patients request to have it done again!

If your neck or shoulders have been cranky, tight, or just plain stuck, you don’t have to live with it.

If you’re curious whether this could help you, book a free 15-minute phone consult. We’ll talk through what’s going on and see if you’re a good fit.

Happy Chinese New Year ☯️✨ 🔥 🐎 Chinese New Year, also called the Lunar New Year, isn’t just about fresh beginnings. It i...
02/17/2026

Happy Chinese New Year ☯️✨ 🔥 🐎

Chinese New Year, also called the Lunar New Year, isn’t just about fresh beginnings. It is rooted in the understanding that time itself is inviting us to return to nature’s cycles. The Fire Horse adds its own signature to this turning of the wheel.

The Horse is movement, direction, and freedom; not movement just for motion’s sake, but DIRECTED movement. Fire intensifies that theme: it brings warmth and light to reveal a path that has either been hidden, or not appropriately acknowledged.

So today, it isn’t just a new zodiac cycle starting. It’s an invitation to act from truth rather than fear, to act with intention rather than reaction, and to let what’s truly alive in you find expression. The Fire Horse challenges you to run in the same direction your heart has already been quietly steering towards.

As you plan for the year, instead of asking, “What should I do?” try asking: “In what direction does my life already want to move?”

🔥 🐎

April Foster led a beautiful, healing yoga class at yesterday evening. We can't think of a better way to start a Valent...
02/14/2026

April Foster led a beautiful, healing yoga class at yesterday evening. We can't think of a better way to start a Valentine's Day weekend abundant in self-love and reflection. Combined with the ancient art of Chinese medicine acupuncture, this class was really next level ❤️💜 ☯️ Join us in April for our next event - details coming soon!

❤️ ❤️ Valentine’s Day often asks us to perform love by expressing it or proving it. But in Taoist philosophy, love lives...
02/14/2026

❤️ ❤️ Valentine’s Day often asks us to perform love by expressing it or proving it. But in Taoist philosophy, love lives somewhere much quieter. There are no grand displays. Love manifests when striving softens.

Recently, a patient we’ll call Sylvia came in navigating uncomfortable hormonal fluctuations in menopause: restless nights, mood swings, and a sense of disconnect from her own body and the people around her. After her acupuncture treatment, she sat quietly before saying, “It feels like my body finally caught up with me.” There was no drama or sweeping, huge changes, just a deep sense of alignment. But that's some powerful stuff.

This is the kind of love Taoism points toward: not romance or indulgence, but return. This is your gentle reminder that even in seasons of change, the body holds an innate intelligence.

Maybe this Valentine's Day is about softening, being still, and kindling your inner flame. ❤️ ❤️

Never tried acupuncture before, but curious? We'll be providing community acupuncture at Soulside Healing Arts in Peoria...
02/12/2026

Never tried acupuncture before, but curious? We'll be providing community acupuncture at Soulside Healing Arts in Peoria on February 13th from 6 to 8 p.m. Cost is $30 for the yoga class. Donations for Laughing Tao are welcome.

You don't have to be a yogi master to sign up for this deeply relaxing class. This is a great way to show your body some self-love in a small but powerful way. In this session, April Foster, Soulside's Executive Director, will lead a gentle and relaxing Restorative Yoga practice, guiding you into a state of deep calm. During Savasana, you will receive 5 to 7 tiny adhesive acupuncture needles and enjoy a deeper sense of peace surrounded by a healing community. You will be able to move freely with the needles inserted during the session. If you have never received acupuncture from us before, you will be required to sign an informed consent.

Any tips you choose to give to Laughing Tao will directly support us as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your generosity helps cover the treatment costs for patients who are unable to pay the full fee for acupuncture due to financial hardship. The standard cost of a community acupuncture treatment is $20-$40. Any donation offered is sincerely appreciated not only by us, but your neighbors in need of holistic healing. Link in bio.

Winter is the season of cold, and in Chinese medicine, cold has a way of settling deep into the body, especially into jo...
02/07/2026

Winter is the season of cold, and in Chinese medicine, cold has a way of settling deep into the body, especially into joints, low back, hips, and areas of old injury. This is where chronic pain often lives.

Moxibustion, or moxa, is a traditional therapy. It is burning the ground form of mugwort rolled up into a cigar. We hold the cigar a couple inches above the skin. Once burned, moxa has a gentle, penetrating warmth to restore movement and circulation where cold and stagnation have taken hold. Unlike surface heat, like a heating pad, moxa works deeply, warming the channels, nourishing the body’s reserves, and helping pain soften at its root.

In winter, moxa supports the Water element and Kidney energy, which govern the bones, joints, and long-term vitality. When these systems are warmed and supported, the body can relax, circulation improves, and pain becomes less intense.

Sometimes healing is as simple and powerful as adding warmth where it’s been missing.

Who else is having fun with these AI caricature pictures? ☯️ 😅 ☯️
02/05/2026

Who else is having fun with these AI caricature pictures? ☯️ 😅 ☯️

In Chinese medicine, winter is the season of the Water element. It governs rest, restoration, and the deepest reserves o...
02/03/2026

In Chinese medicine, winter is the season of the Water element. It governs rest, restoration, and the deepest reserves of the body. This is not a time for pushing or forcing change. It is a time for conserving energy, nourishing the nervous system, and allowing what’s been depleted to slowly refill.

Acupuncture supports this seasonal rhythm by helping the body turn inward, calming overstimulation, and strengthening resilience at a foundational level. When Water is nourished, the body feels more grounded.

Winter healing is quiet. It happens beneath the surface, in the breath, the hormones, the immune system, the emotional body. This season asks us to slow down, listen more closely, and trust that rest itself is medicine.

Ready for weird? In some cases, we perform a treatment called bloodletting. My kid asks for this treatment quite a bit, ...
01/30/2026

Ready for weird? In some cases, we perform a treatment called bloodletting. My kid asks for this treatment quite a bit, so it's definitely not as scary as it seems. No leeches! This is me using a sterile diabetic safety lancet to puncture an acupuncture point on my leg. Bloodletting is a traditional technique in Chinese Medicine that’s been used for centuries to help move stagnation and clear heat from the body.

Bloodletting can be supportive for:
• Irritability & emotional tension
• High blood pressure
• Headaches & migraines
• Cardiovascular support
• Inflammation & pain patterns
• That “pressure” feeling you just can’t shake

The amount of blood is very small, the tools are sterile, and the goal is to help the body reset and regulate - not to “bleed you out.” There's just 1 or 2 drops of blood, and it's painless.

This is just one of the many gentle (but powerful) tools we use to support balance and circulation in the body. And yes, it’s always done thoughtfully, safely, and only when appropriate.

Address

209 Keayes Avenue
East Peoria, IL
61611

Opening Hours

Monday 8:15am - 4pm
Tuesday 8:15am - 8:30pm
Wednesday 8:15am - 4pm
Thursday 8:15am - 4pm
Friday 8:15am - 4pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Laughing Tao Acupuncture posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram

Category