Eastern Healing Traditions - Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine

09/09/2025

If you feel like a completely different person in the week or two before your period–overwhelmed, exhausted, or trapped in deep emotional lows–you might have PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder).

This isn’t just “bad PMS”. PMDD happens when hormones, and neurotransmitters aren’t communicating well, leading to severe mood swings, anxiety, depression, and physical symptoms like bloating and fatigue. It can make even the simplest tasks feel overwhelming and unpredictable.

But here’s the good news: Your cycle doesn’t have to control your emotions. In Chinese medicine we see PMDD as a sign that your body needs support in regulating both hormones and emotional balance. Acupuncture works by improving the communication between your brain, nervous system, and hormones–helping to smooth out mood swings, reduce anxiety, adn ease the tension that makes PMDD feel unbearable.

For centuries, women have used Chinese medicine to restore balance during their cycles, and modern research continues to confirm its effectiveness. Along with acupuncture, we provide gentle lifestyle and dietary recommendations to support your nervous system, improve stress resilience, and keep your emotions steady throughout your cycle.

If your cycle has been hijacking your life, let's restore balance together. You deserve to feel at home in your body.

Call today to schedule! (224)541-0022

08/23/2025

Is Your Gallbladder Causing Your Digestive Upset?

Have you been struggling with bloating, nausea, reflux, or unpredictable bowel
movements? Maybe you’ve noticed that certain foods don’t sit well anymore—especially fatty meals, dairy, or fried foods.

Or maybe you’ve started eating Keto, and you feel…awful?
Or maybe it’s not just digestion—you're also getting headaches at your temples, tightness in your right shoulder, or feeling sluggish after eating.

if this sounds like you, your gallbladder might be waving a white flag!

The gallbladder plays a key role in digesting fats, absorbing nutrients, and keeping
digestion moving smoothly. But when it’s overworked, inflamed, or sluggish, it can trigger a whole cascade of uncomfortable symptoms.

The good news? Acupuncture helps restore digestive balance naturally—without
medications or extreme elimination diets.

For centuries, Chinese medicine has helped people:
✔️ Improve bile flow for smoother digestion
✔️ Reduce nausea, bloating, and reflux
✔️ Ease gallbladder-related headaches & shoulder tension
✔️ Support regular, comfortable bowel movements

💡 Quick Tips for Soothing an Irritated Gallbladder:

🍋 Ease up on fats—yes, even healthy ones! When your gallbladder is inflamed, even good fats like avocado & nuts can make things worse. Stick to lighter meals until things calm down.
🥤 Drink warm lemon water or herbal teas (peppermint, chamomile, or ginger) to gently support your digestion.
🚶‍♀️ Move your body! Gentle walking after meals can help keep bile flowing and prevent
sluggish digestion. If you’ve got an elliptical, the gallbladder especially loves that criss cross motion.

If your digestion feels stuck and uncomfortable, acupuncture can help get things flowing again—bringing relief not just to your stomach, but to your whole body.

Call today to schedule (224)541-0022!

08/16/2025

Gut Flare-Ups Don’t Have To Be Your Summer Adventure
Bloating. Urgency. Gas. Avoiding food. Avoiding plans because there’s not a toilet close by.

If you’ve been adjusting your life around your digestion—this is your reminder that you don’t have to keep doing that.

Gut symptoms I help people address, without pharmaceuticals or life-consuming “cleanses”:
●IBS or IBD flare-ups
●Bloating or painful gas
●Urgent or unpredictable digestion
●Constipation or irregularity
●Post-meal fatigue or fog

Acupuncture supports your digestion by addressing the entire system—not just your stomach.

We work with your nervous system, circulation, inflammation, and signaling to help your gut function efficiently again.

You can enjoy food, summer, and your body. That’s possible when your body has the resources to function properly.

I’ve helped many people restore ease in their digestion. I’m here to help you too.

07/31/2025

Tired And Wired Because of Summer Insomnia?

Sleep issues tend to spike in the summer—thanks to longer daylight, more heat, and extra stimulation. But that doesn’t mean you have to live with it.

Summer-related sleep issues I help people with:
●Racing thoughts at bedtime
●Waking up between 1–3 AM
●Light, broken sleep
●Early waking with anxiety
●Sleep that doesn’t leave you rested
●Night sweats
●Restless legs syndrome that keeps you awake at night

Acupuncture helps shift your nervous system out of alert mode and back into a steady rhythm. When that happens, your body can rest and sleep. Most people begin feeling a difference in just a few sessions—and deeper change builds from there.
Sleep is essential. When you sleep better, everything else gets easier.

I’ve helped many people get their nights (and lives) back. I’m here to help you do the same. Start sleeping like your body actually knows how to rest.

07/22/2025

07/10/2025

Say Goodbye to Hormonal Headaches!

Do you get headaches like clockwork before your period? Or maybe mid-cycle when estrogen surges? These hormonal headaches can make you feel like you are at the mercy of your cycle, with no options but to submit to their demands!

But acupuncture works WITH your hormones, not against them. It helps to create flow where there has only been pain.

Here’s how acupuncture can help hormonal headaches:
🌸 Balances estrogen and progesterone naturally
🌸 Improves blood flow to the brain and reproductive organs
🌸 Reduces inflammation that worsens pain

Let’s get you back in balance.
Call today to schedule your appointment! (224)541-0022

06/30/2025

Tension Headaches? Let’s Get You Some Relief!

Tension headaches feel like a tight band around your head, usually thanks to stress, screen time, or poor posture. But that achy, squeezing sensation, it’s not something you have to live with as a necessary evil due to modern life.

If you experience headache symptoms such as:
Dull, aching pain around your forehead, or back of the head
Pressure or tightness in the scalp, temples, or neck
Pain worse at the end of the day, or after stressful situations

We can help, by providing your body with resources to respond less acutely to stress.

Acupuncture helps to relax tight muscles, improve circulation, and calm the stress response–without medication, or negative side effects.

Many patients experience fewer and fewer headaches with each treatment, and some eliminate them completely!

Are you ready to do things differently?

Call to schedule with Dr. Vel! (224)541-0022

06/28/2025

Dr. Vel spent time with The Twin Doctors discussing acupuncture at Fox32 in Chicago.

06/27/2025

The body will always express what's wrong with it. Observing the many signs are a way Eastern Medicine doctors can diagnose illness and help you heal.

Your body never lies.

Your skin, your posture, your muscle tone, even the coating on your tongue…these are diagnostic tools.

They’re reflections of your internal biology.

Skin mirrors the liver because your liver is your primary detox organ. When it’s overwhelmed (by sugar, alcohol, processed foods, or environmental toxins) you might see breakouts, dullness, rashes, or premature aging. Beauty creams won’t fix what a clean diet can.

Posture reflects fascia, the connective tissue influenced by inflammation, hydration, and movement. A slouched posture often indicates stress, sedentary habits, or chronic pain.

Fat distribution is hormonal. Belly fat: Think insulin and cortisol. Thigh and hip fat: Think estrogen. Every bite of food either balances your hormones or throws them into chaos.

Jaw structure and airway health are shaped by nutrition from infancy. A diet low in nutrients and high in soft processed foods can narrow the airway, weaken the jaw, and affect sleep, oxygenation, and even facial development.

Fluid retention signals lymphatic congestion. Your lymph system depends on hydration, movement, and anti-inflammatory foods. Puffy eyes and bloating are red flags.

The tongue mirrors the gut. A coated tongue may indicate dysbiosis, an imbalance in your microbiome. Your gut health shows up in your breath, your digestion, your cravings, and your skin.

Muscle tone is a proxy for mitochondrial health and longevity. Sarcopenia (muscle loss) is one of the earliest signs of biological aging. The more muscle you maintain, the younger your cells behave.

Every cell in your body is built from the food you eat.
Your blood, your skin, your brain, your hormones, it’s all constructed from nutrients you either give your body... or don’t.

Appearance matters: not as a measure of beauty, but as a reflection of biology. Your body is always speaking.

Start listening.

02/28/2025

What can you expect when you come in for Acupuncture or Chinese Herbal Medicine at our clinic?

We will start by asking you some questions about your health, and some of those questions are going to seem like they are totally unrelated to the health concern that brought you in.

Why? Because in Chinese Medicine, everything is connected, and those questions help us connect the dots to give YOU the very best treatment for YOU. This is highly personalized care.

Then, we may take a look at your tongue. It’s not weird, I promise! The tongue gives us a snapshot of your digestive health.

We may also take your pulse, on both wrists. That gives us some more information about how your organ systems are functioning, from a Chinese Medicine perspective.

You’ll lie down on a comfortable table, and we will insert tiny, tiny, tiny needles into specific points that direct your body to come into balance.

You’ll start to feel a deep, heavy, relaxed sensation, and you may even fall asleep. We let you rest for about 20-25 minutes (we keep time for you!), and then we come in and take the needles out.

You will feel like you’ve just had the best nap of your life!!

Then we make recommendations for what will help in your day to day life!

Let’s get you feeling better.

Call to schedule your appointment with Dr. Vel! (224) 541-0022