Four Seasons Acupuncture & Healing Arts

21/08/2025

You ma have heard of lymphatic drainage as it's become a new exciting trend in natural medicine. I have gotten into providing them and patients report feeling lighter, clearer headed, with less pain, reduced edema and improved digestion. This is really exciting to see that it has alzheimers prevention capacity as well. I work with a lot of cancer survivors and lymphatic drainage monthly or seasonally is a really great way to keep the cancer at bay. Check out what western science has ro say about the lymphatic system and mental health!

🧠 Scientists have discovered a remarkable way to double the brain’s waste clearance system—not with drugs or surgery, but simply by massaging the skin.

A team from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has shown in mice that gently stimulating the lymphatic vessels under the skin of the face and neck can dramatically boost cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow. This process helps flush out toxins and waste products from the brain, including harmful proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Using a specially designed mechanical stimulator, researchers restored CSF drainage to youthful levels in aged mice, suggesting a safe, non-invasive strategy to improve brain health.

Even more exciting, the study mapped previously unknown drainage routes from the brain to superficial lymph nodes through facial lymphatics—pathways that remain active even in older animals. This discovery completes the anatomical picture of CSF outflow and hints at future wearable or clinical devices designed to enhance brain cleansing.

While more research is needed before human applications, this gentle mechanical approach may open the door to new therapies aimed at preventing or slowing neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

📖 Source: Nature, “Increased CSF drainage by non-invasive manipulation of cervical lymphatics” (June 4, 2025).

10/08/2025

I recently visited my father who has been living with alzheimers for the last ten years. I learned from a practitioner in Mexico that 1 bean of cacao daily can assist with diabetes, heart conditions, circulation, depression, digestion and even physical pain. She taught me that cacao functions just like acupuncture does: it reduces imflammation, improves circilation and releases dopamine. Now it looks like it could help my father as well!

A new study from Columbia University Medical Center reveals that a daily cocoa flavanol drink can reverse age-related memory loss in healthy older adults. The research focused on the dentate gyrus, a key subregion of the hippocampus responsible for memory function, which typically declines with age.

In a randomized clinical trial, participants aged 50 to 69 who consumed a high-flavanol cocoa drink for three months showed improved activity in this brain region and significant gains in memory performance. Some even demonstrated memory abilities similar to people decades younger.

The specially formulated cocoa drink preserved natural flavanols often lost in regular chocolate processing, making it uniquely effective. While flavanols are found in tea, fruits, and vegetables, not all sources deliver the same brain benefits. Researchers emphasize that typical chocolate products should not replace this treatment due to their low flavanol content and high sugar.

This discovery offers exciting hope for using diet to enhance brain health and combat memory decline in aging populations. It also opens the door for further studies to explore cocoa flavanols’ full potential in preventing cognitive aging.

03/08/2025

In Chinese Medicine, the spirit and consciousness are said to reside in the heart. Last week I treated my first pandemic mental health patient. This person has felt a sense of "depersonalization" since the pandemic, a sense of constant surreality. The symptoms associated are racing heart, heart palpitations and anxiety. All of these are treated via the heart meridian. Western medicine has influenced the societal narrative regarding the body's functioning as stemming primarily from the brain. We now know that the Vagus Nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body, has 90% of its impulses originating in the gut and moving toward thw brain, not vice versa. In a world that functions with hierarchical processes of "the top controlling everything," maybe this hierarchy has been projected onto the functioning of our own bodies. Looks like each year new advances in neuroscience are proving what Traditional Chinese Medicine has been saying all along: the brain is not the organ that calls all the shots. The stomach generates energy for the entire body, the heart generates consciousness.

Most people think the brain controls everything—but your heart has a mind of its own.

The human heart contains approximately 40,000 neurons, forming a complex network known as the “heart-brain.”
What’s surprising is that the heart actually sends more signals to the brain than the brain sends back. These signals influence emotional processing, attention, memory, and even decision-making.

Scientists call this connection the heart-brain axis, and it’s one reason why emotional states like stress, gratitude, and empathy can physically affect your brain and body.

The heart isn’t just a pump—it’s a second command center.

31/07/2025

Hello All! My Google Business profile out here in Long Beach is finally verified! If I have ever given you a session that you appreciated, would you be willing to write me a review on Google? Thank you so much!

Post a review to our profile on Google

30/07/2025

Feeling so much love for my clinic today...
Used my crystals, the prayer bundle & did a mini lymphatic Drainage add on to help drain a patient's ears.

25/07/2025

A revolutionary medical trial may be the key to reversing paralysis. Scientists have officially launched human trials for a stem cell-based nerve therapy designed to restore movement in people with spinal cord injuries. This cutting-edge procedure involves growing nerve cells from a patient’s own stem cells and transplanting them directly into the damaged area of the spine.

Animal studies already delivered incredible results, with partially paralysed subjects regaining mobility. Now, the treatment has entered Phase I human trials, where researchers are evaluating its safety before moving toward broader testing for effectiveness by late 2025.

If successful, this could become the world’s first real cure for traumatic spinal injuries, offering a chance at recovery to millions who have been told paralysis is permanent. It also signals a new era of regenerative medicine, showing promise not just for spinal trauma but potentially for other untreatable nervous system conditions.

This isn’t science fiction. It’s happening now. The future of medicine is no longer about treating symptoms but rebuilding what was once thought lost forever.

Follow for more real medical breakthroughs and future-focused health news.

22/07/2025

A brain injury patient of mine came in today after 1 month and a half off. I missed seeing them & treating them, but this is the reality, the hope & the goal: to get you better with weekly sessions and herbs till you can fly on your own & navigate the world. I often see people come back in from time to time for a tune up, but many make a full recovery & never walk into the clinic again.

It reminds me of my days of directing plays: the intensity of creating a whole reality with a certain group of people, and then hugging tearful goodbyes after the cast party & closing night. Nothing is forever, no diagnosis is permanent.

We all move on in one way or another... in the end.
Grateful to be part of so many incredible people's journeys.

17/07/2025

A patient of mine in Vermont has been living with Lymes. I was giving her acupuncture and she was supplementing with bee therapy as well as herbs & sauna. After taking a bit of a break from the full time job that is addressing a chronic illness, a bee stung her on her thigh, *the* point that is specific for Lymes. She called me to tell me all about it & we scheduled a telehealth appointment. The bee had spoken.

Yesterday she pocket dialed me and we both were happily surprised to suddenly be on the phone. We spoke of poetry, of channeling a moment of light with words- a snapshot of reality, of spirit. I told her about Andrea Gibson, a poet who had just passed away. "You have to check out their stuff!" We spoke of the snobbery in poetry circles, what makes a poet a poet, and we spoke of the bee.

Andrea Gibson was an inspiring & accomplished poet who passed this weekof cancer. As their content circulates, another patient of mine just sent me this. Here's to the interconnection of all of us. Here's to natural medicine, poetry & healing.

02/07/2025

Woman’s Stem Cells Were Used To Reverse Her Type 1 Diabetes.

A Medical Breakthrough in Diabetes Treatment

In a remarkable medical achievement, scientists in China have successfully reversed Type 1 diabetes in a female patient using an innovative stem cell technique.

This pioneering procedure represents a significant advancement in diabetes treatment.

Harnessing the Power of Stem Cells
The research team utilized the patient’s own cells, transforming them into stem cells capable of producing insulin.

For the first time since her diagnosis, the woman’s body began generating its own insulin naturally. This development brings renewed optimism for the millions of individuals with Type 1 diabetes who currently rely on insulin injections to regulate their blood glucose levels.

The Science Behind the Success

The clinical study included three participants with Type 1 diabetes.

The process involved taking cells from each patient, reprogramming them into versatile stem cells able to develop into various cell types, and then chemically converting them into insulin-secreting cells.

A New Horizon for Diabetes Management

These engineered cells were subsequently implanted into the patients’ abdomens, where they started to produce insulin.

Although the research is in its initial stages, the positive outcome in the first patient hints at a potential future where insulin shots could become unnecessary for those living with Type 1 diabetes.

28/06/2025

Chinese Medicine has always had an edge on treating paralysis. I have seen amazing results with scalp acupuncture and electrical stimulation, a combination which gets new currents into the neural network of the brain. Looks like China has evolved this practice to something truly innovative!

China's groundbreaking brain-spinal implant allows paralyzed people to walk again within 24 hours. A revolution in medical science! 🧠🚶‍♂️

03/04/2025

A moment between patients to enjoy the beauty of the Santa Monica clinic... It's so nice to have this beautiful view, surrounded by images of Kuan Yin, the Buddhist Goddess of healing. Doing my chart notes next to orchids, greeting patients beside acupuncture needles displays from the Ming Dynasty, and taking intakes on antique Chinese furniture inlaid with mother of pearl. What is the healing quality of beauty? Anything that relaxes the nervous system puts us in a parasympathetic state. This is the state in which healing is possible. Anything that uplifts can increase serotonin & dopamine, both of which are central to the healing process & the immune system.

Simply put, beauty reduces stress hormones thereby reducing inflammation. I have often felt so blessed on my path as an acupuncturist because I get to spend my whole day in a beautiful space with relaxing music. My job is to be at peace so that I can be a better conduit for the healing process of my patients. Sending you all some love, beauty, healing & relaxation today!

DM me to book a session 🙏 You deserve it.

17/02/2025

Firefighters recover lung health with acupuncture, massage, chiropractic & glutathione. Thank you so much to my colleagues for helping these heroes out!

First responders who endured heavy exposure to toxic smoke in the Los Angeles fires are now getting care from Sonoma County’s Integrative Healers Action Network.