The Saxena Clinic

01/23/2023

I want to wish you a happy Lunar new year, and also, it's hard to make festive wishes as we all sit with the grief we hold for the community of Monterey Park. May we all be gentle with ourselves, on this first day of the new year and every day.

01/17/2023

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/unprecedented-sonoma-county-pilot-program-to-offer-vulnerable-residents-a/?fbclid=IwAR04PVftazMYxoGenbHyx5xPU8PwFKnbmqbhVhU0FUdlCFr93ZZHUvL47fs&mibextid=Zxz2cZ&artslide=1

(Thank you for sharing this, Alegría De La Cruz !)

08/18/2022

Dear friends,

Just a reminder: at the Saxena Clinic, if finding childcare is a barrier to making an appointment, I'm very happy to hang out with your kids while you rest during your session. Service dogs are welcome, but so is your dog that gets anxious when you leave them at home alone or that just likes to come along and be a part of things. And if you're operating on a tight budget, there is a sliding scale of $75-150 per appointment that you do not need to discuss with me in advance. (If $75 is not feasible, contact me anyway and I'll do my best to refer you to someone who takes your insurance, someone who can help you find insurance, or a nearby community acupuncture clinic.)

My clinic space will always be committed to active inclusivity and safety within its walls for all people: my principles are gender-expansive and transgender- and non-binary-affirming; I am fully vaccinated and use recommended COVID transmissions precautions to keep people with vulnerable immune systems safer; I know that Black lives matter; I know I live and work on stolen Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo land; I resist systemic racism externally and also investigate myself for insiduous inherent bias. I respect your own body's wisdom and intuition, and I strive to partner with it.

Also: the idea of getting a bunch of needles stuck in you, whether or not most people find it extremely relaxing, is scary. It just is. But I encourage you to read my reviews or talk to people who have come to see me--I use the teeniest, tiniest needles you have ever seen, I needle very gently, and most needlephobes leave their appointment feeling surprised at how easy it was and how much better they feel.

I specialize in trauma and anxiety. I can't fix the fact that our county is approaching fire season again, that climate change and systemic racism are real, that life under capitalism is often hard and unfair--but the work I do helps to bring your nervous system into a state of greater calm. When your internal environment is settled, grounded and nourished, everything else becomes less overwhelming. External stressors start to lose their teeth. Optimism reveals itself again, in small and surprising ways.

The work I do is for everyone, because everyone deserves to feel well, to feel safe, to know restorative rest. It is here to support you in changing the world for the better, or in caring more lovingly for the people around you, or in celebrating a day without pain, or in feeling your emotions fearlessly. Healing means different things to different people, but every person deserves support in finding it for themselves. My humble little practice strives to tear down every barrier between you and that healing.

As always, I wish you all the best. -Lorelle

03/15/2022

I'm delighted to be the subject of "The End Bit" in the current issue of Made Local Magazine. There are SO MANY incredible people in the pages of this issue, and I hope you pick it up!

The End Bit: Meet an Acupuncturist — Dr. Lorelle Saxena, DACM, L.Ac Story by Jess D. Taylor // Filed under Mar/Apr 2022 The End Bit Meet Acupuncturist Dr. Lorelle Saxena, DACM, L.Ac Dr. Lorelle Saxena, DACM, L.Ac., loves boots, bicycling, and beet greens. Her favorite weekends are the ones spent i...

01/21/2022

Dear friends,

Back in mid-March of 2020, I sent you an email letting you know that I'd be closing the clinic for three weeks. (Remember when we thought this would be over in three weeks?)

Today, a full twenty-two months later, I'm overjoyed to let you know that I am reopening, effective immediately. (You can make an appointment easily through the website: www.thesaxenaclinic.com .)

I'm really looking forward to hearing how you've moved through these strange times, what changes you didn't expect, and what important things have stayed the same.

I'm also excited to welcome you to my new office at 33Arts, a warm and vibrant arts collective on the west side of Santa Rosa, just off Sebastopol Road and the Joe Rodota Trail. If you haven't been to 33Arts before, I am delighted to be the first person to tell you about it.

You will notice, right away, that it's really different from any space my clinic has occupied before. 33Arts is a unique hidden treasure full of amazing people creating amazing things in our community, and I am thrilled that they have welcomed me and my practice into their fold. When you step into the friendly lobby, and then into my cozy, light and plant-filled office, you'll understand why I chose this special place as a clinic home.

A few notes on some other changes to my practice:

I will no longer be accepting any form of health insurance—although I will always be able to give you a claims form that you can submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement.

I will, however, be implementing a sliding scale. While my standard fee will remain the same ($125 for established patients and $150 for a new patient's first visit), the new sliding scale, which applies to all appointments and all patients, is $75-150.

Regarding COVID-19 safety: I've received both my COVID-19 vaccine and booster. For everyone's safety, I will conduct all appointments wearing both an N95 face mask and a full face shield. I ask that you wear an N95, KN95 or surgical mask throughout your visit. If you arrive without a mask, no problem—I have one for you! Lastly, please only come in for your scheduled appointment if you have no cold or flu-type symptoms, and if you have had no known exposures to a COVID-positive person in the last week. Same-day cancellations due to COVID exposure or symptoms will not be subject to a cancellation fee.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns. I’m so looking forward to seeing you and yours soon!

06/13/2020

Transition is always bittersweet.

The Saxena Clinic is officially no longer a part of Well Sonoma. We dreamed big together, and I will miss our collective--which continues on without me, and still includes wonderful providers.

But I'm so excited about what's coming next for my little clinic. I will have all the details for you as our world slowly opens back up, but what it looks like is this: a healthcare space that is inclusivity-forward, where we lead with the awareness that healthcare and social justice are inextricable partners, where within our practices and out in the world we actively combat racism, sexism and bias against our non-binary community.

This move was planned long before Covid-19 shut us all down. I know I will be back to practice, but I don't know when--right now and until schools reopen, being Kamal's parent and teacher is my full-time gig.

But the pandemic itself has so clearly delineated how grave a threat racism is to public health. Historic uprisings around the country point clearly to this truth and how critical and immediate the need for change is. Moreover, this week the current administration removed protections around transgender people receiving healthcare. I stand more deeply committed than ever to anti-racist, socially-just, trauma-informed healthcare, to working to make that care accessible and safe for all, and to actively finding ways to bring comfort and ease to the lives of people everywhere.

When I can open my new doors, I look forward to celebrating with you there. Thank you, community, for your constant and warm support during this decade-plus of practice. I'm only here because you are. ♥️

03/16/2020

Dear friends,

In response to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the Saxena Clinic will be closed until April 6. If you have an appointment scheduled during that time, our scheduling system will be sending you a separate cancellation notice. I will continue to stay informed about the situation and make decisions about reopening based on recommendations by health officials.

This was a challenging decision to make, of course--but what makes it easier is my certainty that it is in the best interest of my patients, our larger community and public health overall.

I will be looking at best ways to offer telemedicine sessions via video chat, focused primarily on the management of anxiety and depression. I can continue to make suggestions around dietary therapy (even based on what you have around the house!), prescribe Chinese herbal remedies and make acupressure recommendations. These sessions will be entirely by-donation, and you'll be able to book them online.

While my doors are closed in order to safeguard everyone's best health, I am still available to you, as always, with any questions or concerns. Please feel free to reach out via phone, text or email.

I know this is a strange, unprecedented time. It is an excellent time to practice being gentle and forgiving with yourself, to cultivate stillness and reflection, and to take the best possible care of yourself.

I am so looking forward to seeing all of you when we come through this.

All the best,

Dr. Lorelle Saxena, DACM, L.Ac.
[pronouns: she/her]

The Saxena Clinic

01/17/2020

Secret mocktail ingredient for tomorrow night's Well Sonoma Open House! Can you guess what it is?

10/24/2019

Hi, friends.

I want to talk about a couple of things this morning. Firstly, I want to talk about how nobody in Sonoma County is okay today, and secondly, I want to talk about how lucky I am to work where I work.

This morning, like everyone else here, I woke up to alerts on my phone about fire and evacuation. It's pretty far from our house, and I'm thankful for that, but of course I am concerned about everyone who is impacted. And of course I know we all remember how quickly fire spreads; there's no way to walk through an October day without smoke hypervigilance, no way to sleep soundly through the night when dry winds are blowing anymore.

And yesterday we found ourselves preparing for power outages again. And Monday, oh God, on Monday multiple schools here in Santa Rosa were on lockdown when a young person shot another young person and then ran away. Kamal's school was one of them, and while I knew intellectually he was safe and that his school's lockdown was just everyone being extra-cautious, I hope I never ever again experience the feeling I felt when I saw the word "lockdown" next to my child's school name.

My point is: we are frayed, here. We are kind of a pile of nerves, all of us. Some of us are really good at articulating it. Some of us aren't. We have to all reach deep and find patience for each other, the talkers and the not-talkers, the ones who curl up and hide and the ones who run out and act, the ones who respond with rage and the ones who respond with tears, the ones who don't know why they're acting out and the ones who know all about it. We have to remember to keep alerting those of us that don't look at social media and we have to be okay with seeing repetitive alerts. We have to be gentle with everyone, especially ourselves.

And that brings me to why I'm so glad to be a part of Well Sonoma. Because when we came together to build this collective, we saw ourselves as a resource for our community and champions of whole-life, patient-centric healthcare. What we didn't realize until we'd been working together for a few months is how well we all treat anxiety and trauma and how effectively we help our patients and clients find calm. All of us are trauma-informed--every provider, every yoga teacher, every staff member. Everyone works together to make sure that anyone leaving this space leaves calm, no matter how they came in.

I woke up filled with anxiety--all the usual anxieties of parenting and running a business and living in a world filled with injustice and holding space for the troubles of everyone I love, plus fire. So much anxiety. And I came here to work, and I took a yoga class from the wonderful Nina, and--well--I'm still anxious. But the difference between the anxiety I feel today and the anxiety that plagued me for my entire life is that now I have tools to cope with it. I'm still anxious after my yoga class, my balanced breakfast, my communicating with friends--but I can manage it. And I'm in it with my whole community. And it's not going to flatten me.

This is what I want to remind you about anxiety: We're all going to have it sometimes--if I didn't feel anxious about active fires two years after the enormous fires that swept through my hometown and took with them loved people and a huge percentage of our already-limited housing, that would be weird. If I didn't worry sometimes about my business overhead or whether I'm parenting well, that would be weird. But there exist exercise, meditation, medication, community, hands in garden dirt, long dusty hikes and long awkward hugs; there is TRE and craniosacral therapy and gentle facials and massage and talking through the hard things--all of those things, and more, are available to me and to you to help us keep moving forward when anxiety feels like it will cripple us.

I want to remind all of us that you can come and sit with us at Well if you're feeling overwhelmed. Come talk to our providers about the work we do with the nervous system. Learn about how we practice yoga for mental health first and see the physical fitness it brings as a happy side effect. We are here to hold space for you, to be human with you, and to leverage our tools to help our community move forward with strength, cohesion and calm.

10/01/2019

Just a gentle reminder for all of us: we might be closer to feeling well than we think.

[What I had for breakfast today: again, beet greens, jasmine rice, an egg and sriracha. I'm still not sick of it, but I will admit to looking forward to the day the cabbage, mustard greens and broccoli that we planted this season are big enough to eat. A little vegetable variety might be welcome soo

09/24/2019

I'm just really excited about these.

You guys! Look what Adam made for my lunch today!

09/18/2019

It's hard to put into words how effectively acupuncture can help address specific mental health challenges. Kristin Hersh, the brilliant singer-songwriter from Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave, does a beautiful job expressing how acupuncture has worked in her life.

(What I had for breakfast today: jasmine rice, mustard greens, kale, and an egg sauteed with a little bit of ham and topped with Adam’s kimchi.) While acupuncture is a useful therapy for musculoskeletal pain—sciatica, a pulled hamstring, tennis elbow—what’s often overlooked is its remarkable...

08/09/2019

Amanda of The Travel Season visited WELL Sonoma and wrote this stellar piece about us. We've never felt quite so seen! Read this, laugh, cry--and then visit us too. We look forward to meeting you!

https://thetravelseason.com/2019/08/06/the-santa-rosa-spa-scene-well-sonoma/

06/18/2019

New blog post! (Also, taking suggestions for a better, briefer title.)

06/02/2019

We love you, Sonoma County!

04/23/2019

You might find a perfect breakfast food hiding in your flower garden.
https://www.thesaxenaclinic.com/blog/2019/4/22/eating-from-the-flowerbeds

Maybe it's the lilypad-like roundness of the leaves that makes nasturtiums so appealing, or the peppery spice that flavors them. Maybe it's the succulent crunch of the stems, or the loads of vitamin C and iron your body absorbs from them. Or maybe you're like me, and haven't gotten your garden in ye

04/22/2019

Here at WELL Sonoma, we focus on whole-person health. That's why we were so thrilled when Katrina Matos Bodywork-Esthetics accepted our invitation to join our lovely collective.

Katrina creates her own skin care products, all of which align beautifully with her tagline of "affordable organics for sensitive souls," and which help you to achieve healthy, supple, radiant skin. Her products are elegantly simple formulations, avoiding any unnecessary ingredients that may irritate or congest the skin. When she uses essential oils, they are always cold-pressed, never chemically extracted. She strives to use the whole plant in her formulas whenever possible, and each product is energetically balanced.

But the best thing about Katrina's products is the way you can purchase them: Katrina herself sits down with you (at no charge!), one-on-one, answers all your questions and probably asks you quite a few too--all in the service of finding you the right care for your very individual skin. And healthy skin is beautiful skin!

Here's a photo of some of this season's offerings! Reach out to schedule a time to sit with Katrina and discover your own healthiest, happiest skin.

04/11/2019

This is our yoga therapist here at WELL Sonoma, Shane Davis. He looks like an awfully nice guy, doesn't he?

He is, mostly. When he is implementing his kinesiology-based therapy on the hip I've had challenges with since I was pregnant with Kamal, though, I do not like him at all and say really mean things to him, in a voice that MJ says sounds like a loudly-stressed monkey.

But I still got on his table today, because yesterday that hip was so out-of-whack that I couldn't climb into my car or even work the clutch pedal without using my hands to actually move my leg. Scooping rice out of the bottom of our rice barrel left me breathless on the floor. Helping Kamal get his shoes on straight-up sucked.

I made an appointment with Shane and figured he'd get me started on a weeks-long recovery process. Instead, after he pressed a bunch of trigger points and moved around some very resistant fascia, I feel--better. Like, all the way better. I thought I'd be giving up running and yoga classes for at least a month, but instead, I think I'll be back at it in a few days.

This kind of borderline-miraculous improvement makes the brief moments of discomfort--okay, pain--on Shane's table totally worth it. And it's such a great metaphor for the way we sometimes have to confront real and immediate discomfort before we can enjoy the myriad gifts of good health.

I'm off to go for a walk now, because I can. Thanks, Shane!

(You, too, can get on Shane's table, experience a lot of discomfort, and then feel better! Just ring us at WELL Sonoma and we'll make it happen.)