Uptown Acupuncture (2025)

05/05/2024

Such a joy to be present for Sina’s book launch I’ve learned so much over the years from her thoughtful tutelage. May this book bring understanding and excitement to Traditional East Asian medicine.

05/04/2024

The spring energy is alive and well, and it's the perfect time to bring hormones into balance to help support fertility. East Asian medicine EXCELS at hormonal balance and fertility support. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Did you know that we can help enhance fertility due to all different causes? Causes such as:
*irregular periods,
*low ovarian reserve,
*recurrent miscarriage,
*unexplained fertility,
*male factor infertility,
*PCOS,
*endometriosis,
*poor egg quality,
*advanced maternal age.⠀⠀

We also support our patients in improving outcomes for IVF and IUI.
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If you or someone you know is suffering from infertility, please let them know that we can help!

04/04/2024

INSOMNIACS, this one is for you.
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Food as medicine: did you know that a simple tea of chamomile and goji berries can help you both fall asleep and stay asleep? If you have lots of heat signs, you can also add a mint tea bag to the mix. And if you have lots of restlessness, add a bag of hibiscus tea to the mix. Drink this 30-60 minutes before bed and see how radically it can shift your sleep into a deeper, more easy sleep.

Our bodies are wise, and they are completely capable of healing. Let's get them what they need, when they need it.

🌱

03/04/2024

The liver and eyes are also connected through the power of envisioning. In the process of detoxing and clearing, it helps to have a big picture of what you’re working toward. When the liver is functioning well, setting goals and having a vision for what you want your life to look like comes more easily. This relationship, however, works both ways: Having direction is a huge help to the liver. If you don’t know where to start, start simple. How do you want to feel in your body? How do you want to feel in your relationships? What kinds of new creative endeavors do you want to start? Asking these questions is a good start to envisioning the life you want for yourself. With a singular goal, the liver’s energy becomes focused, driven, and purposeful. Spring is the ideal time to understand what you want for your life. By doing so, it’ll become clear what needs to be removed from your life to make those goals happen. There’s an organizational structure to the change, because goals help provide clarity of action. Enjoy making those liver-loving changes!

For 30 minutes, free write about your ideal life, responding to each of the categories below. Choose one or two of these goals and make small decisions each day to find clarity and move toward transformation.

a. Self-care
b. Health
c. Family
d. Relationship/partnership
e. Work/career
f. Creative endeavors

Enjoy connecting with your vision for your life. If your vision involves better health, we want to help partner with you in that.

02/04/2024

With a family history of depression, and those close to me who experience depression, I regularly consider: what can be done?

The first approach Chinese medicine takes with depression is to figure out where the problem is. Is it more of a stuck - type depression, or more of a sadness, crying type? Maybe it’s neither, and it’s more a case of lack of joy, can't feel much, or zero motivation — as if the spark or pilot light has gone out. Each of these patterns is related to different organ systems, and of course, depression can be a combination of these different types of depression. Chinese medicine treats the symptoms of depression with acupuncture, herbs, and simple lifestyle adjustments (recognizing that depression makes alot of daily activities nearly impossible!). Patterns of depression CAN change, and Chinese medicine can be a truly remarkable tool in the tool box of managing and treating this illness.

😭

28/03/2024

Sleep having you struggling? Can’t fall asleep, can’t stay asleep, night sweats, can’t get enough sleep? Our all natural approaches to sleep can help you make friends with night time, and help you wake up well rested. When we work with our patients on improving the quality and quantity of their sleep, we also give them the following recommendations for healthy sleep habits (our approach is collaborative and educational – we want you to know how to help yourself too!).

a. Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time everyday, even on weekends or during vacations.
b. Set a bed time that is early enough for you to get at least 7 hours of sleep.
c. Establish a relaxing bed time routine.
d. Use your bed only for sleep and s*x.
e. Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.
f. Limit exposure to bright light in the evenings.
g. Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
h. Don’t eat a large meal before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack (I recommend 12nuts, or a hard boiled egg, protein is better to keep you asleep at night).
i. Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.
j. Avoid consuming caffeine in the late afternoon or evening.
k. Avoid consuming alcohol before bedtime.

Reach out if your sleep isn’t where you want it. Sleep is the time in which your body does repair, resets your nervous systems so that you feel resourceful in moving through life.

27/03/2024

Food, Sleep and Water. It's a pretty simple method for nourishing our Inner Glow. And, I know I can be a broken record, but if your time and band width are low for these three basics, give yourself a simple one that just takes a shift in perspective: Loving Kindness to oneself. AKA stop beating the crap out of yourself. You're doing the best you can, it's good enough right now, and if you keep pointing yourself in the direction of health, you're gonna get there.

If you need support with establishing a basic foundation of overall health, let's have a conversation.

26/03/2024

Painful periods, pain during and after s*xual in*******se, heavy bleeding, chronic pelvic pain, painful ovulation, and fatigue are some of the symptoms associated with endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the uterine lining (called the endometrium) is found outside of the uterus, which can cause inflammation that may result in scar tissue. An estimated 1 in 10 women suffer from this condition, and approximately 176 million women world wide are thought to be affected by the disorder.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which includes acupuncture and herbal remedies, can help reduce the pain and inflammation caused by endometriosis. (We don’t require our patients to take herbs, but they can be helpful in reaching our goal together more quickly!) TCM treatment with acupuncture and herbal supplements helps to increase circulation, thereby eliminating blockages, restoring adequate nutrition to tissues, and reducing inflammation. This naturally results in a reduction of pain and overall improvement in the quality of life.

If you suffer from endometriosis, know that you are not alone. Acupuncture and herbal therapy is an available alternative or complement to conventional Western medicine, and can provide the relief for which you are searching. You don’t have to live in pain, or accept that this is your lot in life and you must suffer through because there are no other alternatives.

25/03/2024

The most important thing to know is that bodies are wise– they want to be balanced, efficient and healthy. It requires less energy and resources to function that way. When illness or pain presents, it’s the body’s way of saying “Something is out of whack here and I want you to know about it.”

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help remind the body that it can work efficiently – in harmony and in health. It corrects problem - causing imbalances, and at a certain point the body takes over.

What I let patients know is that it has taken your body time to develop a pattern of imbalance, so it’s going to take a bit of time and commitment to change that pattern. If digestive issues have been going on for nearly 10 years, they aren’t just going to go away after one treatment.

I let my patients know healing is collaboration – the more they work on with me, the faster we will get results. During our time working together, I help my patients develop a personalized toolbox they can use for the rest of their lives.

22/03/2024

When our internal systems are “off”, it often shows up as pain, or discomfort. Constipation, painful periods, perimenopause, headaches, exhaustion, insomnia, irritability, depression, anxiety, weight gain, back pain, neck and shoulder tension - you name it, it’s a signal that a system is off.

And while we will never remove all external stressors in our lives, (I think that's just called LIFE!), we can do things to support our systems so that they function more efficiently and don't add to the daily stress load.

One way to set the tone for regularity in our internal systems is to set a rhythm within our days, weeks, months. Pick a regular bed time, and a regular wake time. Choose to eat meals at regular times, so your body knows how to regulate blood sugar. Choose to exercise regularly during the week, and to take some time for mindfulness each day.

Now, I'm not proposing a boring, overly regimented life, but one where the systems FLOW in an orderly fashion. Within that organization is a freedom, a security in knowing that your systems are keeping you healthy.

And consistent, weekly acupuncture treatments can help in establishing phenomenal health flow for you and your body. This approach is about addressing the symptom while supporting the entire system so that you feel better in every aspect of your being.

20/03/2024

Spring is the season of bursting forth in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM); the energetic movement is literally up and out. Based on millennia of nature observations, TCM principles explain the flow of movement in the body in poetic terms of nature. Each season has a different set of internal organs associated with the energy of that season, as well as an element that best describes the qi, or energy, of the season. In spring, the wood element expresses the upward and outward movements of spring, and the liver and gallbladder are the internal organs that most reflect that movement.

The most important role the liver and gallbladder play in the body is detoxification. These organs — the liver in particular —help clear the body of toxins. By clearing toxins, the liver provides the body with higher - quality blood that can more easily circulate. It also helps the body digest fats by releasing bile, which helps clear fat from the digestive system and absorbs it into the blood stream. This bile is stored in the nearby gallbladder. Additionally, the liver provides a back up energy reserve for the body in the form of glycogen, which is the stored form of glucose. In a nutshell, the liver is busy with three functions: detox, breakdown, and backup.

Common signs that the liver needs detox support include:
● Frequent headaches
● Bloating
● Chronically cold hands and feet
● Irritability, anger, and frustration
● Depression
● Sluggish metabolism
● PMS and other menstrual irregularities
● Frequent sighing
● Stress-related digestive upset
● Chronic stress
● Breast tenderness or rib-side discomfort
● Lump in the throat

If you know that your liver needs support, acupuncture can help you do so in an all-natural, non-pharmaceutical way.

19/03/2024

Spring is the season of the Liver in Chinese Medicine. In addition to being the body’s filter, the Liver has some other functions in Chinese Medicine. In this system, the emotions associated with the Liver are compassion and anger.

Which would you prefer? When you feel compassion -for yourself, for others, for all human suffering, your liver is functioning well at an emotional level. When in doubt, reach for compassion, for yourself first and foremost, because from that, everything else flows. AKA Loving kindness. All day. Every Day. Because love is the most powerful medicine of ALL.

Do you need to cultivate some self compassion? It’s literally a thing acupuncture can help with...along with anxiety, self-aggression, self-doubt, and feeling unsettled and ungrounded. How? Acupuncturists help to support your liver in finding compassion and groundedness. It sounds crazy, but it works. I know because it’s worked for me.

We aren’t just bodies, and we aren’t just minds–it’s a whole big interconnected system. When your body feels better, your emotional life feels better. When your emotions feel more balanced, your body feels better. It’s all connected.

18/03/2024

The Liver is all about the smooth flow of movement - on every level. It is about moving our bodies, moving our minds, shifting things in our lives. So what can we do to help support healthy Liver function?

The first thing is to take a look at movement in our lives - the liver HATES getting stuck. As a matter of fact, FRUSTRATION is a sign that the liver needs some movement. Getting a little more irritable lately? It's time to move your body! Go for a walk, do some stretching, visit a gym, go to a yoga class, join your friends for a jog. Just MOVE IT. Then...AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! A happy Liver. Now, I don't mean go out and run a marathon. The Liver is like Goldilocks-it likes the JUST RIGHT amount of movement. Not too much, not too little. Just the right amount. That's different for everybody. A good litmus test is to check in and listen to how you feel after you exercise. Do you feel refreshed, a burst of energy, and a calmer, more present feeling? Then you've done the right amount.

Do you feel like you could lay down and go to sleep for an hour after a workout? Then you need to back it up, and start slower. Are you more irritable after moving?Slow it down, cut back the time or intensity and find the happy medium of being invigorated but not wiped out after a workout.

If you feel stuck in other ways in your life–stuck in your body, stuck in depression, stuck with a crazy hormonal ride, stuck with persistent irritability, stuck with digestive issues – acupuncture can help you get unstuck and feel better in your body and your life.

Reach out if you have questions about how acupuncture can help YOU feel unstuck.

15/03/2024

We often hear women speak about their painful menstruation as if it were their lot in life. Many of them have mothers/ sisters/ grandmothers who also suffer from painful periods, and they believe that they just have to accept that they will have painful periods, too. They often suffer in silence, believing that this is their cross to bear, and that nothing can be done to change it. Since so many other women they know also suffer painful periods, they’ve come to accept that this is “normal” menstruation, and they just need to grin and bear it. FALSE! Menstruation does NOT have to be painful, heavy, clotty, or otherwise miserable.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help you with the symptoms associated with painful periods caused by fibroids, PCOS, endometriosis, and clots. We take an all natural approach to painful periods, so that your cramps aren’t making all the decisions in your life.

It's honestly so easy for practitioners of Chinese medicine to get rid of painful periods that it is a travesty so many women are still suffering. Get yourself an acupuncturist if you have painful periods!

14/03/2024

This weather is an exercise in patience. It's WARM, it's cold, it's windy, it's sunny, it's gray, it's SNOWING?!?It's a transition season, and that involves alot of back and forth. Which has the potential to bring some irritability with the unpredictability. With that scenario in mind, I want to discuss SYSTEMS in our bodies, and how they flow. Our bodies want regularity-regular sleep, regulated energy, regulated emotional states, regulated blood sugar, regular menstrual cycles, regular bowel movements. When those systems get thrown off, it throws us off.

If your system isn’t functioning regularly, in terms of:
a. Your menstrual cycle (long, short, missing periods)
b. Your bowel movements (constipation, diarrhea, a little of both)
c. Your digestion (nausea, bloating, lack of appetite, specific cravings)
d. Your breathing (asthma, allergies)
e. Your mood (anger, frustration, depression, anxiety, sadness, lack of motivation,
worry)
f. Your urination (too much, can’t hold it, painful, cloudy, burning)
g. Your ovulation (PCOS, Premature Ovarian Failure, painful ovulation)
h. Your nerves (neuropathy, pain, neurological issues)
i. Your mobility (pain, fatigue)

Let’s talk. Getting you regular is one of my favorite things to do. Why? Because when you are regular, you don’t even think about it. Not thinking about your body is a symptom of a healthy system. It just...runs effiiciently. No problems. No complaints.

13/03/2024

In TCM, we say the liver opens into the eyes. That means that eye disorders are usually rooted in liver issues. Nourishing and clearing the liver can help treat dry, watering, and itchy eyes. If you are having any kind of eye problems such as:

a. Dry eye
b. Floaters
c. Itchy eyes
d. Red eyes
e. Blurry vision
f. Bell’s palsy causing a drooping eye
g. High eye pressure
h. Puffy eyes
i. Conjunctivitis
j. Styes
k. Inflammation of the eyes
l. Poor night vision
m. Painful eyes

Acupuncture can help address the symptoms associated with these eye conditions, as well as many other eye conditions.

12/03/2024

Spring is neck and shoulder season – why? Because it’s also the windiest season! The wind outside can cause your neck and shoulder muscles to stiffen up and cause a literal pain in the neck. Stress can put a vice grip on your shoulders and cause headaches, irritability, and affect the whole back side of the body. We can usually get you in fairly quickly for acute neck and shoulder pain, often with pain relief in your first visit.

I’ve seen a bunch of stiff necks in clinic this week, so keep a scarf on when it's windy out to prevent neck pain.

Quick tips for a stiff neck: heat is your friend! Use a heating pad for some instant help or take a hot epson salt bath. And, stop by the clinic to pick up some of the fantastic topical pain relief products on hand. No need to lose a few days to a stiff neck and jammed up shoulders! I’ve got you covered.

Uptown Acupuncture