Amy Vlacich Acupuncture

04/22/2026

🌎 On this Earth Day 2026, how about we talk about Nature and the life cycles of the Earth and our bodies? After all, living seasonally is living sustainably. ♻️

Springtime, for me, is a powerful reminder that we are part of Nature’s rhythm—not separate from it. While New Year's Day often pushes us into resolutions and rigid detoxes in the heart of Winter, many traditional systems of healing recognize that true cleansing begins now, when the Earth itself starts to awaken from her deep rest. 🌷

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring is the season of renewal, growth, and gentle detoxification. Just as plants begin to sprout and push through the soil, our bodies are naturally primed to release what’s been stagnant through the colder months. ❄️

Think of this like tending a garden: if the soil is overcrowded with weeds or lacking proper nutrients, it’s hard for anything healthy to thrive and grow, let alone provide nourishment. The same goes for our bodies. 👨‍🌾

Internally, "spring cleaning" is all about clearing out Dampness and Phlegm, which can show up as mucus, congestion, fatigue, bloating, and seasonal allergies. And so much of this dysfunction begins in the gut. When we support our digestion and metabolism, while eliminating inflammatory, mucus-forming foods, we create a ripple effect. Less internal congestion = fewer allergy symptoms. Simple, but powerful. 💚

So how can we work with the Spring season instead of against it? Start by incorporating herbs and foods that support the Liver, digestion, and natural detox pathways:

🌱 Nettles
🌱 Dandelion
🌱 Burdock
🌱 Licorice
🌱 Artichoke
🌱 Celery
🌱 Ginger
🌱 Turmeric 
🌱 Rosemary
🌱 Oregano
🌱 Basil
🌱 Parsley 
🌱 Cilantro 
🌱 Green Tea

Leafy herbs are best enjoyed fresh (chopped into meals or blended into dressings), while roots can be simmered or steeped a bit longer (10-15 minutes in boiled water) to draw out all their vitamins and minerals. Remember, this isn’t about restriction but alignment. Supporting your body as you would prepare a spring garden bed is supporting new life. 💫

03/20/2026

Truly the island of enchantment... 🐸 🌺 🐓

Already missing all the vibrant colors, the warm misty air, the songs of tree frogs and roosters at all hours, the heavy afternoon rains thumping on rooftops, the late night salseros, early morning coffee on the balcony, blaring car horns and reggaeton in the alley below, lazy days playing chess under palm trees, and swimming in the most vibrant reef I've ever seen, schools of fish swirling around me.

Shout out to my chessmate, tour guide, and semi-pro photographer on this weeklong winter escape! He also happens to craft the best ceviche and piña coladas in San Juan, in case you were wondering. 🍍🍹👌

03/06/2026

Out of the office and unplugged until Monday, March 16th. 🌴💃 🇵🇷

02/24/2026

📍 ACU POINT SPOTLIGHT 📍

Meet Urinary Bladder 10 AKA the "Celestial Pillar," nestled at the back of the neck just below the base of the skull, about one thumb-width to either side of the spine along the paraspinal muscles. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, UB 10 is called a "Window of the Sky" or “Window of Heaven” point, meaning it helps regulate the flow between the mind (or heavens) and the body — between thought and action, spirit and breath. It can balance the energy above and below, restoring a sense of equilibrium. Physically, it is used to relieve neck tension, headaches, dizziness, or nervous system overload, especially when stress collects at the base of the skull.

Emotionally, Celestial Pillar or UB 10 is associated with calming the spirit (Shen) and restoring inner strength. When fear, self-doubt, or overstimulation start to creep in, this point supports clarity and courage. It can help us to literally “lift our heads" and live in greater alignment, connecting us to the quiet confidence and wisdom that comes from within rather than external validation.

To work with this point, gently press or massage your upper paraspinal muscles at the base of your skull while breathing slowly and deeply. Allow your jaw, tongue, and shoulders to soften. As your muscles release, imagine a subtle current of energy or light rising to the crown of the head and between the eyebrows, clearing the mind of any clouded, scattered thoughts or mental heaviness. At the same time, visualize another current of energy, more fluid, like a stream of warm, soothing water washing over the spine, flowing all the way down to the tailbone, releasing any tension or blockages in its path.

Notice the lightness you feel in your upper body and the grounded, centered feeling in your lower body. This is the power of working with a Window of Heaven or Spiritual pivot point. It is the dam, the gate that controls the flow of energy above or below whenever there is an imbalance. Repeat this exercise as needed for a mind, body, spirit reset or whenever you're feeling overwhelmed or in need of realignment.

☁️🪟☁️

02/08/2026

Amy's homemade elderberry syrup:

1 pound dried elderberries 🍇
10-12 cinnamon sticks
2" fresh ginger, minced 🫚
1 cup dried star anise
1/2 cup fennel seeds 🌱
12 cups water 💧

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Simmer on low boil for at least 30-45 minutes. Allow to cool, then strain all ingredients through a cheesecloth before returning to the pot. Discard the cooked herbs and berries.

🍯 Sweeten the decoction to a desired thickness. You may need to warm up the brew just a little to dissolve the honey. Most elderberry syrups require at least 2 cups of honey per pound of dried elderberries. I used about 3 cups of raw local honey in my recipe. This also helps to act as a preservative for the elderberry syrup.

Once bottled, I tend to door store my elderberry syrup in the fridge, so that it lasts longer (up to a year refrigerated). I always shake the bottle before each use to get all the good stuff that has sunk to the bottom. 🍶

My daily dosage? For adults, I generally recommend:

1 teaspoon per day for cold & flu prevention
1 tablespoon (up to 3) per day when sick 🤧

Not only does elderberry syrup act as an antiviral 🦠 it boosts the immune system and helps to shorten the length of colds and flus. It also helps to clear the upper respiratory tract, making it a great wellness supplement for the sinuses. 👃

01/27/2026

If 2025, the year of the Yin Wood Snake 🐍 was a quieter, slower, and more introspective year of shadow work, inner alchemy, and metamorphosis, then 2026, Year of the Fire Horse will usher in the energy needed to charge forward toward our destiny in this new form, albeit mindfully at a steady pace. Only after shedding the extra layers and baggage of who we once were can we become who we truly need to be. Hopefully, you have spent this time healing and releasing old patterns, thoughts, behaviors, or even people who might be stifling your spiritual growth. This is essential work in order to move forward with the grace, speed, and strength of the Horse. 🐎

That said, during a Fire year, sprinting right out the gate in wintertime is ill advised. Conserving your energy while steadily moving forward is the best way to avoid burnout and adrenal fatigue. For now, we remain in the depths of wintertime when most creatures in the Northern climates are still hibernating and storing their energy. Savor this period of deep rest to better prepare yourself for the fast-paced energy of the Fire Horse year, which begins with the rising of the New Moon on Sunday, February 17th. 🌑

The Fire element, much like the Sun, is most abundant in the summertime when the days are long and the climate is warm. This is the ideal time of year to be active, social, and adventurous. For this reason, Summer 🌞 is a common time for vacations and festivals where people gather and celebrate with one another. The emotion of the Fire element is joy and laughter, but too much Fire can trigger anxiety, insomnia, hot flashes, or heart palpitations. If you're prone to this kind of overheating or overstimulation, the Water element can bring you back into balance throughout the year. Cooling, calming, hydrating foods and teas are an excellent way to quench the fire and replenish your adrenals--your body's deepest reserves of energy--so that you have the stamina to continue on.

🔥 Fire is also the element of transformation. It has the potential to alter the chemistry of all the other elements. This can either bring nourishment and sustenance or destruction if the fire runs wild and is not tended to properly, potentially burning anything it touches to the ground. In general, Yang years tend to be more volatile and unpredictable, much like fire, so it is important to tend to yours with intention and care. Fire is a powerful force to wield.

Combine all this with the energy of the Horse, strong and agile, but also highly social, intelligent, playful, and curious--a combination that could very well inspire a year of rapid progress, innovation, opportunity, and expansion on a global level, especially in the fields of AI, technology, and renewable energy. Given the creativity of the Fire element, it could also be a time of artistic renaissance, bold self-expression and protest, or even cultural revolution as we saw in the last Fire Horse year, which occurred in 1966. This was a time of major social and political change, non-violent civil disobedience, grassroots activism, and evolving technology like the world had never seen before. 🌎

1966 was the height of the Civil Rights movement here in the United States. It was the year that the Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland, CA, Martin Luther King led the Chicago Freedom Movement, and the term "Black Power" was coined at the March Against Fear in Mississippi. Anti-Vietnam War protests were escalating and the National Organization of Women (NOW) was founded, inspired by Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, the signature work of second-wave feminism. ♀️

On a global level, Guyana, Botswana, and Lesotho all gained independence from Great Britain. And in China, it was the start of the Cultural Revolution, a decade-long period of political and social chaos with millions of casualties, led by future Chairman Mao. In the realm of technology, 1966 was the year that the automated teller machine (ATM) was released, fiber optic communication was proposed, and the first-ever "Brown Box" home video games were released for television sets. 📺

If history has a way of repeating itself, 2026 will undoubtedly be a year to remember. Tend to your fire, reignite your own creativity, passion, and joy--the forces that will sustain the flame and keep you inspired, charging forward--even as the future is uncertain and unsettling. Reconnect with your communities, support one another, and remember that there is power in the herd.

🐎🐎🐎

01/02/2026

Starting the New Year where I feel most alive — deep in the forest, crunchy snow beneath my boots, a thermos of hot chai in my pack, sunshine glistening through the icy branches. ❄️

Full disclosure... I almost didn't go.

After waking up in the dark and eyeing the forecast, no part of me wanted to hike in below freezing temps with 40+ mph wind gusts. Solo. 🥶 I debated whether or not I should cancel altogether. I ran through all the reasons why staying in my warm bed and sleeping in was a much wiser plan.

But despite all logic and reason, I said yes anyway — to the adventure, to my future self, to the ice queen baddie buried under all those fuzzy blankets, ready to rise and remember her own strength. 💪

This is how I’m stepping into the new year: exploring freely and fearlessly, not waiting on anyone else to make the plan, book the trip, or take the leap. Just listening to that inner nudge and honoring it. 🌬️

Here’s to saying YES to ourselves in 2026, even (and especially) when it’s uncomfortable.

12/19/2025

"Tend to your own heart
As to a fire in winter
And all will be warmed."

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

As we move into the darkness and stillness of the Winter Solstice and New Moon, I am filled with gratitude for my time here at Aryaloka Buddhist Retreat Center. Grateful for the ancient, grounding practices of yoga and meditation, the healing force of community, and this sacred container of spiritual growth and connection.

After fully unplugging for a few days and nights, turning off all devices and screens, letting go of everyday habits and routines, it did eventually get quiet. But it always amazes me how loud the mind gets when you first begin to sit in silence. No music, no instruction, no distractions, just you there with yourself, with your ego mind.

It is so deliciously tempting to chase every idea that pops into your head, every lucid daydream or intrusive thought, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a busy mind as well. But the longer I practice meditating, the less my mind requires constant stimulation, constant problem solving, constant rumination or anticipation. It is a true dopamine reset for the brain and I highly recommend it to anyone suffering from anxiety, depression, ADHD, or other stubborn mental health problems.

I am feeling so nourished in mind, body, and spirit, remembering that I already have everything I need. I can trust my own intuition and offer myself the love and care that I give to others every day. Metta, or loving-kindness, is a cornerstone of the Triratna tradition, but it is also our true nature and the internal compass that guides us when we are open, receptive, and present. It is a powerful force of personal and collective healing.

Since this retreat, my heart has been overflowing with compassion, and I've been tapping into the deep well of energy within me, which we all have access to as part of this sacred web of humanity. On these darkest days of the year, I invite you to rekindle your own inner light, and know that it will illuminate the path for those around you.

🕯️🕯️

12/05/2025

10/21/2025

✨ ACUPOINT SPOTLIGHT ✨

Lung 3: Tian Fu (Heavenly Palace)

One of my favorites, Tian Fu is a major anchoring point for the Po, or the "corporeal soul," which helps to deepen our connection to the physical body and keep us grounded and present, even in times of deep sorrow and dissociation. 📍

This point sits about two hand-widths above the elbow on the outer edge of the arm. When gently pressed or tapped, it expands the breath and opens the airways 🫁 releasing any physical tension in the chest and deepening the breath to allow a greater sense of calm.

Emotionally and mentally, Lung 3 is famous for soothing grief and loss, helping us to "let go." In the fall, it can lighten the heaviness of seasonal depression and ease any feelings of suffocation or confusion. Stimulating this point on a regular basis may help to bring clarity, quiet racing thoughts, and create the space needed for more peace and presence in your daily life. 🕊️

On a spiritual level, Lung 3 is sometimes called the “uplifting gift of self-worth” as it restores trust in oneself, deepens connection to higher purpose, and rekindles one's sense of meaning or faith. In moments of darkness, Tian Fu brings light, expansion, and clarity. Use it whenever you’re feeling lost, hopeless, confused, or simply needing reassurance. 🙏

10/03/2025

My daily morning gratitude practice. 🙏

Inhaling the sweet, earthy aroma of freshly ground and brewed coffee, steaming and dripping into my cup, as my dog snores peacefully in the sunbeams on my bed. 💤

It's the quiet, simple moments like these that I cherish, which unwind my nervous system and remind me that I already have everything I need. ☕

In the chaos of this world, and in the frenzied pace of our modern lives, it's easy to fast-forward through these neutral moments as we rush to catch up on news, socials, emails, and to-dos.

What if we instead slowed down ⏳ and gave thanks for the simple things that are often overlooked or taken for granted?

This was my intention for 2025 and it has truly transformed my mornings. Making time for daily meditation and gratitude practice has boosted my energy, focus, patience, and joy. 🌻

So rather than hyper-focusing on the past, the future, what has already happened or what needs to get done, take a moment to yourself. Get still.

Engage all of your senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell), take a snapshot of this quiet moment, and remember that you are safe, nourished, and loved. 🫶

09/22/2025

Surrendering to the seasonal flow of the Autumnal Equinox... 🧡💛

🍂 Moving from the expansive, outward energy of Spring and Summer into the contraction and consolidation of Fall.
🍂 Slowing down and turning inward.
🍂 Processing grief and loss through journaling or meditation.
🍂 Letting go of old patterns, habits, or connections that deplete our energy.
🍂 Cultivating a daily breath work practice to strengthen the lungs and boost the immune system.
🍂 Shifting from high-intensity exercise to mindful, gentle movement such as Tai Chi, Qi Gong, or Yin Yoga.
🍂 Savoring the abundance of harvest season by supporting local farms.
🍂 Creating an altar or sacred space for meditation and prayer.

Herbal allies for the Fall Season: 🧄🫚

Warming 🔥 spicy flavors (Yang tonics) to improve overall circulation and break up mucus in the upper or lower respiratory tract (for phlegm and fluid accumulation):

Ginger, garlic, mustard, horseradish, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, fennel, nutmeg, star anise, and fire cider. 

Moistening 💧 cooling herbs and foods (Yin tonics) to soothe and heal the mucus membranes of the respiratory and digestive tract (for dry cough, sore throat, or constipation):

Loquat, licorice root, marshmallow root, slippery elm, wild cherry, mulberry, elderberry syrup, bone broth, h**p, flax, and chia seed. 

What are your favorite fall rituals and recipes? 🫖🥧
🍁 🍁