What is Classical Five-Element Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine?
Treatments Include the Following as Part of Your Ongoing Health Plan
Classical Five-Element Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a modality within Classical Chinese Medicine that has been honed for over 3000 years and continues to prove its efficacy in the myriad of scientific studies performed with it in mind today. So what is Acupuncture and how does it work? Acupuncture is a modality that reminds the body of its innate ability to heal itself. This is done through the proper placement and stimulation of acupuncture points on the body using thin sterilized acupuncture needles. These needles stimulate the body mind and spirit and reawaken those areas that are lacking attention, stagnating and or overused. By activating these points the body is afforded a greater state of harmony and is thus able to return to a state in which its innate healing abilities are dominate
Nutrition and Lifestyle Support
Often without addressing some underlying lifestyle patterns that are contributing to dis-ease, relief after treatments may not last. Through herbs and acupuncture we are supporting the body to experience a state of relative balance and from this state the body will naturally begin to heal and find greater health. But if you then go home and continue to do things in your life that are taking you back out of balance then it goes without saying that you are undermining your own health. With working on lifestyle and dietary changes we are working on relearning what aspects of our lifestyle really are helping us to feel well and which aspects of our routine are actually causing us harm. Sometimes, it takes a little investigation and time to learn how to take care of ourselves well. We will look at the different aspects of one’s lifestyle and create a plan step by step in moving forward towards a life that feels more balanced. This will include looking at nutrition, sleep, exercise, community/enjoyment, meditation, and addictions.
Zero Balancing (Bodywork)
Zero Balancing is a powerful body-mind therapy that uses skilled touch to bring balance to body structure and energy. The practitioner uses finger pressure and gentle traction on areas of tension in the bones, joints and soft tissue to create fulcrums, or points of balance, around which the body can relax and reorganize. By addressing the deepest and densest tissues of the body along with soft tissue and energy fields, Zero Balancing helps to clear chronic tension and blocks in the body’s energy flow. ZB has been shown to reduce stress, amplify vitality and promote better postural alignment.
Classical Chinese Herbalism
The use of Chinese herbs help to harmonize the body, mind and spirit in much the same way as acupuncture but it does it through a different conduit. It does it through the ingesting of herbs which is essentially a type of food medicine. In the treatment of disease with Chinese herbs we are using the energetic qualities of these herbs to help balance the direction of disease back towards a state of health. It is important to note that we do not use herbs as a way to simply get rid of the symptoms. If we were only to treat the symptoms we would be ignoring the extremely helpful information that the symptoms are telling us. Symptoms are simply an alarm system in the person warning them that there is something that needs attention and care.
Trigger Point/Pain Relief Acupuncture
When struggling with pain sometimes we just need relief and acupuncture is a great modality for relieving pain. Through a number of different techniques acupuncture can be used to lessen pain and activate the bodies natural ability to heal injuries. Using acupuncture on new injuries greatly helps the body to resolve the issue most effectively and efficiently. On the other hand sometimes we get stuck and certain patterns of pain become very difficult if not seemingly impossible to resolve. If left untreated these conditions become more and more chronic and the more chronic they become the harder it is to reverse them without intervention (i.e. acupuncture and herbs). That being said, even stubborn chronic pain issues can often be resolved or at least helped by the use of acupuncture and other modalities.
Pediatrics
We offer acupuncture and herbs for children as well! This can be a great way to boost your child’s immune system and help them to be more resilient. Other commonly treated symptoms for children include – injuries, mental emotional challenges, allergies and getting over a stubborn sickness to name a few. With children we use extremely thin needles and the acupuncture style is much more subtle, than for adults, so that it just feels like a quick prick. Often, even children who are frightened by the needles at first, will quickly relax their fear when they experience how gentle it really is. For children who really don’t want needles we offer a style of needless acupuncture called Shonishin where children can enjoy the health benefits of acupuncture without the fear that needles can elicit.
“John is truly incredible, I highly, highly recommend him to everyone... After the first month, I was feeling infinitely better physically and mentally.”
— KARL, JUNIPER TREE ACUPUNCTURE CLIENT
