The Wellness Blog
Thoughts on Wellness, Acupuncture, Shiatsu, and LifeAn Acupuncturist’s Message for David Letterman
Allow me to add my voice to the millions expressing their gratitude to you, David Letterman, during your final night on television. It’s, admittedly, been a while since I’ve watched you with any regularity. Since having kids 5&1/2 years ago, it’s rare that I’m...
An Acupuncturist Reflects on Identity
It was 1988, my sophomore year at college. I was in a friend's dorm room with about a hundred other people playing cards and enjoying a Friday night. It was loud. Music was playing on a stereo. People were laughing, hollering, throwing things, sitting on top of one...
Living in Gratitude
My Dad recently was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. While the doctors aren’t giving any specifics of “how long”, they also aren’t encouraging of us to make plans past the winter months. As I write those words and contemplate their meaning, it is very easy...
An Acupuncturist Strives to be the Buddha
I had a great idea for a personalized license plate: “DONOHRM”. Get it? “Do No Harm”. It is one of the cardinal virtues and most important tenants of Buddhism. The phrase (to give a brief etymological explanation) comes from the Sanskrit word, “Ahimsa”, which means,...
Acupuncture Can Help with Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Pain
“Life is like a box of chocolates……” –Forrest Gump I said goodbye to one of my patients last week. She came in a couple months ago merely with the hope of healing her painful hip. She certainly didn’t expect to also go on a journey of self-discovery that ultimately...
An Acupuncturist’s Way to De-Stress
Recently, a client came into my office saying that he needed a vacation. Mind you, he had just returned from a very relaxing vacation a few weeks earlier. However, all his rest and recuperation got depleted in a short amount of time after, leaving him just as...
An Acupuncturist’s Plea to Military Personnel with PTSD and TBI
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Disorder (TBI) have been in the news quite a bit during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As our brave men and women serving in the military are exposed to one or repeated explosions, and as they dutifully...
Acupuncture Can Help with Depression
Depression and anxiety can affect anyone. In fact, the National Institute of Mental Health estimated that in 2012, 16 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. had at least one major depressive episode (lasting more than 2 weeks), or 7 percent of all U.S. adults....
Acupuncture Can Treat Migraines and Headaches
Headaches and migraines can be the trickiest of symptoms to treat. There are headaches in the temples, over, behind or between the eyes, on the side of the head, the back of the head, where the head meets the neck, and/or the pain that feels like a helmet over the...
Acupuncture Can Treat Back Pain, Part II
Note: This is Part II of a 2-part blog post. You can read part I here. Back pain is easily the most common pain symptom that I treat. A person may get a stiff neck from “sleeping wrong”, or mid-back pain from poor ergodynamics at the office, or low back pain from...