i love my acupuncturist

Help End World Hunger + Free Acupuncture

Join the Community Acupuncture Project of Columbia City and community acupuncture clinics across the greater Seattle area in honoring World Food Day on October 16th. Our clinic is gathering food for the Rainier Valley Food Bank now through October 16th.

Food - like health care - is one of the most basic human needs. That’s why the Community Acupuncture clinics of Greater Seattle have banded together to raise awareness for World Food Day. Did you know that 1 in 6 people on the planet suffer from hunger and malnutrition? That's 1.02 billion people, an increase of 105 million people from 2008.

To address the food crisis in our country and to thank all of you who donate food, we are offering free acupuncture treatments all day on World Food Day - Friday, October 16th. To make an appointment, visit www.acupunctureforall.org or call 206-760-6064
You can drop off food at our clinic at any time on or before 10/16 at 3811 S. Ferdinand @ Rainier

Ear Acupuncture

I work at a methadone clinic, providing predominantly ear acupuncture to 30-70 patients a day. Patients are part of an interdisciplinary program of counseling, medical care, and methadone to support their process in ending their addiction to heroin. The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (http://acudetox.com/) has been providing group acupuncture to chemically dependent patients for years and is used in hospitals, clinics and drug treatment facilities around the world. In many ways, community acupuncture models come out of NADA’s work.

Our ears have over 300 acupuncture points in each ear! Our ears are the only part of our body containing all 3 types of tissue that is present when we are a fetus. A group called Acupuncturists Without Borders went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and offered acupuncture to rescue aid workers, residents, community organizers and people experiencing the daily trauma of living amidst the destruction, racism, loss and rebuilding of their city. They did all ear points and were known to provide intense healing and recovery.

Many of my patients in community acupuncture receive ear needles – for anxiety, support in quitting smoking, to reduce the cravings for prescription drug addiction, and overall mental and physical health. Every part of the body is represented in our ears – ailments from jaw pain, toothaches and shoulder injuries to painful periods and allergies can be addressed by ear points. Powerful tools these healing ears of ours!

The power of group healing

This week I gave acupuncture to a group of social workers serving low income communities. They were having a work retreat and looking for a few moments of relaxation and respite amidst a full schedule and a career of challenging and draining days. The group of colleagues sat together around an office table. After explaining some of how acupuncture works, I started placing needles in each persons ears. There are great points for stress, detoxification, anxiety and overall healing in our ears. At first the coworkers continued chatting and making small talk with one another. As I proceeded around the circle, putting ear needles in each person, the conversations lulled and a calm silence enwrapped the room. I went around again, adding body points specific to each persons concerns and then sat down with the group. It was powerful to feel the shift in the room. Folks clearly entered a different space – the realm between asleep and awake. A space internal and deep, different for each individual, yet magnified and enhanced by the group setting and communal experience. How quickly this happens. After about 30 minutes of peaceful silence, I removed the needles. Again, there was an energy shift. People appeared lighter, more relaxed - yet engaged, and full of questions about how acupuncture works and where to get it.