Welcome to Acupuncture School

At a glance, my journey into the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine could seem like it began on a lark. But the truth of the matter, I believe, is that I have been on this path for a long time without knowing what the path was called.

I owe my exposure to Chinese Medicine to my first teacher, Kathleen Davis, whose class I did take on a whim while I was in school to become a massage therapist. Acupressure seemed like an interesting enough elective and it fit into my timetable. I had no idea that my philosophy of health and my own life story were about to be blown wide open.

Before all that, however, I was already on a path of yearning for autonomy in my own health. As children, my mother rarely took my brothers and me to see the pediatrician or the dentist. Instead we would see the chiropractor or the herbalist, or more often, my grandmother. These women always made it clear to me that the power to be healthy and be healed was our own to wield. So when I was 21, I started to study Western Herbalism with an Herbalist who focused especially on accessible medicine, first aid, wild crafting and medicine making. After that program, the path took me to massage school, where I thought I would graduate, get licensed and find my living as a deep tissue and sports massage therapist. Instead, I discovered the beauty and subtlety of Acupressure and Tui Na. From my wise and whimsical teacher I learned that forcefulness was contrary, working with the body’s innate energy flow was preferred, and that people simply need their energy to be met and it could often unwind itself. I discovered that my hands and fingers had been intuitively finding the points and following the meridian lines my whole life, I just never possessed the language to describe them. Furthermore, beyond the tactile knowledge, I found answers to questions about the larger cycles of nature, within and without myself when I took a 5 Elements Acupressure course. I would say that this system, the ancient system of 5 Elements, is what converted me truly and whole-heartedly into a “Qi person”.

I have now been working as a Certified Massage Therapist, specializing in Acupressure and Tui Na, for 3 years. My clients and my own self study have continued to push the bounds of my knowledge in that time. Yet still, I feel ever hungry for more. I was under the impression for many years that my lack of a bachelors degree (I rejected mainstream education like I rebuffed western healthcare) would forever limit my options as a practitioner. Then, several months ago, I discovered by accident several Acupuncture schools accepting students with community college credit alone. I was elated! The barrier between me and a vast tradition of knowledge had been imaginary all along.

My passion for Traditional Chinese Medicine has grown exponentially since my first encounter with it. The systems of organization outlined for us in the centuries old texts have radically changed the way I consider patterns of health and the way I educate others. I choose this tradition for its respect, its subtlety, its ancient magic, and its accessibility for folks of all walks. I’m exhilarated by the opportunity to study this honorable tradition at the Academy for Chinese Culture and Health Sciences. I envision for myself an education that will serve me for years to come. I look forward to the content of the courses, the practice with respected clinicians, and the doors that I see continuing to open with more and more truth behind them. My hope is to gain a solid foundation of knowledge to both elevate myself in understanding and practice and to gain more tools with which to help my community and empower others toward autonomous health.