Waking up and recognizing that I was a people-pleaser started me on the path of learning and practicing Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Early in life I embraced “golden opportunities” and found a lot of success, but I was not fulfilled. While the spectators in my life praised my achievements, I felt fake. People-pleasing was bad for my health. Living in a world of virtual, theoretical, highly educated bullsh!t-artistry, I needed to get healthier by doing something real that actually mattered to me. I recognized the power of this medicine from my first encounter with it. 

 

My course of study in Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, and my continued studies after graduation, radically expanded my understanding of the Body-Mind-Soul connection. Oriental Medicine is not a set of protocols and procedures, it is a view of the cosmos and humanity’s place within it. Ancient Chinese Taoism is the source of Oriental Medicine. From the Taoist perspective, humanity’s role in the universe is to express and gratify our Soul’s desires. Doing this is the supreme path to health and the most genuine and effective way of helping others. It’s just like airline safety protocols: “in the event of an emergency, first put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others.” For maximum health and happiness, we all need to have our own lives. It is all we can control. 

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During my course of study I learned Acupuncture, Cupping, Gua Sha, Electro-Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Nutrition, and Chinese Medical Massage (Tui Na). All of these modalities are merely means to an end. This end is restoring the harmony between Body, Mind, and Soul. Concurrent to my studies in Chinese Medicine, I studied Chi Gong and Tai Chi.

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After completing my studies in Oriental Medicine, I became interested in learning how to use exercise to heal various ailments and resolve pain. The more naturally we move, the better we feel. Natural movement helps to reestablish the Body-Mind-Soul Connection. Little children move naturally, just as they know who they truly are and who they want to be. In addition to Tai Chi and Chi Gong, systems like calisthenics, primal animal movements and Systema helped me to reestablish natural movement. 

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Also after graduation, I delved into the more ancient of form of Oriental Medicine that was not corrupted and watered down by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Exiles from communist China preserve and teach this more ancient, authentic form of the medicine.