My Journey to Becoming a Practitioner in Traditional Chinese Medicine
I first fell in love with acupuncture when I realized that it could be a remedy for a problem that disrupted my life through college: migraines. Before I discovered acupuncture, I tried everything for migraines. Nothing really worked. Eventually, my battle with migraines started to affect my studies, my time with friends, my quality of life. I was having so many migraines that I couldn’t focus or get my work done. That is when I decided to try acupuncture as a last resort.
It took just a few acupuncture sessions for me to start to notice a difference. Eventually, after following my treatment plan religiously, I went from having migraines more than half the days out of the month to just one or two migraines a month. I also noticed that I was having improvement with other symptoms as well!
It’s about so much more than just the needles…
As I started to see improvement in my own health, I realized that there was so much more to this approach of health and healing than just acupuncture. I started to learn about the Chinese Medicine concepts behind the acupuncture treatments and became intrigued with the idea of Qi (energy) and how our Qi is affected by the seasons, diet, and more. It was my own health journey that eventually led me to enroll in Northwestern Health Sciences University in 2014 in my pursuit of my master’s degree in Chinese Medicine.
Your healing can begin now…
When my patients come in for their first consultation, many are not aware of all of the potential benefits available to them beyond a simple acupuncture treatment. As a practitioner in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) it is my job to listen, determine the scope of the presenting problem, and educate and create a treatment plan for my patients. It is also my privilege to create a healing environment! What I love about being a TCM practitioner is that I have the opportunity to share a number of treatment options including acupuncture, cupping, Chinese herbal therapies, and dietary recommendations, as well as little at-home tips that make a world of difference!
Acupuncture doesn’t have to be a last resort…
Many of my patients think of acupuncture as a last resort to their pain or concern, just like I did when I was suffering from migraines. But it doesn’t have to be that way! I want to encourage my patients to think of acupuncture and TCM as an accessible treatment option that can help jumpstart their journey to a healthier state of being. In fact, the earlier that you begin your treatment plan, before the pain or problem is deeply rooted, the better!
