Let’s be honest here… acupuncture is a little bit weird. But let us assure you it’s incredibly relaxing! When people ask how it works, there are about ten ways to answer, and none of them are completely right. Acupuncture is still a bit of a mystery, yet it’s been around for thousands of years and we’ve seen it work wonders more times than we can count. We use Chinese Medicine systems of diagnosis- Yin and Yang and Five Element Theory, to address a whole myriad of human health concerns. Our clinical team is all trained in Traditional Chinese Acupuncture and we love pairing it with other traditional medicines including moxibustion, fire cupping, and Chinese Herbal Medicine.

Acupuncture

To a newbie, it’s intimidating, but to a seasoned acupuncture patient, it’s super zen-inducing and the best kind of mid day nap. Seriously! This ancient technique of using hair thin needs might feel a smidge sharp on insertion (barely), but once you’re marinading, you’ll be surprised how good it feels. Acupuncture has this lovely way of pulling your body out of the sympathetic fight or flight nervous system and bullying it into the parasympathetic rest and digest. During acupuncture, your body systems finally have the opportunity to check in with one another and figure out what the heck needs some extra attention and balancing!

Chinese Herbal Medicine

Learning hundreds of herbs by their Chinese Pin Yin name might have been the trickiest part of acupuncture school. You might need Google Translate to read the labels, but Chinese Herbal Medicine is a staple at Balanced Thistle. We’re not talking a tea at the end of the night- we’re talking therapeutic, herbal doses of Chinese Medicines that match with a patient’s imbalances. We use herbal medicine alongside acupuncture and supplements on the daily for cases needing continued, deeper care between acupuncture appointments.

Moxibustion

If you ever wonder why our clinic smells a little like a campfire- this is it. Moxa, also known as mugwort or artemisia, is an herb that has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. We rely on heating acupuncture points with this herb for warming reproductive pathways (babies do love to be warm and snuggly!), flipping breech babies (an ancient and surprisingly effective treatment), improving digestion, reducing unwanted bleeding, and easing inflammation and pain. Don’t worry- there are no burns involved! Just a smell a little like sage and a warm sensation.

Nutrition

Balanced Thistle loves talking food- with patients, and with each other. You can find us on our lunch break talking about what we have at home in the crock pot or asking one another what smells so yummy during our rounds meeting. We have the unique advantage of bridging the gap between traditional Chinese nutrition and ancestral eating, with modern functional nutrition. We also understand the struggles of meal planning, tight grocery budgets, and how sometimes it’s simply impossible to say no to a good burger and fries (Big Al’s is a team fave! when we order delivery!).

Fire Cupping

We’ve never met a person who didn’t looooove fire cupping. USA Olympic swimmers might have made this therapeutic intervention famous, but it’s been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. Oxygen is pulled from the cup using a flame, then the cup is placed on aching tissue to release fascia, ease muscle tension, boost circulation, and move lymphatic stagnation. It feels ah-maaaazing. This is a great option for some of our pain patients, including the never ending “I hold my tension in my neck and shoulder” folks.

Gua Sha

This one’s fun because we use it so many different ways. Sometimes, it’s a little more aggressive on the neck and shoulders if we’re fighting a bug (theory says pulling the pathogen out from the channels), while other times it’s moving lymph or blood for our skin, or even lymph and sinus congestion. Who knew a flat, smooth stone could be used in so many different ways? Another tool of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gua Sha is a Balanced Thistle fave for both our health and beauty patients and clients.