Pacific Northwest Acupuncture & Herbal Clinic LLC is a place that focuses on overall health & healing using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
TCM is the ancient art of balancing your body’s innate healing energy (Qi) through the use of acupuncture, herbal therapy, bodywork, breath work, moxibustion, and exercise.
“Qi” or “Chi” has many meanings in the Chinese language, all of which describe the various ways energy flows as the primary force in all living things. It moves throughout the body in channels known as “meridians”. It is the breath of life that motivates all activity and supports all functions of a healthy body.
Read more below to learn about some of the various services we provide.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is one of the tools of TCM used to promote health and well being. Tiny, single use, stainless steel needles are inserted into specific areas of the body to benefit the flow of Qi (energy). Qi flow may be disrupted by injury, illness, poor lifestyle habits, or unbalanced emotion. Acupuncture can address the root of the problem and relieve the associated symptoms, thereby promoting immune enhancement, physical vitality, and emotional and spiritual harmony.
Acupuncture is a therapy developed in China that is over 2000 years old. It involves the stimulation of acupuncture points by heat, pressure, or tiny needles. Stimulation of these points creates a physiological change in the body, which is described classically as “moving qi.” The Chinese term “qi” represents the energy which flows through the body in meridians and channels. Meridians have acupuncture points through which the qi is accessed. Acupuncture enhances qi and assists the body in its innate ability to heal itself.
Again, acupuncture needles are sterile, stainless steel, and single-use. The benefits received from acupuncture, in terms of relaxation, freedom from illness, and pain-relief, by far out weigh any apprehension patients may feel about the use of needles in this therapy.
Herbal Therapy
Chinese Herbology is also based on thousands of years of study. Single herbs are either plant, mineral or animal, and combinations of these herbs come from the Chinese Materia Medica. Herbal combinations are used to gently influence the energies of the body to a harmonious state. Though not typically a quick symptomatic remedy, herbs work to restore a healthy balance at the root of the problem. Herbal therapy can be taken in the form of tea, granules, tea pills, or tincture and may be modified for specific needs. Some herbal therapies can also be applied topically.
Cupping
Cupping uses plastic or glass cups with suction to encourage blood and Qi flow through muscles and meridians. It has a variety of uses from the classic model for pulmonary disharmony and rheumatic pain to a more modern application for traumatic injury such as whiplash from a motor vehicle accident.
Acupuncture and Herbal Treatments can be beneficial for the following:
Insomnia/Sleep disturbances
Sports Injuries
Musculoskeletal issues (sprains and strains)
Headaches/Migraines
Digestive Problems/IBS, fast/slow digestion
Auto immune disorders
Women’s Health Issues- Fertility, P.M.S. Painful Menstruation, Menopausal symptoms
Mental/emotional imbalances-Depression, Anxiety, and Mood Swings
Stress
Smoking cessation
Weight loss