What's with the Name?

I love mountain goats. They never fail to delight and inspire me. (According to my astrology friends, apparently that makes sense given that I'm a Capricorn.)

These animals are a powerful symbol of strength, resilience, and the ability to navigate difficult terrain. As a creature that is well-adapted to living in high-altitude environments, the mountain goat is also associated with ambition, determination, and a willingness to climb to new heights.

These qualities are what drew me to the name "Mountain Goat Acupuncture" for my clinic. I believe that just like the mountain goat, we too can overcome seemingly impossible obstacles and challenges in our lives with persistence and determination. The mountain goat's resilience and adaptability are qualities that are essential to overcoming challenges of all kinds, including complicated health issues.

I understand the need for perseverance and determination in the face of adversity. As someone who lives with chronic migraines, I know first hand how it feels to be blindsided and taken “out of the game” suddenly and without warning. For a Capricorn like me, it’s a double-whammy because not only am I experiencing excruciating pain, it prevents me from climbing the next mountain!

For those of us who experience chronic pain and illness, I know how deliberate and careful we must be as we work together to help you heal. Some days when you're feeling fairly resourced, treatment will focus on building up stability that can hold forward progress. In the midst of a flare up, however, treatment will be gentle and considerate of the biology of pain and the state of your nervous system.

I use the Asian medicine lens for added dimension and clarity to sharpen my Western understanding of the human body. There's deep intelligence held within the Asian medicine concepts that enables practitioners of this medicine to work in versatile ways to address a wide range of health issues without losing sight of the whole you.

A core tenet ingrained in us during our medical training is that every single person has an entire lifetime of experiences and a multitude of factors that have converged to create this moment of health. We're trained to hold this truth as the centerpiece in all that we do with our patients, and we're given powerful and clarifying ways in which to understand what's gone wrong and how to set it right.

Being grounded in this way while navigating the tricky terrain of health, the body-mind connection, and the realities of life requires a personalized approach. People need time and attention to heal, and they need interventions that are safe, nourishing and consider the big picture of what it means to be a whole person in a wondrously complicated human body.  This is why Asian medicine has stood the test of time and continues to shine.

Western science has made unprecedented advancements in recent years in unraveling the intricate links between the mind and the body.  Advances in medical tools and technologies have provided objective data and new opportunities to explore how psychological factors (thoughts, emotions and beliefs) affect our physiology, and the intricate connections between the mind, the nervous system and the immune system.

Asian medicine has long recognized the inseparability of the mind and body.  Studying Asian medicine has deepened my respect for the ancient scholars who laid the groundwork for this holistic approach. Even in the absence of precise measurement tools, these scholars were systematic, thorough, and analytical in their understanding and application of medicinal practices. 

In a sense, their approach was akin to a basic form of peer review, where effective treatments were carried forward through the ages while less successful ones fell by the wayside. To my mind, they were scientists who predated the formal establishment of scientific inquiry, paving the way for the enduring wisdom of this medicine.

Given my blended background and appreciation for both systems of medicine, I have prioritized continuous learning in both domains.  I tend to attract patients who want to deliberately work with the mind-body connection while addressing their physical symptoms.  If you sense that we might be a good fit, or are curious about Asian medicine and how I bring this medicine, I invite you to book your appointment today.