Our Method

We are dedicated to providing exceptional care with measurable, meaningful results. 

You are a unique individual, and our process starts with a comprehensive intake and the development of a treatment plan designed just for you. Our clinical foundation is rooted in the time-tested tenets of Chinese medicine; we also draw upon almost 20 years of clinical practice and professional evolution. Ultimately, we craft a custom-curated set of tools to help you uncover the health and peace of mind you seek as elegantly and efficiently as possible. 

Our Method

Our Tools 

Acupuncture

Acupuncture originated in China around 2,500 years ago and remains one of the oldest, most commonly used systems of healing in the world.  

Stimulating an acupuncture point is an energetic prompt to the body’s innate healing intelligence. Each session sends a targeted message about how the body could better manage itself. 

For our purposes, Acupuncture:

• Promotes healing, offering a small electrical prompt to the body to restore homeostasis and balance

• Releases blockages, releasing areas of blocked energy to stimulate organ function and promote health

• Improves circulation in the body, thereby improving function where needed

• Decreases pain, interrupting pain signaling and acting as a natural analgesic

• Balances body chemistry, influencing the body’s biochemical responses via the nervous system

• Reduces inflammation, reducing pro-inflammatory markers or proteins

Customized Chinese Herbal Medicine

When prescribed by a skilled and knowledgeable practitioner, herbs are a safe and natural treatment for many common health conditions.

Like the human body Chinese herbal medicine is beautifully complex, and the solution to a health condition is typically not as simple as “take this herb for that symptom.” Herbs are prescribed in the context of formulas, each formula containing 3 to 15 medicinals working together, synergistically.

Formulas are intended to address symptoms while simultaneously correcting the underlying imbalances that led to them. This dual action is unique to herbal medicine, and makes it indispensable in treating much of what we see at The Origin Center. 

We’ll determine your unique pattern at the outset of treatment, and in most cases we’ll create a custom herbal blend just for you. From there the process is dynamic; we’ll likely modify your formula at various points in treatment to support your changing symptoms and evolving health.

We pledge:

Effective Formulations

Our individual formulas contain a combination of 3 to 15 herbs that are uniquely selected for you to support your particular health profile.

Quality Sourcing

The efficacy of an herbal formula depends both on the skill of the practitioner and on the quality of the herbs it contains. We prioritize sourcing the highest quality herbs from reputable companies and growers to maintain purity and ensure efficacy. Our herbs are tested to ensure they’re free from contaminants. The do not contain any endangered species and are not tested on animals.

Customized Prescriptions

We are board-certified in herbal medicine. This means we are qualified not only to recommend pre-made herbal products, but also to prescribe and blend herbal formulations specifically for you. Individually modified herbal formulation are invaluable in the treatment of infertility and many of the complex women’s health and reproductive cases we work with in the clinic.

In-House Dispensary

Our on-site apothecary allows us to mix formulas designed just for you, in real time.

Adaptability

You are always changing and your herbs should too. We adjust your formulas accordingly.

Diet & Nutritional Therapy

Food is medicine.  It quite literally contains the building blocks your body uses every day to sustain, repair, and make more of you, and solid nutrition is a major pillar of any lasting good health. When your cells, glands, and tissues are fully nourished with the nutrients they need, they will naturally function at a high level, and you will feel your best.

In a dietary landscape densely populated with fads, trends, and contradictory information, we stand by this brilliant distillation from food writer and researcher, Michael Pollan:

This is the foundation of our clinical approach; from there, we modify.

The discipline of Chinese medicine includes a nuanced understanding of food energetics, and there is no one-sized-fits-all approach to diet. Your age, the time of year, your health history, and your current health struggles will all influence our dietary recommendations for you. Sometimes this means adding certain foods, sometimes it means removing them; sometimes the change is only temporary, other times it may need to be permanent.

No matter what, you will be expertly guided and supported in making the best food choices for your particular body, in your particular state of health, with your particular health goals, at your particular time of life.

Lifestyle Changes & Stress Relief

When your nervous system is calm, the rest of you is calm. This translates into a more focused mind, a more resilient immune system, less inflammation, better circulation, and optimal nutrient absorption. 

We’ll guide you in the small, targeted lifestyle changes and stress-reduction techniques that are most likely to have a big impact on the condition that brought you in for treatment.

Adjunctive Therapies

The following may be included in your treatments on an as-needed basis, as determined by your treatment plan and practitioner. In some cases we will need to allot extra time to your sessions in order to accommodate additional techniques without rushing.

CUPPING**

Cupping is like reverse-massage.  Suction creates a gentle upward pull on the muscles and fascia, drawing the byproducts of cellular metabolism out where the immune system is better able to eliminate them.  It also promotes local circulation.

MOXIBUSTION

Ai Ye, or mugwort, is an herb used to warm and stimulate acupuncture points. It improves circulation to relieve pain, boosts energy, and its warming action is used to treat some types of infertility as well as menstrual, digestive, respiratory, and urinary issues. It can even be used to encourage breech babies to turn.

GUA SHA**

Gua Sha improves local circulation and breaks up scar tissue or adhesions in the muscles and connective tissue. It is also a great adjunctive technique for treating respiratory conditions and certain types of morning sickness.

MYOFASCIAL MELTING / ACUPRESSURE BODYWORK**

We have almost 20 years in hands-on bodywork experience. Soft tissue manipulation may be employed as part of acute care for musculo-skeletal pain or in the context of a larger treatment plan, as appropriate.

ENERGY WORK / ATTUNEMENT**

Chinese medicine is energy medicine (truly, everything is energy medicine, but that’s another conversation), and yet there are cases when a particular person, issue, situation, or moment in time calls for a different type of energy work than the needles provide. In these cases we employ hands-off energy healing techniques informed by medical qigong, reiki, and attunement. These may be shared in the clinic or at a distance.

Our Method

Our Unique Process

1. Free Initial Consultation

Your free initial consultation is a brief meeting to discuss your primary health concerns and your goals in seeking treatment. It can be conducted over the phone or in-person. We want to make sure the way we work is a good fit for you before we move on to the next step: your full intake, health history, assessment, and treatment plan.

2. Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment Plan

After your free consultation we set up your intake appointment.

1. Your intake appointment is primarily about gathering a comprehensive health history. In most cases, you’ll also receive your first acupuncture treatment.

2. At your first follow-up appointment — typically several days to 1wk later— we present our recommended treatment plan based on our findings from your intake. The plan will provide you with an estimated timeline for care and the specific steps we recommend to get you from where you are to where you say you want to be. It will include some combination of acupuncture visits, dietary and lifestyle adjustments, key supplements, individualized herbal medicines, and mind-body techniques to address the root cause of your specific issue.

3. Active Treatment for Symptom Resolution

During the treatment phase, we’re using regular acupuncture visits, herbal medicine, diet and lifestyle changes, key supplements, etc to build momentum toward your health goals and the lasting, stable change you seek.

Frequency of office visits and duration of this portion of care varies depending on the severity and chronicity of your issue. We may begin with two visits per week for a couple of weeks to gain momentum, but most patients start with (or quickly transition to) once-weekly office visits. From there, we track symptoms to make sure your treatment plan is yielding the expected results in the expected time frame, and modify your plan, accordingly.

4. Stable Improvement and Transitional Care

Once we see stable improvements, we begin to reduce the frequency of office visits. Your personal commitment to your plan of care outside of the clinic (i.e. taking your herbs and supplements regularly and embracing recommended dietary and lifestyle changes) is likely to expedite this transition. We’ll reduce treatments incrementally until you no longer need regular visits.

That said, most of our patients choose to continue with ongoing maintenance care because acupuncture makes them feel so good; many have standing monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly appointments. And of course we’re always here if you need a “tune-up” or want to address other health concerns.

5. Taking Care Of Your Friends and Loved Ones

We pride ourselves on the fact that 80% of our new patients are referred to us by other patients or people in the community who have witnessed their friends and loved ones receive life-changing benefits from our work.

We look forward first to helping YOU, and then to helping your friends, family, and loved ones on THEIR journey to a more joyful, energetic, purposeful life.