Moon Hill Acupuncture

Happy New Year, Everyone! May this Year of the Yang Wood Dragon bring you luck and happiness!

Happy New Year everyone! We're back to normal schedules now that Winter break is over and the kids are back at school. Come on in and give yourself a good nervous system reset post holiday season....and set yourself up for a great 2024!

Winter's deepest point occurs this Friday on the shortest day of light, and longest night of darkness, all year. Embrace it. Restore. Rest and nurture. Recognize the nature within you and how fulfilled you are when you follow the rhythms of the Seasons.

Stop.
Schedule yourself some acupuncture to help soothe those frayed edges. And breathe.

Come on in for an acupuncture reset before school gets out for Winter break! Settle your nervous system before routines change and overwhelm takes over.

Plus, use those health savings funds before the end of the year!

Let's enjoy the holidays with a greater sense of ease.

Check the online calendar for open appointment times on the highlighted dates above.

Warm breakfast inspiration:
- Oatmeal with
- minced candied ginger for warming on this fairly cold day
- goji berries to nourish blood & soothe stress
- coconut flakes to moisten dryness
- a little bit of flaxseed oil to support gallbladder/liver health

Warm breakfasts are ESSENTIAL, especially in the colder months! It doesn't have to take forever to make either. I literally poured hot water on this oatmeal, tossed in my additions and was done. Less than 5 minutes, and warm and healthy.

What was your warm breakfast today?

Our bodies are ALWAYS communicating. We have these amazing senses and physical experiences that alert us to when something is off. Headaches, stomach aches, pain, heart burn, numbness, sniffles....basically all the things you notice and brush off or try to suppress or quickly get rid of. Those sensations are present to alert you to change something.

Knowing what exactly you need to change can be difficult to figure out without help though. That's where I come in.

Eastern medicine has a way of conceptualizing what needs to change in the body by relying on your description of what you FEEL.

Your experience of your body is informative in this medicine and can point us in the right direction to help you feel better and achieve a better quality of life.

If you have something you've been ignoring or using "bandaids" to manage, here is your invitation to try acupuncture. I'm happy to listen to your experience, and do my best to interpret what your body has been trying to communicate. Together, we can find a path toward a comfortable, more healthy daily life.

Seen on my bulletin board in Chicago. Thanks for the great reminder.

Online calendar for Chicago & Arlington Heights linked on website. link in bio

Eastern medicine sees the entire body and the mind as a whole. And in recognizing the interconnected nature of every single physiological action, Eastern medicine can treat physical and emotional symptoms, which may seem unrelated to a western medical doctor, simultaneously.

I see a broad spectrum of conditions in my practice. I love the variety this brings to my work, but also, I'm grateful for the opportunity to educate my patients on how their different symptoms or conditions may actually all be stemming from the same physiological or emotional imbalance.

I love working WITH my patients to unravel sometimes long-held unhealthy patterns and start to smooth out their physiological and emotional experiences. Symptoms lessen and become more healthily managed when we tackle them with the entire system in mind.

My goal with each person that comes into my office is to improve their overall quality of life. In order to do that we use acupuncture treatments and herbal remedies, supplements, dietary changes and lifestyle shifts.

This is a whole body/mind/LIFE medicine! And it's awesome.

Come see me now in Arlington Heights on Wednesdays!!

Chicago hours are the same.

I am Ashlie Martin. I am an acupuncturist, but I'm so much more than an acupuncturist.
Acupuncture is often seen as a tool to fix pain or sleep or fertility or digestion. And it is! But it is only ONE tool in a full ancient healing system that impacts all facets of life to promote healing!
I am an East Asian Medical Practitioner. Here's what you will receive during treatment sessions with me:
☯️ Acupuncture that treats the whole body, including any immediate symptoms like pain, but also the root cause of that pain. (Aka..NOT dry needling)
☯️ A discussion about what foods you gravitate toward and ways to amend your eating patterns to improve nutrient absorption & energy
☯️ Traditional herbal formula pills or tinctures to continue to treat your symptoms and root cause when you aren't on my table.
☯️ Inquiries into your emotional world and what may be troubling you, guided meditation suggestions or nutrient recommendations to help you feel emotionally more balanced.
☯️ Reminders about our body's seasonal needs that reflect the earth's seasonal positions, and how to flow more smoothly with the ever-changing environment.
☯️ Tui na or cupping to alleviate muscle tension, pain, and the physical holding of stress.
☯️ Strategic use of moxibustion when your body requires it.
And so much more!
Not every session will touch on everything listed here, but when these things are essential to the sustainable healing you require, they definitely will be!
If you're a patient of mine, thank you so much for signing on to this full spectrum of healthcare!
Please comment or share & tag me in your stories and mention which of these tools you are most grateful for in your treatments (or anything I forgot)!
☯️💗☯️

Today, one of my patients came in for a treatment to help get the process of labor started with as little intervention as possible.

Tonight I got a text saying things are definitely moving in the right direction and she is hopeful she'll be able to avoid even the slightest interventions tomorrow.

So I light this flame as a prayer for her and the inner journey she is entering this evening. My hope is for all things to flow smoothly and in the right time.

Happy mother's day weekend to this powerful woman!

And to all the mother's who have journeyed into the depths of themselves to usher new life through their bodies to the external world, may the power you witnessed in yourself bathe you as you are honored by those who love you most.

You deserve it!

"Clinical trials have found that acupuncture can help patients with head pain transition away from medications; other trials found that acupuncture led to “persisting, clinically relevant benefits” for patients with migraine."

I see so many patients with regular headaches and migraines who respond extremely well to weekly acupuncture treatments until the pattern of headaches subsides. If you struggle with migraines and have yet to try acupuncture, here's your nudge. It might just change your quality of life in ways you never thought possible.

https://anh-usa.org/natural-solutions-for-headaches-and-migraines/

The Yin Water Rabbit is Here! ☯💦🐇 Prepare to care for yourself this year!

The Rabbit energy of 2023 is gentle and creative, while the Yin Water energy encourages us to slow down and go with the flow. We may find ourselves nurturing our creative side with an open mind. But we may also find ourselves feeling stuck in the passive yin energy of this year. In particular, our lymph systems may need a little help clearing fluids this year, as any stagnation, energetic or physical, may disrupt its job of removing toxins and managing the water metabolism throughout the body.

Planning healthy activities will help us stay the course this year, even when we may lack the motivation. Keep yourself on track with an acupuncture treatment package!

🧧🧧Until February 4th, acupuncture packages of 4 treatments are 10% off!🧧🧧

Here are some ways to utilize a package of 4 acupuncture treatments:
☯Regulate a menstrual cycle or improve chances of conception
☯Relieve uncomfortable pregnancy related issues
☯Prepare for a smooth labor and delivery at the end of pregnancy
☯Prevent severe allergy symptoms prior to pollen season
☯Balance the body at the onset of each seasonal change to ensure a smooth internal transition to the changes in environment
☯Reduce chronic pain
☯Improve digestive health
☯Increase quality sleep
and so much more

Give yourself the structure you need to keep on track this year.
Book your Acupuncture 4-Pack Today! (link in bio)

There's a full moon full lunar eclipse in the early morning hours tonight! 🌕 (4:59 central)

Our bodies are magnetically affected by the moon....the pull of the moon that changes tides also changes us. One example is how menstrual cycles, when in a healthy rhythm, can align with the timing of ovulation or me**es matching the full or new moon phase. Or another example of how historically, women have been known to give birth near a full moon.

We are always changing, like the moon, never in one phase for too long, whether we like it or not.

Transition from one phase to the next, like pregnancy, through labor and delivery, to motherhood, sometimes doesn't feel like as smooth of a transition as we had hoped and planned for. Sometimes it feels like you go thru an eclipse first before the moon, the mother, emerges on the other side. But the moon continues despite the shadows. It continues to change and evolve and transition. And we do too. Whatever you feel you are working through during tonight's full moon eclipse, know that it is only temporary, and in time you will be a renewed version of yourself again.

May the moon inspire you and hold you in her pull.

Learning lunch time!

I love this book by Debra Betts! I reread it all the time and always notice more I can internalize and use with my patients.

Coming in for acupuncture during pregnancy can make your experience of gestation sooo much more comfortable. Acupuncture helps with nausea/vomiting, hip and joint pain, headaches, fatigue....nearly anything that's bothering you, acupuncture can help balance out.

Pre-birth acupuncture during those last 4-6 weeks can be a great way to prepare your body for the grand task of labor and delivery, helping soften and relax the pelvis, settle any fears or worries, and make sure you feel supported at the onset.

Postpartum treatments at about 7 days post birth, and weekly for a month, help the body transition again into a new role, heal and regulate, support breastfeeding, and manage the emotional toll.

If you are interested in supporting your pregnancy and early mothering experience, at any stage, please check out more info on my website, or call to chat!

This month's moon beginning to rebuild after its renewal...

Today I visited a mom for a postpartum visit and was able to support her in her renewal as a mother of 2 now.

Repairing, growing your strength, supporting healing and becoming your new self after birth is like the light of the first sliver of what your motherhood will look like in its fullness.

Postpartum can be a building time to set a good foundation for mental and physical health moving forward. Find people to support you in that goal!

Acupuncture, placenta encapsulation, lactation consultants, postpartum doulas, chiropractic, family and friends, therapy....whatever you feel will help your body & mind rebuild in the best way, do it. Begin to become your new self with empowerment!

I hope everyone had a fulfilling Mother's Day over the weekend!

Here at Moon Hill Acupuncture, we support all types of Mothers:
⚘those who have adopted
⚘those who have lost a child
⚘those who required assisted reproductive treatments
⚘those who were surprised by their pregnancy
⚘those who planned a conception
⚘those who are struggling with stress, anxiety, or depression
⚘those who breastfeed
⚘those who bottle feed
⚘those who have birthed at home
⚘those who have delivered by cesarean.
⚘those who have sent their babies off to college...the list is endless.

Acupuncture and Eastern Medicine can help you balance the ups and downs of all the things motherhood brings with it. It helps heal wounds, balance hormones, relax the nervous system, calm the mind, connect you to yourself.

Time to nurture yourself, Mommas. The better you feel, the better you are able to mother those who need you.

Happy Earth Day!

The Earth is the perfect example of how yin and yang are always transforming into one another. When it is Day on one side, it is Night on the other. When it is Winter on one side, it is Summer on the other. Two extremes always simultaneously exist and are gradually moving into the other extreme.

Our bodies respond to these Weather/Season/Day/Night patterns on the Earth because we ARE part of the Earth! When we synchronize our foods and our lifestyles to the natural rhythms where we live, we function more harmoniously in our bodies and our minds.

If you have been feeling out of harmony with the current season/weather where you live, acupuncture is a great way to rebalance and tap back into the present energy around you. (Currently a rainy, chilly, Spring in Chicago.)

We all benefit when we harmonize with the Earth.

Do you ever feel like things are out of balance?

Finding Balance Yin and Yang Traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM) looks at all of life as a balance between yin & yang. Yin is feminine energy; yang is masculine energy. Yin is cold and dark; Yang is warm...

Need to get some much needed rejuvenation? Acupuncture!

Today is .
Scroll through the pictures.....how do you feel as you see each one? Which ones make you tense? Which ones make you soften?

Often what we think of as health or healthcare, is actually more damaging than healing.

The idea most of us struggle with, is recognizing that health cannot be GIVEN to us from an outside source. We have to nurture it. Health comes from within and requires consistency. It's more than the newest fad diet or exercise program. It's more than that spring juice cleanse and taking less ibuprofen than usual.

Health is feeling calm, nourished, energized, connected to yourself and those you love. Health is something only YOU can decide to create for yourself. What is it that makes you calm and cools your nervous system? What is it that nourishes you with that deep warmth in your abdomen that fuels your energy?

Be mindful and pay attention to how your body feels the next time you do something that is commonly considered healthy. Do you feel exhausted afterward? overwhelmed? burnt out? If so, that's not health FOR YOU.

Find your balance. It will be unique to you.

I'd love to hear what you choose to do to stay healthy and balanced! Tell me in the comments!

I love when patients say things like this at the end of their treatment!

It's amazing how much more settled, calm, and relaxed you can feel when your body has a chance to reset with acupuncture. Even when you don't realize how tense you were, you suddenly realize how relaxed you didn't know you needed to be.

It helps too to have a little moxibustion to warm and soften the abdomen, to deeply nourish the internal qi that fuels us in our daily activities.

Sometimes it's not about how stressed we are. Sometimes it's about how depleted we are. And when we take a moment to nurture ourselves, the stress is easier to handle.

What are you doing today to replenish your energy so you can do the things you need to do?

Warm foods for breakfast is a GAME CHANGER! Our bodies are the coolest they are going to be all day overnight. Our spleen/stomach qi is not ready to be thrown cold cereal and smoothies right when we wake up. In fact, the best time of day for those types of foods is closer to lunch.

Our spleen qi (digestive energy) helps us in more ways than just eating. The spleen qi is in charge of giving us
💥 the energy we need for our daily activities 💥 the energy to keep us warm when the temperatures outside are cold
💥 part of the energy (along with the lung qi) to support immune function
💥 the energy to transform our meals properly so we can absorb nutrients and make fresh healthy blood
💥 and the energy to hold our organs in the correct location & be able to control all our various sphincters.

In order to support our bodies natural rhythms, we need to give our spleen qi a little help by eating foods that have been warmed or cooked. This process of warming or cooking foods help begin the chore of breaking down the cell barriers in the foods. That way the spleen qi doesn't have to use its not-yet-strong-for-the-day reserve of qi to first warm our foods for us before it can transform them into the energy we need all day for all those important things listed above⬆️

Switch to a warm breakfast for a week and see how you feel! Are your feet warmer? Do you have more energy thru the afternoon? Have your allergies calmed down? Does your digestive system just feel & work better? You'll be surprised what changes.

My breakfast today is full of blood nourishing foods combined with aromatic herbs and spices to help transform them - fried egg with scallions, mushrooms & garlic, roasted tomatoes, blueberries, & multigrain/seed bagel with grass-fed butter.

Your warm breakfast may be totally different: oatmeal with dried/fresh fruit, avocado toast; scrambled eggs & bacon, etc. Get creative! Breakfast doesn't have to be boring or tired. But it definitely CAN'T be 🥶 cold!

Post in the comments what your favorite warm breakfast option is!

We are now halfway from the Winter Solstice to the Spring Equinox, and in the solar calendar, this puts us at the Beginning of Spring! 🌸

Like the prominent Tiger 🐯 vibe of this year, Spring brings us an increase in energy and a desire to emerge back into the world.

Spring carries the upward energy of Wood, activates the Liver and Gallbladder organ systems, and is associated with the emotion of anger and the color green.

Symptoms often experienced during the Spring include
☯️ allergies
☯️ headaches or migraines
☯️ irritability
☯️ tight muscles & tendons
☯️ menstrual discomfort.

Balancing your body amid this somewhat 🌪chaotic & 🌬 windy shift, is one way to emerge from Winter with ease.

That's why I'm offering a special
SPRING RESET!

What is offered in the Spring Reset?
🌸 60 min Acupuncture Treatment
🌸 PLUS 30 min Choice of an Add-On:
- cupping
- gua sha
- facial gua sha
🌸 a FREE sample of Dewy Fruit, sensory lubricant by to be picked up by the end of February (while supplies last).

Time slots are limited! Book your Spring Reset today!

In TCM, the immune system is supported by the energy of the lungs and spleen (think digestive system). This is congruent with what we understand in Western medicine as well. The lungs (and nose) are the point of entry for most airborne illnesses and the digestive system is the point of entry for food borne illnesses. Supporting these 2 organ systems gives your immune system more strength to protect you from exposures and keep you from getting ill in the first place, or hasten your recovery in the event you do catch something.

Using acupuncture plus herbs and supplements to enhance your immune system is a natural way to protect yourself from severe disease or difficult experiences with illness. At Moon Hill, I have a variety of useful daily supplements to give your immune system a boost.

Recent research has shown that blood serum levels of vitamin D above 50 nmol/L is immuno-supportive. If you live in the Chicago area, you do not have any opportunity to absorb D from the sun for another 2 weeks, and would likely benefit from supplementation and foods naturally rich in vitamin d (salmon, tuna, sardines, eggs).

Other helpful supplements for lung health and immune support you can see in the picture. I've been super impressed with the immune support I've seen with these over the last 2 years. Not to mention how helpful NAC is at helping the body clear out harmful oxidative stress we've all been exposed to directly or thru chronic stress.

Do you have any supplements you've sworn by lately? Would love to hear about it!

Want to enhance your lung and spleen qi so they can protect you well? Contact me for a consultation or schedule your first appointment online!

Here we are....in a new year of new sunrises and sunsets, moon rises and moon sets! I'm full of gratitude that we have the opportunity to experience more, to love more, to nurture more, and to honor this body and life we have now.

Each new day, new week, new month or year brings us the chance to decide to nurture ourselves better.
What is it you need?
What is your mind or body communicating?
How can you help yourself be as healthy as possible?

Because it's your health, your responsibility.

No one (not me or any other practitioner, not the healthcare system or your job) can make healthy choices FOR you.



Please reach out if you need to make healthy shifts in your life.

It takes time, but balance and consistency are key....not fad diets or exercise programs. Set a new habit slowly and with conviction.

I'm here if you want help finding the ease in the changes you choose to make!

Yesterday was the Winter Solstice!

This marks the day with the least amount of sunlight in the northern hemisphere, indicating that from today forward, the sun will return gradually until it reaches its fullest moment at the summer solstice.

In , which follows the natural principles of balance, this is the most Yin day of the year. Yin is represented by the feminine, moon, night, cool and soft aspects in nature, and likewise, in all of us. Yin is the essential part of us all that nurtures and grows life. On this day forward, whatever we choose to nurture and grow will gradually spring forth thru the cold days of winter and emerge in the spring.

So, what would you like to grow? What seed are you planting now that you'd like to see sprout ths spring? Better sleep? Less stress? More ease in your daily rhythm? I'm here to help. Call or email to begin adding acupuncture and Eastern medicine into your toolbox of things to help you become a more balanced YOU.

With last night's full moon, we have started the last moon cycle of the year! December brings with it more time with family, maybe some travel, and of course the gradual return of the sun's light after the 21st, the winter solstice.

I know for me, part of being able to enjoy this increase in activities is casting aside worry bc I know I've got the resources I need if anyone in my home comes down with a cold.

There are a lot of options out there to support the immune system, but my favorite is this formula, Jade Screen Extra. It's a traditional herbal formula which supports the spleen and lung systems, the biggest contributors to the immune system. This particular tincture has been made with the utmost skill to add extra potent immune support and tastes pretty great too.

Let's spend our last month of the year casting off fear and worry and cultivating love and joy!

Back at the dentist...last visit for fillings. It is amazing how much having kids can take it out of you. I went my entire life with no cavities until I grew an almost 10 lb baby with a 7 lb placenta and then breastfed him for 2 years. My teeth were less important while my body was growing and feeding him. And now I'm more nourished and all repaired. Fingers crossed 🤞 I can keep my kidney jing (which nourishes the teeth) supported for a long time to come.

See these ear seeds? I place them each time I have a dental visit. They help keep my jaw from aching for several days during and after any dental procedure, even just a cleaning.

I also swear by the yin care herbal mouthwash to relieve any residual tooth aching or gum bleeding for any reason, but especially after dental work.

If you have a dentist appointment coming up, make sure you let me know at your appointment so we can place these earseeds and send you home with the best mouthwash in the world.

I am proudly carrying a line of tinctures and salves from ! These herbal formulations go beyond the typical traditional recipes, incorporating spagyric forms of individual herbs back into the concoction and using the deepest most powerful aspects of plant medicine.

The Jade Screen Extra (see my reel from a couple days ago) is a modern modification of a traditional herbal recipe formulated to improve lung and spleen qi, thereby supporting our defensive qi (otherwise known as the immune system in Western medicine) and assisting the body in prevention of colds, flus, and seasonal respiratory symptoms.

Stay tuned for posts about the rest of the products on my shelf throughout October!