Rockaway Acupuncture

Those of us who surf are not at all surprised that there is science showing that being around water makes us “happier, healthier, more connected, and better at what we do.” Swipe for the book that lays it out.
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I was listening to a meditation recently by Sebene Selassie where she says that even just thinking about nature can lower our blood pressure and make us feel more calm. I love how this tide and moon cycle clock provides an instant connection to the cycles of nature.
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The tide goes up and the tide goes down. The moon waxes and wanes. Spikes in caseloads go up and then eventually come down. The temperature dips and then rises. The only constant is change.
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Click the link in my bio to make an appointment. I can help you navigate change and help you reconnect to your true nature, which knows how to heal.

Trying new needles with recyclable packaging for less plastic waste. Love that the guide tubes come separately so I don’t have to throw away unused ones. They have my favorite spring-wound handles for good grip and communication with the energy flow of the person I’m needling.
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I use a few plastic handled types for specific purposes, but they are not my favorite because they feel dead in my fingers when I work. So far, I like these new needles. Prior to these, I’ve been using the same needles as my main tools for about 13 years, time for a change!

Happy World Ocean Day! The ocean has given me so much, and I feel incredibly lucky to live so close. The ocean is my muse, my happy (and sometimes scared or frustrated but always growth) place, where I go to study the permutations of yin and yang. I take the lessons I’ve learned in the waves and put that power into my acupuncture treatments. I wouldn’t be who I am without the ocean in my life and the role of the ocean in the lives of my ancestors. On this day I think about how I can do more to protect the ocean ecosystem and all beings who call it home. 🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

I’ve been practicing acupuncture in Rockaway in some capacity since the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 at the pop-up clinic at Yoga on the Rocks (Lena’s old yoga studio above ). And I’ve been Rockaway Acupuncture officially since about 2016. But this week marks the 1 year anniversary of practicing on this lovely peninsula full time!
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Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all my patients, friends and followers. This past year, while extremely difficult in some ways, has been professionally one of my best. Spending time with you all in my little oasis treatment room in Rockaway Beach has been a balm. It’s such an honor to offer my skills to my beloved community.
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I had no idea, when I closed my busy clinic in Brooklyn in April 2020, whether my little side home practice would sustain me, but it has exceeded my expectations, thanks to you! While I miss the community of practicing in a busy clinic alongside other practitioners, I really don’t miss being a boss and all the endless tasks of running a huge enterprise. Slowing down and simplifying has been the silver lining of the pandemic for me.
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I used to treat multiple people per hour, always with the nagging feeling that if I only had more time, I could give a more thorough assessment and get even better results. That has proven to be true. The satisfaction of seeing someone who came in with 8/10 pain on the first treatment get up off the table after the second treatment with zero pain is incomparable. Here’s to more years of helping you unwind your patterns of pain and stress so you can keep doing what you love! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The acupuncturist’s bedside table. For a good night’s sleep, I recommend disconnecting from devices for a minimum of half an hour (an hour is better) before going to sleep. The blue light from electronics can trick your pineal gland into thinking it’s daytime, so it doesn’t secrete as much melatonin, a substance that helps regulate circadian rhythms and makes you feel sleepy.
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If you have to work late on the computer, I recommend installing an app like f.lux that cuts the blue light. There are also glasses you can get that do the same.
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I’m always in the middle of a few books at once so I can choose which one I’m in the mood to read. Here is my current rotation, courtesy of and Not shown: shelf full of nerdy herb textbooks and translations of 2000 year old Chinese medical texts for when I really need to fall asleep quickly. Wishing you peaceful dreams!
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Happy Earth Day from my little corner of dirt to yours. How is your seed-sowing going, either literally or figuratively? Is this a season of languishing in the fallow field of your life? That’s okay, that’s how our inner soil regenerates.
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There are so many lessons to be learned by observing how nature works. In nature there are tides. Phases of the moon. Dynamic balance. Constant change.
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The more I observe and learn from my parent planet, the more I want to lend my care to this place, our only home. 🌱🌍🌿🌏🌳🌎🌱

My second grader wants to tell you about acupuncture. This was an assignment for school, I swear I had nothing to do with her choice of subject matter.

Thank you universe for bringing me so many shoulder cases this week! The theme has been asymmetrical scapular shifts. I always love treating shoulders, but it’s a treat (pun intended) to see so many different manifestations of this common imbalance juxtaposed so closely in time.
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In some cases there is a pelvic imbalance with one hip higher than the other or more tilted, causing compensation above. With some there is a history of injury causing muscle imbalance, or long-term wear from repetitive motion or body mechanics. Some have an accumulation of cold damp, and others more dried out blood-deficient musculature. Or both! Some have an imbalance between the heart and small intestine meridians (yin yang pair) or liver and small intestine (midday/midnight relationship) or pericardium and large intestine (jueyin/yangming).
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We’ve all been carrying a lot on our shoulders this year, and this trend of shoulder issues showing up in my office right now makes perfect sense. There is always more to learn about this complex joint and the yin-yang relationships of the agonist/antagonist muscles of the girdle and the meridians that flow through them. Thank you!!