Connecticut River Acupuncture

A note today:
Chinese medicine and its practitioners regularly receive denigration, disbelief, and dismissal from those who are steeped in Western biomedical traditions, arguing fervently that acupuncture and Chinese medicine as a whole are pseudoscience. Let’s be clear: for something to be deemed “scientific”, it has to have been filtered through a paradigm that is indigenous primarily to Europe and the United States. Eastern medical traditions are blatantly considered unscientific because they have not stemmed from the conventional biomedical traditions, but this hardly disqualifies them from having profound wisdom and significant efficacy. As I’ve been diving into this text on Shen-Hammer pulse diagnosis, I am taken aback at its sophistication and its cultivation of subtle diagnostic skill. Spoken another way, I am abhorred by the Western scientific and specifically, the biomedical outright rejection of Chinese medicine and its comprehensive, sophisticated and subtle diagnostic process, which aims to understand the absolutely necessity of relationship among parts of a whole. Just because Western medicine refuses to acknowledge worldviews beyond its own, just because it refuses to slow down, and to take in more subtle expressions of the human body, just because it suffers from a case of Modern Human Supremacy—believing that its perspective is the sole reality—does not translate to the complete denigration of a whole medicine. In fact, it only reveals its own myopathy, and fails to consider how much the proof is in the pudding. So many modern ailments are wildly misunderstood and not adequately treated, and this failure is evidenced to the degree that people do not understand the nature of their lives or their suffering. If the Western medical paradigm opted to take seriously the sophisticated techniques of a deeply rooted medicine stemming from a non-western paradigm, dedicating time and intellectual power and will towards understanding that paradigm, they may be less arrogant as to blindly refer to these methods as pseudoscience and superstition. The capacity to learn these techniques is extremely difficult and requires an incredible amount of skill to master

I can’t believe it has already been a year since I opened Connecticut River Acupuncture. A year and a few months ago, my partner and I left the busier city life to pursue one that was slower, more intentional, and built around simpler values. Similarly, I decided to pursue a solo practice that was more embedded in the landscape and community, and one that allowed me to focus on what exactly it is that I practice through Chinese Medical principles. While it hasn’t been the easiest year, there have been many glimpses of life on another side of knowing. Gratitude is a daily practice, and one that doesn’t come easily. But today, I’m appreciative of the town of Greenfield, and for the opportunity to work with others as they journey through their lives and greet health concerns with focus, curiosity and openness. Here’s to a year of increasing growth for the clinic, my clients, myself and community.

Herbs re-upped. If this was a video game, manna would be flush

Spring Taiji love

Thanks to @10.forward for a great opportunity to offer community acu mini-treatments at their Healing Arts night event!

Come on over tonight, check out our neighborhood collective Healing Arts event, and get some acupuncture!

Hi there Franklin County!

I'm looking forward to being a part of 10-Forward's Night of Healing Arts on Thursday, March 14th! I'll be providing community style acupuncture. Stop by and get some rest and restorative acu! Look forward to seeing you there!

Winter gratitude. Appreciate the time to slow down and reflect, even if the reflections are difficult.

How do you define medicine? What is medicine? What is health? I often have patients who are coming to me who are asking for a quick fix, and they are disappointed to hear that acupuncture is not going to be a quick miracle for them. A patient recently asked me candidly: “Do you think that acupuncture will cure what I have?” I asked him in response: “Is there anything that is a cure?” I expressed to him that often even what we think are cures, and I gave the example of the steroid, is not indeed a cure. Some medications, in the Western model, you end up having to take for life. FOR LIFE. This is why I am often frustrated (alongside the patient) at the question of how many acupuncture treatments it will take to “fix” the condition, or even to cure it. When I offer an herbal formula to treat the condition, alongside acupuncture, the patient is often suspicious, will decide to stop taking the formula after two weeks and often expresses that they don’t want to pay for herbs. I am totally with them! But in reality, we need to collectively check what our expectations for healing are. Cures do not exist. Cures require change from the bone level and this is just not something most people are willing to move forward with. They require you to change who you are in a fundamental way, and that involves letting go of the identity a person has with the things that keep them sick. But, as Gabor Mate says, maybe it’s not just the individual problem: maybe it’s the society that is largely contributing. Either way, healing is not linear, nor does it involve one clear, clean and executive action or silver bullet. Healing takes time and takes the capacity to adapt and change as it occurs. In order to do that, we have to give treatment time, and give ourselves time. Much of my practice is trying to build confidence in the person and in their life. There’s something about their life that they just don’t believe in anymore. But, there is deep distrust that has been built culturally against this confidence, and people have grown increasingly weary of external intervention. When I give my recommendation that acupuncture will take months, know that this is just how it works.

Announcement!
I’m changing my fee schedule to make treatment more accessible to the community. Follow-up treatments will follow a sliding-scale: $85 - $95 for follow-up treatments. This means that you pay what suits you, within that range. To book an appointment, follow the link in my profile. Grateful to be serving a worthy community!

Welcome growth

Cozy little acupuncture spot. Come in and get a seasonal tune up, shake off the impending wintry blues, and warm up your yang with some acupuncture and moxabustion!

November special!
$20 off your first acupuncture session! Book an appointment today!

The Fall light has arrived.
Never underestimate how light can impact you.

Sunsetting in late summer, salmon and green, acupuncture

New blog post on the Great Ultimate (Taiji) and the Cyclical Nature of Yin and Yang. Check out at connecticutriveracupuncture.com/blog. Link in story.

As many of you know, I've been a long-time fan of astrology, and for most of that time, my interest has been focused into Western and especially Hellenistic astrology. I'm invested in understanding the origins of conceptions about the body, and especially the health and disease of the body. Recently, through deep and further study of the Shang Han Lun, the foundational text and school of thought in Classical Chinese Medicine, I have been delighted to uncover the deep astrological underpinnings of Chinese Medicine. While Western Scientific perceptions actively denigrate astrology as a practice, deeming it unscientific, I revoke and challenge this blanket assessment of astrology's value to understanding the nature of reality, and especially in understanding the nature of the body and medicine. This diagram depicts several aspects of foundational concepts that inform Ancient Chinese Medical concepts. Chinese astrology is an extensive and complex practice that devotes significant energy on understanding the cyclical patterns of nature, how they affect the body, and how to intervene when the body is "out of season" with macrocosmic cycles. This diagram depicts the 24 solar terms that traverse the four major seasons or directions. These four directions constitute the four major elemental factors of Chinese Medical and Zodiacal theory, Spring/Wood, Summer/Fire, Autumn/Metal and Winter/Water. Earth, according to Liu Lihong, is not governed by a season, but rather represents the last 18 days of a season. These times of the year correspond respectively to the Winter and Summer Solstices, and the Spring and Autumnal equinoxes. The Earth element, therefore corresponds to the four major transitional nodes of the year, wherein Yang experiences a major pivot. The 24 solar terms, 12 yin and 12 yang, correspond to the Chinese Zodiacal sequence. The four outer animals correspond to the four major directions corresponding to the seasons, but specifically to four major constellations in Chinese astrology, and are sacred to Daoist cosmology. For comparison, the Western Zodiac is also included to compare seasonal timing.

Liu Lihong

I can confirm the Yellow Emperor’s Classic is yellow

Yesterday’s Sound Bath, Acupuncture and Breathwork event exceeded my expectations. Thanks so much again to all of the attendees, traveling from near and far, and to and for a truly beautiful and nourishing evening.

Really honored to be interviewed by Domenic Poli at the Greenfield Recorder. Check out the interview on the Recorder’s website!

I was very honored to be interviewed by Domenic at the Greenfield Recorder for an article about opening Connecticut River Acupuncture.

Here's the article!

Franklin County native returns home to open acupuncture practice GREENFIELD — Orange native Joshua Warren has left behind the turmoil and fast-paced lifestyle of Washington D.C., to start his own acupuncture and herbal medicine practice in Franklin County.The 36-year-old Turners Falls resident opened Connecticut...

Very excited to announce a summer vibrational collaboration with two tremendous healers, representing international presence The event will be happening in the beautiful space Get your ticket now as the seats are limited! DM for link.

The house that gratitude built

Moxa over sliced onion for recalcitrant shoulder pain. Assisting tai yang to open the muscle layer and embrace the exterior.

Book with me for your acute and chronic health concerns. It’s amazing what a little bit of rest, a lot bit of understanding and some herbal help can do for the trajectory of a patients life. Follow the link in the bio to book an appointment with me. I’m slowly getting busier, so you’ll want to get in while I still have openings!