Blue North Apothecary

Join us for a transformative Qi Gong and Yoga retreat in breathtaking Nosara, Costa Rica! Immerse yourself in awe-inspiring natural beauty as you explore ancient movement practices of activating energetic pathways to unlock the hidden potential within you and achieve deep levels of inner piece and tranquility. Our expert instructors will guide you through powerful movements that will not only enhance your physical well-being, but also rejuvenate your mind and enhance your meditation practice. We provide yoga and acupuncture CEU/PDA units, with Theory and Discussion sessions to dive deeper into understanding Qi and Prana flow. We also provide fresh and nourishing meals and luscious tropical fruits to support your practice. Don't miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to strengthen your practice and elevate your consciousness.

Wishing everyone a fantastic weekend, and reminder that we’re out of town next week! Sam will be around to teach his 9 am QiGong at Yoga Soup, and then we’re each off for a spirit nourishing week. Sam’s Boston bound for some family time and my mom and I are headed to Montana for some 🐎 time!

Our big news of the week: Sam launched his herbal tincture, Dragon’s Blood for acute injuries, and I just wrapped up the first Inner Venus facial acu + soundbath and it was serene.

We can’t wait to see you soon!

📸:

Welcome to June! And happy pride month 🌈

We’ve got our regular Community Acupuncture on Mondays from 1:30-6, and Wednesdays from 1:30-7:30

QiGong with on Mondays at at 9 am, and Thursdays at Steven’s Park at 7 am

Tai Chi with Sam on Mondays at Blue North at 6 pm

Inner Venus || facial acu + soundbath at Blue North on Friday June 3rd with & .sage

Love is in the Ear || free ear acu clinic on Friday June 24th with Sam, Kiran and

Women’s Circle of Support with on Tuesday June 28th at 6 pm

Spinal Mobilization, a Tui Na technique by Sam
In Chinese Medicine, it is said that the Governing Vessel, which runs up the spine, is the sea of Yang Qi in the body
This means that by restoring health to the spine, we can restore health to all of the Yang meridians that cross it
In Western Medicine, the spine and all the nerve roots that come off it allow us to both perceive and move through the world.

some bright eyes for your morning!

These pictures were taken 60 minutes apart, before and after The Glow Up (facial acupuncture, LED & IF light, and botanical serums). Book yours today 🤍

We’ve got some new faces in the crowd so we thought we’d reintroduce ourselves 👋
First off, thanks for being here! We’re Kiran and Sam, the acupuncture couple of Blue North. We’re grateful to be serving the Santa Barbara community and we like to think we have something for everyone! In addition to acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, we each have different formal trainings based on our interests!
As a Ta**us who first discovered her energetic sensitivity growing up in Costa Rica from her childhood relationships with horses, Kiran has pursued certifications in very precise yet subtle hands-on techniques including Neural and Visceral Manipulation from the Barral Institute and Facial Rejuvenation and Cosmetic Acupuncture from Hamptons Acupuncture.
A combo of TMJ and mild scoliosis led Kiran to yoga and acupuncture, and her yoga practice continues to evolve. These days she co-facilitates Ta***ic yoga trainings in Costa Rica with her mom, a 500 E-500/RYT, in mantra, yantra, and the Ten Wisdom Goddesses.
Meanwhile, hailing from Boston, Sam got introduced to Chinese Medicine as a college athlete with a broken leg. Frustrated from his experience with conventional medicine, Sam learned everything he could about the subject before pausing a career as a professional Track and Field coach to pursue a formal education in acupuncture. Sam’s approach to sports injuries are a functional blend of both western and eastern medicine.
A traditional Japanese acupuncture apprenticeship later introduced him to the world of Internal Martial Arts, Qigong and Meditation. Now Sam is passionate about passing on what he learned as a certified instructor of Daoist Gate Wudang Arts to others as a way to both take care of their health and to build community. He has a few classes in town, including a Yoga Soup QiGong class and a Steven’s Park Tai Chi meet-up.
You can check out our offerings on our website and please always feel free to DM us with any questions! We look forward to getting to know you!

Community Healing at Blue North in May
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Saturday May 7th, 5-7:30 pm:
Mother’s Day Cacao Ceremony and Movement Workshop with .embodiedarts
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Monday May 16th:
resumes on Mondays 1:30-5:30 pm and Wednesdays 1:30-7:30 pm. QiGong at Yoga Soup on Mondays at 9 am resumes with
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Wednesday May 18th, 6-7:30 pm:
Intentional Seasons — Acupuncture & Sound Healing with Kiran and .sage
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Thursday May 19th, 7:15-8:15 am:
Community QiGong resumes at Stevens Park with
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Thursday May 19th, 7-8:30 am:
Women’s Circle with and .sage
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Tuesday May 24th:
Women’s Circle of Support with

We’ve been told we “travel a lot” for two small business owners. And I’m sure it looks that way on Instagram! But in all reality, the vast majority of our travel is for continuing education & family. As family-oriented people with family members in four corners of the US and Costa Rica, and as acupuncturists, yogis and students of the Dao, we value showing up to spend quality time with, learn from and teach those who bring purpose and color to our lives.

Does that make our schedule hectic sometimes? Absolutely!! But, it’s always worth it. We’ve learned how to sneak a few hours of rest in between work and travel. This is the first week, maybe since we’ve started the business, that we’ve been able to take a full week of (mostly) downtime. Kiran is in between teaching not one but three (!!) Yoga retreats, so I get to come down here and spend time with family and friends (like Bob the cat!)

Maybe we’re just proving to ourselves that what we preach to our patients is possible - that taking a break can and does need to happen sometimes.

With love from Costa Rica,
Sam

Facial Rejuvenation!
This is from ONE treatment, with my limited supply acupuncture travel kit, on my mom❤️ I’m going to treat her weekly this month in Costa Rica and post the official “Before and After” once we’ve done her last session.
We’re both so pleased with what just one session can do. I’ll describe the first photo for the gram, and you can check the website soon for the rest. You’ll notice
-general lift and even tone “After”
-A. the white line in the “Before” picture is the same size line in the “After” —>meaning, her eyes have widened thanks to blood flow and lymph drainage reducing inflammation and sagging around her eyes
-B. The wrinkles and fine lines in between her eyes are the tiniest bit less defined.
-C. More lift above the eye!
-D. More lift and jaw contour!
I’ll upload these to the website when the series is done, with breakdowns on each photo, because the better and bigger the photo, the more noticeable the changes. But damn these are pretty good! This treatment included intradermal needles, stem cell serum, and wrinkle cream. All of which will soon be available in the clinic, plus more.
PS - I know it’s the Sam takeover but I just had to share these! Plus my days of no internet for ten days start tomorrow 💁🏽‍♀️

On the brink of launching a new clinical Facial Rejuvenation service, I came across some compelling research that inspired me to write an article on and the toxin’s MANY drawbacks. For the full article, subscribe to our New Moon Newsletter launching April 30th (link in bio). In the meantime, Part 1 of The Beauty Convo is below ⏬
~•~
Where is the best place to begin the conversation about beauty? We can discuss how it's in the eye of the beholder, how standards are set by a patriarchal capitalist society, about how seriously the old adage “beauty is pain” gets taken. We can talk about its reclamation, and how women (and any non-binary person) can develop healthy relationships to their external appearance to wield confidence, power, and grace. While I strive for that last one, and love to see it in others, I think a person can only get there once having fully dissected the rest of the conversation with eyes wide open.
~•~
TBC

Community Acupuncture with this guy tomorrow! No, not Leo 🐶, with 🙃
Monday and Wednesday 1:30-7:30 pm
$40-$60 sliding scale at 200 N La Cumbre rd, suite C

Hi Community!! We’ve got a great line up this April for you! Check it out ✨

☯️ Sam’s growing Community Qigong class on Thursday’s at Steven’s Park at 7:15 am is a stunning way to start your morning in stillness with friends and

📍Community Acupuncture is BACK and we’re here on Monday and Wednesday the next 2 weeks from 1:30-7:30 pm, on a sliding scale of $40-$60. The plants can’t wait to share their room with you 🪴

🌹 Rachel’s monthly Women’s Circle is on Tuesday the 19th this month. Free of charge, this is a community gathering to hold space and guide women to step into their authentic selves and discover their truest desires 💫 DM to RSVP

🌷Malia’s sacred container for women begins April 26th! Malia lives in deep devotional service to the light and has dedicated her personal earthwalk to soul completion. She is grateful to have assisted hundreds of people along the journey. For more details about her offerings check her out at

All that PLUS private acupuncture, cupping, and bodywork with Kiran and Sam. We can’t wait to see you this month!!

I’m so in love with the many faces this space of ours is showing us it has. Like this early morning sunlight peeking through our tropical corner (plants by .mercantile and )

Over the weekend it was a yoga shala for to lead students through so much more than asana

Sometimes it’s a Qi classroom while leads Taiji class

Other times it’s a gathering space for Community Acupuncture by me and .bysophie

Soon will be leading healers through Reiki trainings, and and will take movers through level 1 of Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization.

It’s beautiful to have built a space like this and let it have a life of its own. An exercise in the cycles of action and surrender.

Hope to see you soon!

Let’s take care of people 🤍

These gift certificates are available for purchase at a 15% discount on services until December 31st.

DM us to chat about what therapies your loved ones might need. Or snag yourself a discounted session for a wellness day in the future!

We can mail, e-mail, drop-off, or have these cert’s available for pick-up! Come say hi ☺️

Blue North Acupuncture The Clinic Classes/Workshops  Personalized treatments designed to balance and restore structural integrity to your system, alleviate symptoms, and help you move forward by meeting you where you’re at. Take a class on enhancing your self-care routines through mindfulness based techniques, Eastern...

Get your digestion back on track after that long weekend of feasting, and your backs loosened up from all that driving to visit your families 🥳
It’s gonna be a long holiday season so let’s make the most of it!! 🎉🎁🍾

Community Acupuncture — Blue North Acupuncture Community Acupuncture Join us in our serene studio for some mid-week relaxing and unwinding. Besides calming, these treatments benefit all kinds of ailments from indigestion and insomnia, to heartbreak and stress. Community Acupuncture gathers multiple people in the same room for treatment, creating...

• W H I P • L A S H •

How long has a injury been affecting your wellness?

Whiplash occurs when the muscles of the neck brace against an extreme force. This bracing, while often life-saving, comes at a price.

Getting your body calm enough to heal the injured tissues is the mmm first priority but often this kind of injury occurs during a traumatic event and the subsequent pain itself is traumatic.

All of the above therapies ☝️ regulate the nervous system and help you process the emotions around injury.

Even if you don’t fully understand the concept of “moving Qi,” please don’t underestimate the power of moving stuck energy in your body.

We’re a beautifully engineered structure with potential energy and kinetic energy. This Qi NEEDS to move harmoniously for you to feel better.

Come feel what it’s like for your Qi to move and start leaving your injuries in your past.

We’d love to help.

- Kiran & Sam

wish you were here 🤍

there’s nothing a little acupuncture + craniosacral + herbs and this special space couldn’t help

find your center, ease your discomfort, shift back into alignment

booked through the first week of august — can’t wait to see you soon 🤍

link in bio or DM to schedule xx

Nothing like a Santa Barbara beach walk to fend off the Sunday scaries 🤍

I seriously love seeing your dappled feet on my table. What a sweet place we get to call home 🌅

👀 scroll over ➡️ I got GOT the other day at Mesa Lane with soul sis 😂 🖤🖤🖤

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• H E A L I N G •
another word with a thousand meanings
What does healing mean to you? Maybe the better question is HOW does healing FEEL for you?
Is it a letting go? An overcoming? A new beginning? Is it just one thing? Maybe it’s a lab test, a scar, K-tape...a full night’s rest, a meal without a tummy ache, a day without a headache. Is it appropriate anger? Unrepressed grief? Excitement? Tranquility? Is it SO MANY THINGS?
Either way, it’s yours 🤍 embrace it.

“…Chinese medicine is time therapy, based in the ancient science of energy dynamics, while Western medicine is space therapy, rooted in the modern science of matter analysis.”
gratitude to for sharing this gem

It's no mistake that your natural talents are inherent. It's no coincidence that you enjoy the things that you do
These are your green lights along your path, and green means go🚦

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•T H E •P I N E A L •G L A N D•
How’s your sleep? Mine ebbs and flows, as does most of my patients’
So here are 3 simple ways to calibrate your inner world to the day-in-day-out cyclical nature of night and day.
Temperature and color regulate melatonin production in your pineal gland, deep in your brain. This is why blue-blockers are a thing in the Age of the Screen
Go BE with the sunset. Take in its oranges and pinks as the blue of daytime fades and warmth gives way to cool night air. Harmonize with earth. Harmonize with home
Before you come back inside, throw on your blue-blockers so that any blue lights in your house don’t shut down melatonin production again
And then, here’s the hardest part: SLEEP WHEN YOU’RE SLEEPY. I push past it all the time -- always working on this 🤍

>>CALIBRATE.TO.SPRING

*early bird price for my next workshop >>EMBODY>BRAND>>Leison Bernstein

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•H A R M O N Y•
Could you get on board if I told you your body was an instrument?
That the movement of each and every single one of your cells causes a vibratory wave. Waves are sounds, remember? When sounds layer up nicely, you get harmony. Music harmonizes CONSONANT sounds. Noise is DISSONANCE
“The heart is the most powerful source of electromagnetic energy in the human body, producing the largest rhythmic electromagnetic field of any of the body's organs. The heart's electrical field is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electrical activity generated by the brain” (http://heartmath.org)
If Qi is intelligent energy and it exists both inside and outside of our bodies, and the physics of our bodies is to emit frequencies of wavelengths, then wouldn’t it make sense that we can harmonize with the universe?
Embodiment is the tuning of your instrument. What do you choose to embody and pump into the world (and therefore match up with/attract) with each heartbeat? Fear, jealousy, worry, and judgement? Or joy, excitement, humour, and U N C O N D I T I O N A L • L O V E?
The chakra systems and 5 element theory attribute joy and love to the heart. If we are microcosms of the universe (and I’m pretty damn sure we are) then I don’t think it’s trivial that the strongest emissions off our bodies derive from our love/joy machinery
Try it. I dare you. Wish, hope, and pray with joy and love in your heart. HARMONIZE and see what happens when you embody the greatest creational force in the universe
^^it might feel how I look in this photo. One of my most euphoric memories to date 🤍

so much love for my acu sister .blume over at
“Wow, Dr. Aulakh really knows her stuff. She is an incredibly knowledgable acupuncturist and intuitive body worker
She incorporates neuromuscular therapy, which really makes her stand apart from other acupuncturists. I came to her after a rough few months of the pandemic with so much pain in my neck
I left not only pain free, but felt like a whole new person. My energy returned and my mood has been lifted dramatically. Dr. Kiran really works not only on the body, but the mind and spirit as well”
>> Marisa Blume

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•S H O W I N G • U P•
The more you know about your own needs, the more you can self-advocate, and the more you can engage in productive conversation with that immaculate body of yours and ask, “What can I give you today? How can I nourish you today?” 
Genuine healing is a bit of a skill. It’s an activity that you show up for. And I don’t just mean showing up for that on-average-7-minute-doctor’s-office-visit. I mean showing up for yourself
You show up for the experience. Getting acupuncture can be anything but passive once you start learning what it feels like to have your Qi activated. Things get moving, whether it’s endorphins, circulation, breath, emotions, or, hallelujah, epiphanies!
And while I’m here to give you as nurturing and healing of an experience as possible, I want you to recognize that healing isn’t always comfortable
Moving qi in a tight muscle or a stagnant channel that hasn’t moved in weeks or months can really give you all the feels. And showing up for it, with presence, on the table, is the most self-loving thing you can do at that moment, rather than wincing and holding your breath through it while you knee-jerk lane-change to the grocery list
Because in that moment, you’re given the opportunity to transform something, whether it’s that strange realization that you are tensing your muscle unnecessarily, or arriving at deeper understandings of the interconnectedness of our mind and bodies
And then you show up for the lifestyle change. When you’re empowered to understand the nuanced symptoms you experience, you can implement home-care routines that nourish you. Maybe that understanding comes in the form of learning which foods set your tummy off, or which exercises throw out your back, or which relationship is the pain in your neck
To quote Nakho, from Medicine for the People, “The body talks, and meditation helps.” Consider your acupuncture part of your mindfulness and meditation practice towards cultivating more self-awareness and reorienting you to your true North. Keep showing up for yourself. Keep surrendering anything that no longer serves you. Keep calling in what’s yours.

“Dear friends,

I always look forward to Kiran's workshops. She is a highly skilled & experienced workshop leader. Confident, genuine, natural, & delightful,  Kiran makes me feel at ease & safe to let my guard down to speak & share.
She is super organized, prepared, & thorough in her knowledge of women's health, self-care, Yogic/Ta***ic philosophy, self-empowerment & of course, Chinese Medicine & philosophy. Her presentations are colorful, inspiring, approachable, & creative.
I wish you the best in your journey!
Blessings,”

>> Sharon Murphree

your • B O D Y • knows
I remember growing up riding horses my dressage teacher would tell me: if I fight the horse, the horse is going to win. And she was right. I might have been feisty but what chance did tiny 12-year-old me stand against a thousand pounds of an even feistier mare? Zero. Fighting was never the answer in riding, and I don’t think it is in self-actualization either. I had to work with her strength and channel it into a movement I wanted
When it comes to consciousness, traditional medicines revere the whole body and not just the brain. Acupuncture meridians and Ayurvedic chakras are centers of intelligence that shouldn’t be disregarded even though our culture has learned to let the voices of our minds shout over the wise whisperings of these more subtle intelligence centers. This is how acupuncture ushers us along our path to self-actualization: by giving the body a voice
For our self-transformation, we have to become inner alchemists of our own mettles, by giving and receiving from our experiences, not unlike the mare and me. When she would pull the reins out of my hands and I would try to win by blistering my fingers to rein her in, that’s all I’d get. Blisters. And tears of frustration. I had to work WITH her strength rather than AGAINST it 
The truth is empowerment is a spicy feeling. It’s a lifetime of commitment to learning about oneself, and it’s truly as unrelenting in its gift-giving as it is in its challenge-hurling. We have to learn how to cultivate curiosity, compassion, and creativity for ourselves when our struggles become overwhelming. With willingness and discipline, we can train ourselves to quiet the mind and tap into the body’s knowing.