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Acupuncture

Is Acupuncture Safe Post-Covid? 4 Things Your Acupuncturist Wants You to Know Before You Book Your Appointment

Is Acupuncture Safe Post-Covid? 4 Things Your Acupuncturist Wants You to Know Before You Book Your Appointment

To say that 2020 was a stressful year is putting it mildly. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, many people put checkups and other medical procedures on hold, including acupuncture treatments. If you are more than ready to get back to your treatments, here are four things your acupuncturist wants you to know about their safety procedures in this new normal. And if this does not answer all your questions, please feel free to ask. Your acupuncturist wants you to feel safe and secure as you return for your first appointment.  continue reading »

Why and How Acupuncture Works for Infertility

Why and How Acupuncture Works for Infertility

Infertility struggles have become more and more common in recent years. There are many physical and environmental contributors to infertility and couples dealing with this issue are desperate for solutions. As it makes its way into the mainstream health world, acupuncture has become more of a go-to treatment method for both males and females; and there is plenty of valid research to back up these claims. A quick search of PubMed will give you hundreds of studies illustrating the positive effects of acupuncture on various issues related to infertility.  continue reading »

Acupuncture for Mother’s Day

Mother's Day - The Perfect Gift of Acupuncture

What better way to celebrate and support the mothers in your life this year than with an acupuncture appointment?

As a one-time mother’s day gift, acupuncture is a relaxing, revitalizing hour all for herself.

As a regular part of her health routine, acupuncture can keep her from getting sick frequently and offer a holistic treatment option for a variety of women’s health issues.

Not convinced? Here are four ways acupuncture supports women’s health and would make a great gift for any mom or woman you want to celebrate this May. continue reading »

Acupuncture for Healthy Weight Loss

Weight Loss - your healthy weight loss program can include acupuncture

In the United States, an estimated 300,000 people a year die from obesity. 

In several studies over the last five years, researchers have shown patients who receive regular acupuncture treatments see faster weight loss results than those who do not. In each case, the acupuncture treatments were combined with dietary and lifestyle changes also aimed at weight loss, but the patients who got acupuncture saw better results than those who focused on dietary and lifestyle changes alone. continue reading »

Acupuncture is Preventive Medicine

Acupuncture is preventative medicine

I think we all know someone, or maybe it’s even ourselves, who lives by the refrain, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

Often used to put off replacing outdated tools or technology, the phase can be connected to how we view healthcare as well. It can be hard to think about our physical health until it is a problem. Something we take for granted, until, as it were, it’s broken. Why would we spend time and money on something before it’s necessary? continue reading »

Community Acupuncture at Fleetwood-Jourdain

Dr. Richard Taft receiving acupuncture from a patient-trainee at Lincoln Detox Center (Photo from Taft Family History).

Northshore Acupuncture Center offers monthly affordable community acupuncture treatments where attendees reflecting the diversity of our community in terms of income level, age, race, gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity and physical abilities gather for healing.

Community acupuncture sessions are held on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center:

👉🏻November 14, 2024
👉🏻December 12, 2024
👉🏻January 9 & 23, 2025
👉🏻February 13 & 27, 2025
👉🏻 March 13 & 27, 2025
👉🏻 April 10 & 24, 2025
👉🏻 May 8 & 22, 2025
You can register for sessions by calling Fleetwood-Jourdain at (847) 448-8254 or at cityofevanston.org/register. The cost is $11 per month for Evanston residents and $31 per month for non-residents. 

During the community acupuncture experience, participants will be treated in a group, sitting comfortably in chairs, fully clothed. The acupuncturist (Amy) will place up to five small, sterilized disposable needles into specific sites on each ear. If you don’t love needles, magnets or Vaccaria seeds can be taped on an ear acupressure point instead. 

The five-needle acupuncture treatment is used as an integrated therapy for addiction along with counseling, support groups and 12 step programs. The protocol reduces cravings and minimizes withdrawal symptoms for more than drug or alcohol addictions – it is also helpful if you are experiencing withdrawal from caffeine, nicotine or sugar. The protocol is beneficial for anxiety, trauma, PTSD, sleep issues, and stress.  

Additional benefits from the treatment may include: calmness, better sleep, stress relief, pain relief, and a stronger connection with your inner resilience. 

The five points are: (1) The Autonomic Point which calms the nervous system and helps with overall relaxation; (2) the Shen Men or “spirit gate,” which reduces anxiety and nervousness; (3) the Kidney Point, for calming fears and healing internal organs; (4) the Liver Point for detoxification, blood purification, and processing anger; and (5) the Lung Point, which helps with letting go of grief. 

We provide community auricular acupuncture sessions in a format similar to that developed by Dr. Mutulu Shakur, the Black Panthers and the Young Lords at the Lincoln Hospital Detox Center in the South Bronx in the 1970s as a tool for liberation and community health.

The Black Panthers and Young Lords were instrumental in broadening the use of acupuncture beyond the Asian community in the United States. They used acupuncture to help fill the gaps in quality healthcare for people of color. To learn more, I recommend reading Dr. Dandridge’s The Unusual Tale of Acupuncture, Racism and African American History in the USA, and watching the documentary Dope is Death.

Any money raised from the regular sessions beyond the cost of the supplies are used to provide subsidized acupuncture treatments for community members experiencing hardship.

 

Acupuncture for Anger Management

Anger is the emotion associated with springtime in Traditional Chinese Medicine. For most of us, we consider anger a bad emotion, something to avoid or get rid of, so why would it be one that TCM would shine a light on?

Well, no emotion is inherently good or bad, it’s how we deal with challenging emotions that can end up hurting ourselves or those we love.  continue reading »

Regrowth: Spring and Traditional Chinese Medicine

Three thousand years ago, when Chinese medicine was first being practiced, there was no light or electricity. No way to mask the darkness of winter. No way, either, to ignore the longer, warmer days of springtime. Because it is such an ancient practice, a lot of the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine comes from a time when people spent much more time outside, paying attention to the natural world around them.  continue reading »

5 Acupoints for Anxiety You Can Administer Yourself

acupoints for anxiety

“At a time when people are so conscious of maintaining their physical health by controlling their diets, exercising, and so forth, it makes sense to try to cultivate the corresponding mental attitudes too.”

– HH the Dalai Lama, 1963

It can be easy to forget how much our mental state can affect our physical well-being. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, that connection is evident in the treatment strategies, but it is also true that when we are feeling bad, we don’t always think to look at our minds. It works both ways.  continue reading »

Acupuncture for Diabetes

Acupuncture for Diabetes

More than 34 million Americans have diabetes, and approximately 90 percent of them have type 2 diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Type 2 diabetes, while its exact cause is unknown, develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin or the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin. Because of this, treatment often involves taking “insulin sensitizers” or medication that helps the body increase its sensitivity and therefore ability to process insulin, keeping the blood sugar from getting too low. Unfortunately, this medication often causes side effects, including weight gain and anemia. continue reading »

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