I’ve been on the Wellness path now for nearly a decade: as a Licensed Massage Therapist in the United States, a bodyworker in Canada, a Registered Acupuncturist, and a soon to be Registered Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner. What put me onto this path is the same thing that almost knocked me off of it completely: a motorcycle accident that nearly took my life and took away my ability to walk for a year. The outpouring of concern, help, and support from my peers, friends, and loved ones at the time was both humbling and inspiring, and made me decide to dedicate my life to helping others in the way that I had been helped.

My background in clinically-based therapeutic massage has really informed my practice of acupuncture. Acupuncture itself has so many modalities under its umbrella to bring the body back into balance, relieve pain, or restore sensation. Beyond needling, there’s an acupuncture channel-based form of massage called tui na, traditional glass fire cupping, moving silicone cupping, and the soothing gliding of gua sha to release blockages and restore the body’s flow, moxibustion to warm and invigorate, electronic stimulation of acupoints to release stuck muscles and promote nerve sensation, and take-home treatments like ear seeds to keep the treatment’s therapeutic benefits continuing for days. I use any and all of these modalities when working with you.

Also, I love Traditional Chinese Medicine for never leaving out the mind or emotions when treating the body. Often a very physical seeming problem may have a non-physical root, and balancing thoughts and feelings with sensations can have the added benefits of improving sleep, increasing energy, and deepening the connection between you, your body, and your life. I’m also a big nature lover, which is one of the reasons I’ve chosen the Comox Valley as my home, and TCM’s system of understanding the body sees it as an environment just like the external one we all live in, and is filled with beautiful nature metaphors. And so many of my personal pursuits: music, gardening, meditation, movement, metaphysics, are all a part of the truly holistic means by which TCM achieves health, vitality, and longevity. This is The Way! I’d love to help you not only achieve better health, but also empower you with the means to maintain it.

When not TCM-ing, I’m the loving husband of an environmental scientist who works with The Project Watershed Society to help the land in the same way I work to help people. But the real main purpose for both of us is apparently to keep our adorable precocious kitty cat, Polyana, from getting too bored!