At Indigo Healing Acupuncture, we practice holistic Oriental medicine.

This means that we see living beings (human or animal) as a complete, interrelated entity composed of a mind (consciousness), physical body, and spirit (soul).  Holistic medicine allows healing to occur on physical and metaphysical levels.

So, what is holistic medicine in a nutshell? Holistic medicine…

• Sees a whole person, not a body part
• Focuses on wellness, not disease

How does holistic medicine differ from modern medicine?
Modern medicine aims to identify the condition (and affix a label such as “heartburn”) and alleviate symptoms with drugs, physical therapy, radiation, or surgery.

Holistic medicine identifies the root cause of the pain/illness and treats the mind, body and spirit to provide relief and a return to wellness.

How does this work in real life?
Let me give you a real-life example of a common complaint. Let’s say you have lower back pain, labeled by modern medicine as lumbar spinal stenosis.

Modern medicine will measure the pain, document the location, order radiological scans (x-ray or MRI), and prescribe pain killers, physical therapy, surgery, or rest. You’ll likely walk out of the 10-minute appointment with as much pain (maybe more if you had to wait two hours for your five minutes of face time with the MD) as when you walked in.

A holistic practitioner will see you as a whole person. We'll ask specific questions about where you live, what you eat, your emotional well-being, your exercise schedule, and the quality of your sleep. Within the framework of Oriental Medicine, we'll combine these answers with tongue & pulse diagnosis to identify the root problem of your pain and treat it with acupuncture, moxibustion, tui na, gua sha, cupping, and/or Chinese herbs. With this holistic approach, the acupuncture needles may not be placed on your back at all and you could still leave the appointment with no lower back pain! And, as a bonus, you'll likely be in a better mood & sleep better that night as well! 

Does insurance cover holistic medicine?
Many large medical insurance plans now cover acupuncture treatments for pain relief. Most employer-sponsored Health Spending Account and Flexible Spending Account (HSA/FSA) plans also include acupuncture as a covered service. Check your benefits summary for coverage details. 

Are you ready to be seen as a whole person and give holistic medicine a try?

​Do you have a sweet tooth? 
​Are after-dinner desserts sabotaging your waistline?
Do you want to stop smoking or drinking?
Are you seeking quick relief from anxious thoughts?
​
​Herbal medicine has a solution!

Sweet Change is a mouth spray that stops sugar cravings.  3-6 sprays three times a day is all it takes. 
It also calms the mind from anxious thoughts, which can help quit smoking and reduce alcohol consumption. 

​What more could you ask for?

Oh yeah, it's compliant with keto, paleo, and whole 30 plans. 

This magic potion contains these herbs:
​
Gymnema sylvestre (known as The Sugar Destroyer) has been used traditionally in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries.

• Helps abolish the taste of sugar 
• Helps manage sugar cravings and addictions
• Helps manage intestinal absorption of glucose
• Helps support healthy blood sugar & glucose metabolism
• Helps maintain healthy weight

Ku Gua 

• Helps reduce the amount of glucose released into the blood

Zhi Ju Zi 

• Helps eliminate withdrawal symptoms
• Natural liver detoxifier

Pei Lan 

• Supports digestion

Shi Chang Pu 

• Calms mind
• Clears brain fog

Contact Michelle to order Sweet Change.

​Thanksgiving is less than a week away and my kitchen will soon be a hot spot for baking & cooking.

Every year without fail, someone in my family will ask me where I keep the granulated sugar. When I tell them we don't have any, a look of alarm will appear on their face:

"Whaaat?! How in the world can we make these cookies/muffins/pie/cinnamon rolls/biscuits without sugar?"

Before I answer, let's back up for a minute. 

As a practitioner of Chinese Medicine, I've had years of masters-level education on dietary nutrition. In my clinic, I educate patients on how what they eat affects their body, both good and bad. Have you heard the Hippocrates quote, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"? It's 100% true and the fundamental basis for why you won't find these 3 foods in my kitchen:

1. Granulated Sugar or Brown Sugar
2. Vegetable oil (canola/rapeseed, corn, soy, vegetable, peanut, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, vegetable shortening, and margarine)
3. Conventional corn products

I would bet you'd find these three foods in at least 95% of America's kitchens. Without diving too deep into biochemistry or nutritional theory, here's the down & dirty on each one:

• Sugar: Sugar literally feeds disease & chronic illness in the human body.  Read this blog to understand the tip of the sugar iceberg: http://blogs.plos.org/publichealth/2014/01/13/worst-sugar/ 
• Vegetable Oil: Most vegetable oils are genetically-modified, rancid, over-processed (aka hydrogenated) and nearly impossible for the body to process.  
• Conventional Corn: 88% of the corn grown in the US is genetically modified (aka not actually corn anymore). A herbicide commonly used on GMO corn called glyphosate (Monsanto's Roundup) was linked to Celiac disease in a 2013 published research study. Read the study here. 

So what WILL you find in my kitchen to replace these common foods?  

• Instead of sugar replacements, I use local raw honey, coconut crystals, or organic grade A maple syrup
• Instead of vegetable oil, I use organic cold-pressed unrefined coconut oil, cold-pressed olive oil, grass-fed organic butter and grass-fed organic ghee
• Corn: I use organic corn sparingly because there is a risk of cross-contamination from GMO crops. 

I hope you take the opportunity to banish sugar, vegetable oil, and GMO corn from your kitchen this holiday season! It certainly leads to some interesting conversations!