As a licensed Practitioner of Acupuncture, Ayurveda, and Chinese Medicine, my goal is to unlock and treat the causes of disease, as well as the symptoms.
Relieve Your Symptoms, But Also Address The Underlying Cause with Acupuncture, Ayurveda, and Chinese Medicine
Practitioners of Acupuncture, Ayurveda, and Chinese Medicine want to quickly reduce your uncomfortable and painful symptoms. But as physicians of Natural Medicine we are also concerned with treating the unhealthy patterns of the nervous system, the diet, and the lifestyle that are the causes of disease. Healing is a process. You cannot heal with a pill what you have created with a lifestyle or a nervous system pattern.
Balance Is Foundation of Radiant Health
Acupuncture, Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, Cupping, Diet Therapy, Dry Needling, and Moxabustion all have the same goal: each in their own way to unblock the life force. Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine says where there is disease there is Qi stagnation, and where there is Qi stagnation there is disease. The foundation for curing disease is the move the Qi in healthy ways. Ayurveda says the same thing, but ramping up healthy Agni metabolic fire, cleaning out Ama toxic byproducts of unhealthy living, and bringing the three Doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha back into balance. This unleashes your Body-Mind’s intrinsic healing powers, which has a cascade of positive nervous system and hormonal positive effects. In the East we call this balance and harmony. Balance is the foundation of radiant health.
My Personal Journey Into Healing
A Case of Teenaged Psoriasis Cured By Diet, Yoga, and Ayurvedic Oil Massage
I began my journey into healing in 1971, when at the age of 16, I suddenly developed a very bad case of psoriasis. My dermatologist injected powerful steroids into the psoriatic lesions. One lesion would go away, but a new one would appear right next to it. My body felt like it was on fire. I put olive oil in my bath and lathered with coal tar soap. Nothing worked.
The doctor wanted to give me oral cortisone which, thru the intervention of my kind oldest sister, I refused. The M.D.’s next advice was to spend 8 hours a day in the sun all summer in someplace like Greece (there were very cheap student fares back then). When I asked the M.D. about the risks for skin cancer, he scolded me, saying, “we’ll worry about that when we get to it.” Needless to say that was not even logical to even my 17 year old brain. I stopped seeing this doctor.
I Become a Yogi
I knew there had to be another way. I became a vegetarian. I began to take Yoga classes. I learned Yogic breathing (Pranayam) and Meditation. I learned how to do Ayurvedic Sesame Oil self massage, which I did once per week. I learned Yoga mantras to chant silently and out loud. A new door opened. For the first time in my life, I had the experience of a powerful and deep relaxation in my body, and of a kind of inner peace. I began to reflect on a philosophical statement I had encountered in a history class by an English pacifist, “There is No Way to Peace, Peace Is the Way.” While he was referring to political science, I extended it to my own life. I understood that happiness comes from the inside, and that my own happiness would come from inner peacefulness–the opposite of the situation I found myself in as a teenager, which was the underlying cause of my psoriasis. Within three months my psoriasis was 98% gone.
This experience of inner peace combined with physical healing led me to a 12 year intensive study of Kriya Yoga beginning in June of 1972 . In 1977 I travelled to India and Sri Lanka where I lived in our Ashram (monastic center) for 3 years.
A Case of Youthful Allergies Cured by Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs
In 1980 I started using Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture to treat recurrent hay fever allergy. I was living in Chicago, which is full of ragweed in August and September. I suffered badly with runny nose, itchy red eyes, sneezing, and nasal congestion. I saw a wonderful acupuncturist, Paul Zmiewski, who also prescribed Chinese Herbs. I took a hand written prescription to the Chinese Herb shop I did not know existed, and got three bags of herbs which I boiled at home. I went on a dairy and wheat free diet. I stoped eating cooling foods like oranges and bananas. The allergies disappeared about 90%.
I Begin My Study of Acupuncture and Ayurveda in Sri Lanka
In 1983 I returned to India and Sri Lanka for a year and a half. During this time I began my study of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine with Dr. Anton Jayasuria, M.D., the head of the Acupuncture Program and Clinic at Colombo South General Hospital in Kalubowila, Colombo, Sri Lanka. I began my study of Ayurveda in private tutorials with Vaidhya Wickeramasinge in Dehiwala, Sri Lanka.
After returning to the United States in 1984 I continued my formal education at University of California, San Diego, graduating Magna Cum Laude, in 1988, with high honors in English Literature, and minors in Biology and Psychology.
In 1992 I completed four years of study at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, San Diego, and began the practice of Body-Mind Medicine, specializing in Nutrition, Dietary Therapy, Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, and Ayurveda. I have continued advanced studies in Chinese and Ayurvedic Dietary Therapy and Nutrition, in the Chinese Classical texts, and in Chinese Herbal Medicine and Ayurveda.
I have been an Herbal Medicine consultant and Subject Matter Expert for the California Acupuncture Licensing Exam, and was an instructor and clinical supervisor at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine for 5 years teaching Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, Nutrition, and Medical History. I have also taught Oriental Medicine classes as a guest lecturer at San Diego’s Mesa College, and at the California College of Holistic Studies.
Publications have included a quarterly column called The Tao of Health in The Jade Dragon, which is now available on line (www.jadedragon.com) Living with the Seasons, in the Mission Hills News, and The Natural Medicine Treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia in the national journal Oriental Medicine. From 1992-94 I was a volunteer acupuncture/herbalist at the Holistic Aids Response Program.
I am dedicated to healing from the inside out. In my private practice here in San Diego, I use acupuncture, herbology, Ayurveda, and nutritional/dietary therapies to get long lasting relief from disease and pain, while at the same time treating the underlying root causes. My goal is to empower my patients to take control of their health with diet, therapeutic exercise, stress management, breathing and meditation practice.
I am expert in the Body-Mind Natural Medicine treatment of Skin Disorders like Eczema, Psoriasis, Acne, Rosacea, and Hives, of Digestive Disorders like Gastritis, IBS, Ulcerative Colitis, and Chronic Constipation, of Respiratory disorders like Asthma and Allergies, of Gynecological disorders like Menstrual Pain and Pre Menstrual Symptoms, and of course all chronic and acute pain conditions.
I have a special interest in the use of Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine for psychological/emotional disorders and have been successful treating ADDH, Anxiety, Mania, Depression, Anorexia, and Bulimia, complementary to conventional psychological and psychiatric therapies. I would like to try to help people with Autism, with Chinese Med
In Chinese and Indian medicine the body, mind, and soul are all aspects of one being. Acupuncture, Ayurveda and Herbal Therapy are, therefore, excellent adjuncts to personal growth work; releasing emotional blocks or stagnation is at the root of Chinese medicine. It is a form of bio-energetics that is compatible with and facilitates other psychotherapeutic experiences.
I am committed to assisting you in your quest for Radiant Health. A practitioner of Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine sees each human being as a world in miniature, as a garden in which the doctor and patient strive together to cultivate health. Each person has a unique terrain, and like a horticulturist using water and compost to grow healthy plants, the Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine doctor uses food, meditation, acupuncture, herbs, and exercise to sustain health and recover from illness.
For those in San Diego, I offer a free, 10 minute pconsultation to determine if I think I can help you. For out-of-towners, I am available to consult via email and telephone , and am able to work with you by email and phone.