I grew up in a small New England town where my family trekked to the Unitarian Universalist church with a love for singing, an intellectual fervor for ethics, and a solid commitment that many paths lead to the Divine. I attended a liberal arts college focused on interconnectedness and finding common ground. My undergraduate and a masters degree are both in studio art, but Chinese language, Eastern philosophy, and martial arts training all pulled me in unexpected ways.

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I found Chinese Medicine by happy accident. A good friend walked me into the studio of a martial arts and Feng Shui master, and I soon found myself receiving acupuncture. Simultaneously, I learned about deep listening based peer counseling, and was introduced to anti-racism and social justice work. From these two paths I began unwinding the homophobic, sex and body-shaming messages of my youth. At a crossroads considering abandoning my career path in art, I sought the help of a psychic. She saw me surrounded by thin, silver, falling objects pilling up by the thousands without harm - the spirits were calling them 'needles,' but they were not like any needle she'd ever seen. She told me if I ever found 'those needles,' I would have found my Destiny.

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I wanted to understand more about about Feng Shui and Qigong, which share the same foundational theory as Chinese Medicine, so I registered for acupuncture school in Tucson AZ. That program incorporated year-long studies in Medical Qigong (healing others), self-cultivation Qigong, Tuina, Japanese acupuncture, and Worsley 5 Element theory. Covering the breadth of CM in general rather than focusing heavily in TCM / CCM / 5 Element was unique; the school also had a strong relationship with Andrew Weil’s Integrative Medicine program, and the ‘defining principles' of his program are a good basis for how I still think about medicine.
 

It was a Zen Priest in Tucson that confirmed my Feng Shui Mastery in 2004, the same year I began teaching weekly Qigong classes. In 2008 I began studying with a new Qigong Master who confirmed my own Mastery a few years later by asking why I did not believe my own students, who'd been calling me Master since 2010 ("Did you not train them well enough to see?" he asked).

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My first book was released in 2019: Gender and Sexuality in Chinese Medicine is an empowering and gender fluid/non-binary take on all aspects of sexuality, relationships, and the emotional consequences of oppression. In 2021 I completed my Doctor of Acupuncture in Integrative Medicine through Five Branches University, focused on 'bridging the gap' between eastern and western thinking in healthcare. I have also taught at two acupuncture schools in the USA, and designed accredited programs in Gynecology and Medical Qigong.

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Qigong remains my foundational root; this influence is evidenced in my teaching, my treatments, my writing, and in how I live my every day life. But every time I open a package of acupuncture needles, I remember my psychic's words, and I am always grateful to have found my Destiny.

 

Thank you for visiting.

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