What inspired you to be an acupuncturist?
Michelle grew up in Korea during the early years of her life. It was during this time that she became acquainted with Oriental medicine, as her parents took advantage of the traditional healing modalities offered. However, it wasn’t until her experience during 9.11 that she found her way to becoming a practitioner.
Michelle was living in New York City and working for a financial company during her mid-twenties. The day the towers fell, she, like most of those working in Manhattan, was sent home from work. Because all transportation had been stopped, Michelle made her way back to Brooklyn on foot. As she crossed the Manhattan Bridge with thousands of other people she realized then that life was too short to spend at a job that offered no fulfillment. Within days she decided that she wanted to go into a field where she could help people.
With her undergraduate degrees in fine art and psychology, she was enthralled by the elegance of Chinese medicine and how it relates to both the psychological and physical person.
Today Michelle is thrilled with her choice. She enjoys the challenge of helping people find ways to improve their health while maintaining their quality of life. She understands that life is a balance and each person requires weight in different areas.
How long have you been practicing?
Michelle graduated from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago in December of 2006 and ran her private practice in Chicago for 3 years before moving to Denver in June of this year.
Do you have a specialty?
Michelle specializes in pain management, women’s health issues, and problems with digestion.
She finds that acupuncture is very useful for conditions that western medicine offer no solutions for; specifically Irritable Bowel Syndrome, emotional disharmony, and problems with menstruation and hormone regulation.
Any hobbies or interests?
Michelle likes to read and cook. She prefers books that take place in the 17th and 18th century. When she reads, she wants the story to be free of cell phones and computers. One of her favorite stories is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas.
She and her finance cook a lot of vegetarian food. She enjoys finding recipes that are simple and clean. She uses a lot of fresh vegetables and herbs from the farmers markets and has a weakness for stinky cheeses.
What can a client expect on their first treatment?
With most initial clients, Michelle likes to have a detailed discussion about the primary health concern and past medical history. During this discussion you and Michelle will talk about everything from your digestion to subjective body temperature. Once you’ve covered all the important signs and symptoms, she’ll ask you to move onto the table so she can on palpate your abdomen, assess your pulse and examine your tongue to further help her in establishing a diagnosis and choosing the corresponding treatment.
The needle insertion should not be painful; however, you may experience some pressure or a heavy sensation at the points being treated. An average treatment includes about 14-30 needles, depending on the condition and once these are inserted, you’ll be allowed to rest and retain the needles for about 30 minutes.
What are other modalities that you may incorporate into a session?
As well as being a licensed acupuncturist, Michelle is also certified massage therapist. She incorporates Asian body work and massage into her treatments, especially those that focus on pain management.
Michelle also likes to use both cupping and gua sha in many of her treatments. Cupping is a method of treatment in which a partial vacuum is generated in a cup, which is then applied directly to the skin. The underlying tissue is drawn up into the cup – creating in a specific area to bring up “sha,” or what is considered to be “stagnation” in Chinese Medicine. Raising sha promotes circulation and improves the metabolic process. This is an effective modality useful for chronic and acute pain as well as helping to treat the common cold and mucous production.
Gua Sha is a healing technique that involves repeated and pressured scrapping over the skin with a smooth edged instrument. This modality of “friction-stroking” causes “sha” to surface in order to release stagnation. Like cupping, gua sha promotes the flow of energy, blood circulation, lymph fluids and assists in the removal of toxins from the body. After either gua sha or cupping treatment, patients often feel immediate relief.
To read more on Michelle click here.
