Summer Self-Care Experiment:

Lots of Joy. Lots of Movement. Don’t Forget the Self-Care—& Don’t Blame Your Birthday!

How’s your summer going?  If it’s anything like mine—and so many of the people we’ve been talking to at Thrive—you’re back in the swing of your favorite summer activities.

I’ve been mountain biking, town biking (that’s what I call my cruiser-style e-bike), gardening, taking evening walks, enjoying a few pool parties, dinners out, and some ice cream.  And some days I’m sore…hello muscles I haven’t used in a while.

It’s not just me.  Lately I’ve been hearing patients say things like, “I guess I’m just getting older.”

Meanwhile they’re traveling, playing pickleball (or golf, running, paddleboarding, or their other favorite activity), watching the grandkids, tackling projects around the yard, meeting up at family BBQs, going out to eat with friends, and trying to squeeze in every bit of summer they can.

In Chinese Medicine, this kind of burst of activity is exactly what we expect.  Summer is the season of the Fire Element—a time of expansion, growth, joy, creativity, and connection.  It’s common to feel more energized, more social, and more inspired to get out and do things. We are microcosms of the natural world after all, and just like nature, we tend to blossom in the summer.

It’s one of my favorite things about this season.  The challenge is that when life gets fuller, self-care is often the first thing to fall off the calendar and we forget to leave room to take care of the body that’s allowing us to enjoy it all.

Then the shoulder starts talking.  The knee gets grumpy.  The back reminds us that we spent all Saturday in the garden.  We wake up a little stiffer after a weekend away.  And we blame our birthday… “I guess I’m just getting older.”

Maybe?  But most of the time, that’s not what I’m seeing.  I’m seeing a body that’s doing exactly what it was designed to do—letting you know it needs a little support.

Summer Self-Care Experiment:

Take a look at your calendar for the next couple of weeks.  Notice how many fun things you’ve planned.  Now ask yourself:  Where have I planned to take care of the body that’s going to enjoy all those things?  Summer is wonderfully full, but don’t let self-care be the thing that falls off your calendar.

Maybe that means enjoying your morning coffee or tea outside, taking a walk, drinking more water with electrolytes, stretching while you’re watching TV, getting to bed a little earlier, or finally scheduling the acupuncture appointment you’ve been meaning to make.  Your body doesn’t need to be perfect.  It just needs enough support so you can keep saying yes to the life you love.

One of the things I love most about acupuncture and herbal medicine is that they’re not just about reducing pain. They’re about helping you get back to participating in your life: Turning your head without thinking about it.  Walking without negotiating with your knee.  Traveling without worrying about how your back will behave.  Picking up your niece or your grandkid without paying for it later.  Keeping up with your new running routine.  Sleeping comfortably after a full day outside.

If your body has been humbling you lately, come on in. It’s not defeat. It’s called wising up and getting some support.  We’d love to help.  Schedule an appointment through our online booking system or get in touch via phone or email.

Summer is meant to be full of joy, movement, and connection. Don’t let self-care be the thing that gets squeezed out. Sometimes the best way to enjoy more of what you love is to give your body a little support along the way.

Price Update For August 1st

In case you haven’t seen the signs in the office or on social media…

In order to continue providing the best care possible, our prices will increase by $5 for initial and follow-up acupuncture treatments beginning August 1. If you purchase a package, the increase works out to be about $4 per visit.

New Pricing

Initial Visit & Acupuncture Treatment: $180

Follow-Up Acupuncture Treatments:

• $125 Per Treatment

—OR—

• Packages (about $104 per treatment)
  • 6 Treatments: $625 (Buy 5, Get 1 Free)
  • 12 Treatments: $1250 (Buy 10, Get 2 Free)

 Packages never expire, so you can purchase one through July 31 at the current price.  Let us know next time you’re in the office, or reach out by email or phone and we’ll be happy to help.

No Change For the Missed Appointment Fee: $75 for cancellations made with less than 24 hours’ notice for follow-up appointments or less than 48 hours’ notice for initial appointments.  As always, we do not charge the missed appointment fee if you are sick/contagious, but we always appreciate as much notice as possible so we can offer the appointment to another patient.

We appreciate your commitment to your health and wellbeing.  We’re honored to share the journey with you and appreciate the trust you place in us.  Thank you for being the best patients around

Increased Evening Availability

—And Other Schedule Updates—

Our treatment hours got an update in July!  The biggest news is that we now have appointments until 6:00 pm three days a week—Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We also made a few other adjustments, so here is our current schedule:

We feel like we’ve landed on a schedule that serves both our patients and our team well. The only changes we expect moving forward are expanding appointment availability as our practice continues to grow.

I’ll be honest that changing the schedule isn’t easy.  There are always a few regular patients whose usual appointment times are affected, and we do our best to avoid disrupting your self-care routine.

This time around, we made more changes than usual because I wanted to practice Chinese Medicine on our schedule and look at how the whole ecosystem can be supported—aka create a schedule that supports both our patients and our team.  Our practice serves the health and wellbeing of the community, and I like for that to include our staff.

Thank you to everyone who was flexible with the changes.  We truly appreciate it.  And as always, all the details about our availability can be found through our online booking system.

When I know I need to make a change and I’m struggling to see clearly, I often ask myself “What would I recommend to a patient?”  If a patient told me their schedule wasn’t working for them, I would encourage them to imagine a schedule that was supportive of them and their family, and trust that there is a way.  So I try to encourage myself and the clinic to do the same, and get curious about how we can do that.

If you have a decision on your plate and you’re feeling stuck, you can try this on:  Ask yourself, “What advice would I give to a good friend in the same situation?”  Then get curious if you can offer yourself the same advice.

Here’s to supporting our bodies and minds so we can do more of what we love this summer and beyond!

Christina and Team Thrive

P.S. Please share this with anyone you think could benefit from any of this info.

This might have been one of the more all-over-the-place transitions to Spring in a loooong time.  It was 100 degrees in March, then cold and gloomy, and then the sun came out again.  I could feel our collective spirits rise.  But now we’re back to hot hot hot with a side of wind overload.  Patients have been saying they’re tense and irritable and they want to be feeling more hopeful-spring-renewal-fresh-start vibes.

I’m not surprised.  Around this time each year, patients start coming in feeling frustrated, irritable, or in a low mood—wondering why they aren’t feeling the Spring feel-good energy.  The nature of spring in Sonoma County IS all over the place, which can make the transition feel a bit rocky.  Plus in our busy world we often don’t take the time to hibernate in winter as well as nature does.

Add to that Spring is Liver season in Chinese medicine—the time to refresh, restore, and get energy moving again after winter’s deep rest. The Liver is in charge of the smooth flow of everything, including emotions, creativity, and fresh thinking!  It’s trying to boot up, but it’s rusty and cranky.

So what to do if you notice you are more irritable?  The fuse is shorter.  The noise tolerance is lower.  The patience you used to have? Thinner.  You don’t wake up wanting to be cranky.  But by 6pm?  Someone breathing wrong can set you off.  And what is if feels like it isn’t just “a phase?”

And then comes the worst part — You see it happening.  You hear your tone.  You feel the edge.  You think, “Why am I like this lately?”  You apologize.  You promise yourself tomorrow will be better. And then tomorrow… it happens again.

Some days it looks like irritability.  Some days it’s anxiety humming under your skin.  Some days it’s low motivation and a heavy, flat sadness that makes everything feel harder than it should.

You take care of yourself.  You eat decently.  You move.  You try.  So why does it feel like your nervous system is one minor inconvenience away from combustion?
 
Here’s what most people don’t connect:

• Hormonal fluctuation lowers emotional tolerance.
• Chronic stress chemistry keeps you braced.
• Inflammation changes how your brain processes mood.
• Sleep disruption makes everything sharper and louder.

In Chinese Medicine, when the Liver system loses smooth flow, emotion builds pressure.  Pressure doesn’t disappear.  It leaks.  As snapping.  As tight shoulders.  As frequent sighing.  As that low-grade “I am so over this” feeling.  This isn’t about being dramatic.  It’s about regulation.
 
When your nervous system stays in fight-or-flight long enough, irritability becomes your baseline.  That’s not a personality shift.  That’s physiology.  And physiology can be supported.

Yes — move your body daily.  Yes — reduce input before bed.  Yes — breathe slower than you think you need to.  Those help.

But if you’ve been living on edge for weeks, and you’re wondering where your spring feel-good has gone it may be time to intervene more directly.

Acupuncture works by regulating the nervous system and reducing inflammatory signaling. We look at sleep, hormones, stress load, and how your body is actually processing all of it.

And we have herbs to support you in changing this pattern between treatments, because you can’t take us and our peaceful needles home with you.  But you can drink a glass of water twice a day, to “take it down a notch” and remind your body how much it likes to be back in the flow.  Yes it’s water with herbs in it so it’s flavorful, but it’s also potent medicine.

Treatment is individualized. The goal is simple:

• Less reactivity.
• More space.
• More steadiness.
• More of you — without the constant edge.

If you’re tired of feeling like the most reactive version of yourself, whether it just started this spring, or it’s been going on for a while, get on in here.  We’d love to help you feel the spring renewal feel-good energy.

Acupuncture is the fastest deepest way we’ve seen to regulate the nervous system and get us back into the flow.  And I’ll be honest that our modern lifestyle is so hard on the Liver that more than 50% of the custom formulas we prescribe have herbs to support the Liver and all it does for us!

Schedule an appointment through our online booking system or get in touch via phone or email.  Quality of life matters.  Emotional pain counts.  And steady is possible.
 

Clinic Updates in the Spirit Of Growth and Service

Getting to Know Julie Schlander

I promised I’d share more about Julie Schlander, our new part-time receptionist, and here it is. Julie brings a warm, grounded presence and a genuine passion for supporting the health and wellbeing of others in our community.

As she enters a new season of life, Julie felt called to contribute by being part of a healing-centered environment like Thrive.

Julie brings a unique blend of compassion, intuition, and the ability to connect with people—along with strong organizational skills.  She is a Transformational Coach and NLP Master Practitioner whose work has focused on helping people shift patterns and beliefs that can keep them feeling stuck or disconnected from their wellbeing. Combined with her previous work as a bookkeeper and financial analyst, Julie is both welcoming and wonderfully detail-oriented.

Outside of work, Julie has been married for 23 years and is the proud mom of three sons, with one getting married this year! She enjoys hiking, reading, gardening, and spending time at the beach.

We’re so happy to have Julie as part of the Thrive team. She is here four days a week, so be sure to say hello and help us give her a warm welcome when you see her in the office!

Your AcupunctureTeam

I’m so excited that our acupuncture team has grown to three.  Three is such a good number for collaboration.  In life we often feel like we have a choice between this or that—but there’s always more options.  And now you have more options at Thrive.

We’re a general medicine practice, which means we treat the whole person—not just one symptom or specialty.  We all practice similar styles of acupuncture and herbology, with a focus on rapid symptom relief so you start feeling better fast, and supporting the nervous system and getting the pattern to change, so you can stay that way.  With the three of us able to share charts and be in close communication about patients, you can make an appointment for whatever times fit best in your schedule. And here’s a little bit about Megan and Dylan, if you haven’t met them yet:

Megan Rauch (to the right)

Megan Rauch’s path to acupuncture began with a passion for helping people live healthier, happier lives. She originally pursued a career in psychology, working as a mental health counselor with high-risk teens and later in brain research at the San Francisco VA Hospital, where she became deeply interested in the connection between the body, mind, and emotions.

A personal experience through yoga opened her eyes to how profoundly physical health and emotional wellbeing influence one another. From there, she shifted her focus toward more holistic healing work, supporting women’s health as a doula and caring for the physical body as a massage therapist.

Then she had her first acupuncture treatment. She was experiencing stress, PMS, and neck and shoulder pain, and wasn’t sure if acupuncture could help.  But WOW. Did it help!  It not only helped to alleviate her symptoms of neck and shoulder pain and PMS, it also helped her with emotional ups and downs. She was able to find a better emotional flow even amid stress.

When she looked into studying acupuncture she was drawn to it even more because it is a rigorous and complete system including Herbal Medicine, diet, movement, lifestyle, breathwork, and mindfulness.

In addition to pain and stress, Megan loves treating all stages of women’s health—PMS, menopause, fertility, postpartum health, and everything in between.  And she has a passion for supporting healthy aging: improving sleep, energy, mobility, neuropathy, balance, cognitive health, bladder and prostate issues.   She is grateful for the opportunity to help people heal, grow, and reconnect with their wellbeing every day.

Fun facts about Megan: She is gentle and compassionate, but also super smart and always learning and listening to a podcast.  She loves foodie restaurants and stand up comedy shows. Her favorite way to move her body is yoga.

Dylan Hawhee (to the left)

Dylan Hawhee’s path to acupuncture began after more than a decade working as an EMT and Paramedic in emergency medicine, where she cared for people experiencing trauma, addiction, pain, and crisis. Over time, she realized the emotional weight of caring for others was affecting her own wellbeing, leading her to begin a deeper journey into healing and holistic medicine.

She had been in therapy throughout her career so she could stay grounded and compassionate, but it wasn’t enough. After an acupuncture treatment she was impressed with how amazing and connected she felt afterward. She started studying massage and eventually decided to leave emergency medicine and become an acupuncturist.

Her own journey with acupuncture for healing from PTSD from working in emergency medicine deeply shaped the compassionate and grounded practitioner she is today. She remembers she could feel the vibration of the qi moving through her like a slow vibration, a rocking of the body like a baby being lulled to sleep or like an air mattress floating on the water. After each treatment she would feel more compassionate with herself and others and more open to the world and human connection.  Those experiences continue to inform the safe, nonjudgmental, and trauma-informed care she offers her patients today.

Dylan loves treating anxiety, stress, depression, trauma recovery, nervous system dysregulation, allergies and acute and chronic pain. She has a special knack for helping solve the puzzle for symptoms that have not responded to conventional treatments.  She feels especially honored to support first responders, healthcare workers, athletes, parents, families, and LGBTQ patients navigating high stress.

Fun facts about Dylan: She enjoys anything with wheels.  She’s mostly put away her motorcycles and skateboards now for her 4runner, hybrid bike, and E-bike.  Some of her favorite ways of moving her body are dancing in her kitchen and working out at Orange Theory.

Tick Awareness Tip

We want to share this proactively this year:  If you remove a tick from yourself or a loved one, save it for testing.

We have this conversation with patients several times a year, normally right around now, when we head out into the tall grasses. Normally it’s after the tick bite and some people didn’t save the tick, but wished they had. Let’s be honest, most people get a little freaked out trying to get the tick out and aren’t thinking clearly.  No one is ever sad they got the tick tested, so better to save it and then you can decide what you want to do.

You can bring it to the lab in Santa Rosa and they will ID the tick, and if it could have Lyme disease they send it out for testing. Over the years my husband and I have turned in several ticks and they all could have had Lyme disease, but tested negative. The reassurance was nice.

Here’s the link to all the info: https://sonomacounty.gov/health-and-human-services/health-services/divisions/public-health/public-health-regional-laboratory/testing-services/lyme-tick-test

They tell you to place tick in a re-sealable plastic bag with a damp cotton ball or paper towel. Then go online and print out and fill out the paper lab slip.

In person drop-off is available Monday-Friday 8:00am – 4:45pm at 3313 Chanate Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Drop it off by the end of business day on Wednesday. Testing is on Thursday. Notifications of Lyme positive ticks by end of day Friday.  The cost is about $40.

And here’s a bonus tip—Evil Bone Water is known to prevent bug bites.  A few light spritzes before you head out are great for prevention.  Yes it’s our best selling liniment for pain and skin, but it turns out to be a good bug spray!

Here’s to supporting our Livers and the smooth flow into Spring!
Christina and Team Thrive

P.S. Please share this with anyone you think could benefit from any of this info.

New Faces at Thrive

The year of the fire horse promises fast-moving change and heart-led action and that energy is alive at Thrive. You’ll be seeing several new faces in the clinic, and it feels like people are following their hearts as they gallop out and gallop in!

I’m excited to share that we’re welcoming a third acupuncturist to the team: Dylan Hawhee, LAc.  She’ll begin by shadowing Christina over the next few weeks to synch up with the Thrive flow and systems, and will start seeing patients May 5.  Dylan and I met in 2017 and have long imagined working together.  I’m so glad the timing has aligned.  I’ll be sharing more about her very soon (you can peak at her bio here), but first a few more new faces to introduce…

Our administrative team is also evolving to support our growing clinic.  We’re expanding with a part-time team model to create both flexibility and consistency in patient care.

We’re grateful to Darien, who has moved on to pursue photo and video work.  He played a key role in strengthening our systems and always brought his bright, welcoming smile while helping connect people with acupuncture.  We wish him the very best as he follows his heart in true Fire Horse spirit.

In the interim, my husband Kevin Hawks has stepped in as part-time office manager.  Some of you may not know how much he’s contributed behind the scenes over the years—managing our expansion into the current office (creating the design drawings for the buildout, making and refinishing a lot of things, ordering, putting together, and installing all the things!)  I often say that he made Thrive look like a million bucks on a much smaller budget.  Kevin has been a manager in a variety of small businesses and has a natural eye for making things work smoothly for both patients and staff.  I’m deeply grateful for his support during this transition.

We’re also happy to welcome Julie Schlander as part-time receptionist.  A few of you have already met her as she began training last week.  I’ve known and admired her for many years, and I’m thrilled she’s bringing her warmth and attention to detail to the front desk.  I’ll share more about her soon!

We’ll be adding another receptionist as our schedule continues to grow.

Still here with us:

Alisa Yu is still with us on Mondays on the reception team and has been helping train us all on some of the details that keeps things running smoothly.

Megan Rauch, LAc is still seeing patients Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, bringing her soothing and effective approach to acupuncture and herbal medicine.

And yes, it’s me Christina Ness-Hawks, LAc—I’m still here, right in the middle of all this Fire Horse energy—caring for patients, guiding the team, and helping Thrive grow in a way that feels aligned and supportive for everyone.

Thank you for growing with us.  It’s an exciting season at Thrive, and we’re committed to making sure you feel supported every step of the way.

Springing Forward:  With Less Grip, More Flow

One of my favorite questions (for myself and my patients) is: “How can I improve something without being gripped?”

We’re often taught that if something matters, we should push harder.  Focus more.  Power though.  And sometimes it works—for a deadline.  But it doesn’t work well for the body and mind.

Take the hips as an example.

They’re designed for movement: rotation, extension, forward motion, pivoting.  When that movement is restricted, the body adapts.  And adaptation always comes at a cost.

This is how hip dysfunction shows up in our clinic every week:

“My jaw won’t relax.”

“My low back keeps flaring.”

“My knees ache after walking.”

“My shoulders are tight all the time.”

You might notice it when you stand up after sitting—that dense, gripping sensation in the front of the hips.  Or when you try to lengthen your stride and something feels blocked.  Or when stretching helps for a day… and then the tightness returns.

Your hips sit at the center of your kinetic chain.  When they stiffen, stress redistributes—in the jaw, low back, knees, and neck.

It’s not just physical.  You don’t just feel tight.  You feel contained. Restricted. Heavier than you should.

In Chinese Medicine, the hips correspond to the Liver and Gallbladder channels—systems responsible for smooth movement in the body and mind.  They govern:

• Physical mobility
• Tissue flexibility
• Emotional regulation
• Decision-making
• The ability to pivot when life changes direction
• Resilience

When these channels don’t have flow, it doesn’t only show up as tight muscles.  You might notice:  You feel less adaptable.  Small decisions take more energy.  Irritation surfaces more quickly.  You feel like you’re pushing forward instead of moving fluidly.

Hip pain is rarely “just tight muscles.”  It’s often:  Ropy, restricted ligaments.  Lingering systemic inflammation.  A deep emotional pattern the body hasn’t released.  And yes—sometimes literally a pain in the ass.

If your hip pain keeps trying to get your attention—especially if it’s been lingering for more than 4–6 weeks—we’re no longer in “stretch it and hope” territory.  We’re looking at a pattern the body has learned.  After years of treating hip pain, one thing is consistent—the body will keep repeating a pattern until it’s properly addressed.

When you come in for hip pain, we look at what’s driving that pattern and create a structured plan to unwind it. Typically twice a week for 3 weeks, then once a week for 6 weeks.  Because hips that have been compensating for years don’t unwind with occasional care.  They respond to consistent, targeted intervention.

Acupuncture works by:

• Improving circulation to deep stabilizing muscles.
• Reducing inflammatory signaling.
• Interrupting guarding patterns.
• Regulating the nervous system so the body no longer feels the need to brace.

We also truly effective topical herbal lineaments, balms, patches and soaks to bring quick relief and custom herbal formulas that support healing and pattern change in between treatments.

And when the pattern behind the hip imbalance shifts, it’s rarely isolated.  Patients often notice tension softens throughout the body, back pain decreases, knees feel more stable, sleep improves, and your body and your thinking move more efficiently.

If your hips have been quietly limiting you—physically or otherwise—it may be time to address the pattern directly.

You don’t have to stay braced.

Movement—real movement—is possible again.

Book an appointment online https://thrive-acupuncture.janeapp.com/ or get in touch 707-527-0868, thrive@thrive-acupuncture.com.

P.S. If you know someone who has been having hip trouble, forward this email to them.  People often think they “just have to deal.”  That resignation? That’s part of the pattern too.  But patterns can be changed—and we’re here to do exactly that.

Have You Checked Out The New App For Online Scheduling?

Want to make scheduling your appointments online even easier?  Download the Jane for Clients App (Jane is the name of our online booking system).  Everyone says it’s more streamlined and foolproof than the web based booking site.  By the way the web base booking site isn’t going anywhere.

Download for Apple

Download for Android

It’s super intuitive, but if you want more details, check out the Jane App client guide.

Here’s to galloping along with heart!

Christina and Team Thrive

P.S. Please share this with anyone you think could benefit from any of this info.

I think we heard it roaring in early this morning, bringing lightning, thunder, and hail along for the ride!

How is 2026 going for you? It felt like this year most of us took some extra time to recover and catch up from the end of year holidays, or were just slower to emerge from deep winter’s quieter rhythm.  And now it feels like life is picking up momentum.

Do you already wish you had a do-over for your New Year’s fresh start? If so, you’re in luck. Not only is every moment a chance for a new beginning — today, February 17, is the start of the Lunar New Year. Because it starts with the second new moon after the Winter Solstice, it begins on a different date every year between January 21 and February 20.

And the Lunar New Year kicks off the 15 day celebration of the new year called Spring Festival. You can think of Spring Festival as Christmas, New Year’s, and Spring Cleaning all rolled into one. It’s a time for gathering with family and friends, sharing meals and gifts, reflecting on the year that has passed, and preparing for the one ahead.  While the celebrations start on February 17 this year, the energetic shift into the new year began on February 4, the start of spring according to the Chinese solar calendar.

Rather than focusing on resolutions, the Lunar New Year encourages reflection and awareness. Chinese astrology is filled with symbolism that helps illuminate our deeper nature — our instincts, strengths, and habitual patterns. It provides insight into how we move through life, relate to others, and grow from within.

The Year of the Fire Horse

The Chinese zodiac has 12 years in its cycle, each one represented by an animal, which interacts with the cycle of the 5 Elements. 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse.

The Horse symbolizes vitality, freedom, momentum, endurance, and bold spirit. Horses are charismatic and independent, happiest when moving toward something meaningful. They bring strength, resilience, and a love of open horizons. This year carries Yang Fire energy — bright, expressive, visible, and intense. Yang energy is outward, active, and expansive. When combined with the Horse, it creates a year that may feel fast-moving, passionate, and highly dynamic.

This is sometimes described as a year of sovereign fire — leadership energy. It rewards courage, clarity, and authentic self-expression. It invites you to stand in your truth and move decisively toward what matters. And yet… When Fire and Yang both peak, intensity can rise quickly. Inspiration may come in flashes. Emotions may feel amplified. Momentum can build before we’ve fully reflected.

The strength of this year lies in bold, heart-led action. The weakness lies in rushing without grounding.

Commit to Creating the Experience You Want to Have

Those who celebrate Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival do not traditionally make New Year resolutions, however they do celebrate the transition from winter to spring. Nature renews itself in cycles. And so can we. It is a good time to reflect and plant the “new idea seeds” that will sprout in spring. You can start by asking yourself: How do I make time and space to bring out my best sense of reflection? What is the new direction and experience I want to have?

It may be helpful to take a lesson from the Horse. The Fire Horse carries bold, instinctive momentum — but when unbalanced, that same energy can become reactive or impulsive. Begin by allowing a small pause before decisions. Horses are powerful not because they sprint endlessly, but because they understand rhythm and pacing. They conserve energy, stay attuned to their surroundings, and move forward with steady, heart-led purpose. The invitation this year is not to slow your dreams — but to root them deeply and move with intention.

Ask yourself:
How can I move forward with both courage and steadiness?
Can I act from alignment rather than urgency?
Where do I need both freedom and structure to support sustainable momentum?
What helps me stay grounded while pursuing what excites me?
What action can I take that reflects sovereign, heart-led leadership — serving not just my ambitions, but the greater good as well?

Get Some Support

If your intentions in 2026 include improving your health and well-being so you can accomplish your goals while enjoying the journey more, get in touch to schedule an appointment for acupuncture and herbal medicine. We’re here for you to support pain relief, stress reduction, immune boosting, or finally tackling that health issue that’s holding you back. The key is remembering that your wellbeing is not something you chase. It is something you return to. You can book online or reach out by phone or email.

May this Lunar New Year bring you inspired movement, courageous clarity, and a heart that glows rather than burns.

We’re Growing Our Clinic Support Team (Reception & Room Turnover)

Who do you know that would like to help us serve our patients with our kind of warmth and humor?

We’re looking for coverage for Reception & Room Turnover March 4th and 5th while Darien has some time off. We’ll do some training the week prior.

We’re also looking for someone who wants to work part-time, about 5 hours on Thursdays, with the desire to pick up more shifts as we grow and be on call while we’re growing into those shifts.  Covering those days in March would let you see how fun and busy we are.

Have them email us at Thrive@thrive-acupuncture.com and we’ll get back to them with more info.

Fun Facts About Megan

Did you know Megan loves treating all things sinus, ears, nose, and throat?

She worked at a renowned otolaryngology clinic in San Francisco.  She helped start up their integrative wellness center where she was the acupuncturist.  Anytime the allopathic physicians hit a roadblock with one of their patients, they would send them to her.

She treated patients of all ages for sinus issues, allergies, ear imbalances, headaches, vertigo, throat problems, sleep apnea, and so much more.

New App For Online Scheduling

Want to make scheduling your appointments online even easier?  Download the Jane for Clients App (Jane is the name of our online booking system).
Download for Apple
Download for Android

With the app, you can manage appointments for all clinics that use Jane in one place, with one login.

If you have questions ask Darien or Alisa, or check out the Jane App client guide.

Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Happy New Year)!
Christina and Team Thrive

P.S. Please share this with anyone you think could benefit from any of this info.

Happy New Year 

I love a fresh start, but if you’ve been around here for a while, you also know I believe every moment is an opportunity for a fresh start — not just January 1st.

This year, I’ve been really honoring the energetic stillness of winter: hibernation, reflection, integration. I let go of the idea that I needed to send New Year’s greetings ASAP, do more, create something new right now. Because who is disappointed that their New Year’s well wishes arrived a little later?  And I know I’m happier (and truly more productive) when I get to spring more well rested, with a better regulated nervous system. And I’ll be honest—my nervous system needs extra support right now. Our nervous systems are always listening and these are not easy, breezy times.

“I do not plan to start anew in January.
That is for Spring.
This is the night, in the dead of winter, where I pare back the excess to reach the bones of my life, so when I am reborn, it is as only my most essential nature.”
–David Gate, Slow Down. Winter Has Questions for you

A quick PSA: Lunar New Year isn’t until mid-February.  That’s a better time for spring cleaning and creating newness.

So if you haven’t felt the momentum to jumpstart into 2026 yet, that’s totally ok.  Give yourself some grace.  You’re actually in tune with the season.  Maybe you’re feeling stress and tension from the news, or trying to avoid it altogether. You could be still recovering from the holidays, travel, being sick, last year, tidying up end of year finances, preparing 2026 schedules. There’s nothing wrong with that. Join me in going easy right now. That’s often how real momentum builds.

If you’re ready to leave behind New Year’s resolutions that require sheer effort and discipline, and instead give your body more of what winter asks for (rest, reflection, restoration) we’ve got you.  What I see every year is that when we don’t overdo it in winter, we’re far more ready to spring forward with ease.

Below you’ll find a simple experiment for more restful sleep, an invitation to let us help you rest more deeply the Chinese Medicine Way without feeling groggy, and a seasonal product highlight.

Insomnia & Restless Sleep During Hibernation Time?

Can I tell you what we’ve been hearing in the practice the past few weeks?“

I fall asleep fine. But then I’m wide awake at 2 am with my mind spinning.”

Different patients. Same story. Same exhausted look in their eyes. Are you dealing with this too?

This time of year—about 5 weeks after Winter Solstice—something shifts. The darkness starts to lift, and yet it’s still time to rest. But instead, we’re up at 2 am, staring at the ceiling, replaying everything we didn’t get done and everything still ahead.

Here’s what’s actually happening:

In Chinese Medicine, every organ has a time when it’s most active. Between 1-3am? That’s your liver’s time—and your liver needs rest.

But when it’s overworked—from stress, rich holiday food, extra drinks, too much on your plate, not enough time to just move freely through your day—it can’t rest. So it wakes you up.

Not to torture you. But because it’s overwhelmed.

Here’s the thing I wish everyone understood:

This isn’t a sleep problem. It’s a flow problem.

When your days are busy and your mind is noisy—with constant input and more stimulation than our systems evolved for—there isn’t enough space to listen and move through what’s happening. That stagnation shows up at 2 am as a racing mind.

We see this every winter. And we know how to help.

 Acupuncture releases the places where you’re stuck. It restores flow so your liver (and your whole body) can actually rest at night. Most of our patients sleep better within 1-3 treatments. And with a series of treatments? We’re not just getting you through the week—we’re building the kind of deep resilience that supports restful sleep all winter long.

 Chinese Herbal Medicine excels at supporting the kind of flow that allows for deep, restful sleep—and it’s one of the best values for your time and money.  With one appointment, you receive a custom formula for a week based on your body and patterns, taken twice a day wherever you are. It’s potent medicine to support your ability to rest, without feeling groggy.  We are all so busy that being able to treat yourself twice a day in the time it takes to drink a cup of water is an everyday miracle.

We’d love to help you sleep through the night again.

Let’s help your body remember what that feels like. Let’s get you back there.

Try this experiment tonight:

Go for a 10-minute walk. Even in the cold. Even in the dark. Just move. Your liver needs flow during the day so it can rest at night. It’s simple, but it works.

PS If going outside feels like too much, dance inside, stretch, or my easy go to—put on a 10 minute video of your favorite movement (pilates, yoga, functional strength).  Just move.

PPS This Sunday I almost talked myself out of my bike ride. Then I remembered we live in California! We’re not stuck inside for a few days because of freezing rain like my family in North Carolina, so I can put on my layers and get on my bike. Yes, we really can.

What the darkness teaches us:

Winter reminds us that rest isn’t optional. In times like these, rest isn’t retreat — it’s resilience. Not only do we all deserve to feel as resilient as possible, the world needs balanced, resilient humans who are connected to what they’re truly moved to contribute.

The darkness isn’t something to push through with more coffee and willpower. It’s an invitation to go inward. To restore. To trust that the light will return.

Your body knows this. Let’s help it do what it’s trying to do.

Here’s your permission slip to come and receive some extra support this season. Yes, you deserve it. You can make an appointment at our online Online Booking System or get in touch. 

Know someone else who’s exhausted from sleepless nights? Forward this to them. We’re here
to help.

Product Highlight

Virus-B-Gone! Stay Well, Recover Fast

2 Weeks ago, I think we set a record for most cancellations in 1 week because patients were sick—maybe an exaggeration, but maybe not. Patients often apologize when they cancel because they are sick with a cold, flu, or virus, but we mean it when we say Thank You! When we stay healthy, we can keep helping people.

If you’re sick and need to cancel, we offer herbs to help you get better faster, and avoid lingering symptoms. And if you’re sick and you don’t have an appointment, give us a call.  Our front desk team will ask your symptoms, check with an acupuncturist, and let you know whether an over the counter type remedy is appropriate or if a telehealth consult would be better.

The most common formula we prescribe is our Virus-B-Gone powder, formulated by Christina from her personal search and years of helping patients. It’s perfect at the start of any cold, flu, or virus with symptoms like a sore throat, runny nose, congestion, cough, body aches, fever, or fatigue.

You can also keep it on hand and use it for prevention if you’ve been around sick people, start feeling run down, or want support right at the first hint of symptoms. It’s our secret to staying healthy.

If your virus turns into something more, or if you have a thing that always happens when you get sick (asthma, headaches, bronchitis, sinus infections) we can create a custom formula just for you.

You can pick up Virus-B-Gone and ask us any questions at your next appointment. Or swing on by to pick some up. If you’re coming in without an appointment, please call or email ahead with your ETA to make sure we’re available.

Here’s to embracing your inner Winter and recharging in a way that feeds your soul,
Christina and Team Thrive

The Rhythm of the Season

We hope you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday and found some ways to celebrate and recharge that fed your soul. We’re in the clinic for just 2.5 more weeks through Dec 23, treating all the smart patients who come in to keep healthy and sane for the holidays and end of year transition.

Here’s our popular Holiday Healthy Gift Guide, with a few updates. Take a look and see if you find anything you want to gift to loved ones, or yourself.

And we want to welcome Alisa to the front desk team, let you know what we’re treating in the clinic lately (curious minds want to know), and fill you in on our December and New Year schedule–so you can plan when you’re gonna come in and be one of those smart, healthy, grounded patients now and in the new year.

We invite you to make some time to take care of yourself, whether it’s in our clinic or by simply carving out some time to quiet your mind in your favorite way. It’s the rhythm of the season–quiet, slow, dark, reflection, hibernation–and it’s important make some time for recharging in between the busyness so that you have the energy and inspiration for the fresh start of the new year.

Holiday Healthy Gift Guide

Give The Gift of Health to Loved Ones & The Gift of Sanity to Yourself

Don’t stress about gift giving! Gifts are supposed to be about appreciation, celebration, and fun after all. We’re here through Tuesday, December 23 so you can pick up a gift of health for your loved ones plus give yourself the gift of sanity, all while supporting a small business❣️

You might ask: “A gift of health, how is that fun?!”

We think it’s fun being healthy, having less pain, and feeling more calm so we can be present and enjoy our lives.  And it’s fun sharing the lesser known natural remedies that actually work!

Here’s 9 healthy gifts that are favorites among patients and staff:

1. 🎁 Gift Certificates: The gift of health is the gift that keeps on giving, for the recipient, and all the others in their life. You can suggest this as a gift for YOU, or give the gift of stress relief and a nap. Or pain relief, digestion support, hormone balancing, immune support… ok you get the picture. We’re a holistic clinic that treats the whole body so we treat all kinds of acute and chronic health issues. A lot of times people don’t know Acupuncture or Chinese Herbal Medicine are options. We’d love to show them how it can help them. We’ve been seeing more and more patients who come in just for our custom herbal medicine, so even if your loved one doesn’t want to try acupuncture, we can help them. Let us know what you want to cover with your gift certificate, and we’ll help you choose an amount.
2. 🦴 Evil Bone Water Liniment: A super-premium liniment that’s good to put on anything that is painful and needs to heal: injuries, joint pain, muscle pain, broken bones, sprains, cuts, insect bites. We have fun 2 oz bottles in blue, black, or frosted glass that make great gifts. They only make the small bottles in a limited run once or twice a year so they are only available while supplies last, but you can refill them from the regular 4 oz bottles–because we know you’re gonna love it. PS – there are no bones or evil in the formula. The Chinese name translates as Rectify Sick Bones Water (aka So Good It Can Heal Your Broken Bones), but the acupuncturist/herbalist making it in Florida has a good sense of humor.
3. 🌿 Rapid Pain Relief Balm: High quality herbs and oils in natural skin-nourishing butters to quickly treat muscle pain, headaches, injuries, bruises, post-workout pain, menstrual pain, and more. We love that this balm doesn’t have any menthol or mint, which is unusual for a fast-acting topical treatment for pain relief. Plus the owner has sensitive skin, and makes it so clean you could practically eat it. We have regular and sample sized jars for sale.
4. 🙊 Traumeel: Who do you know that can’t handle strong smells? Or they work somewhere they need to keep their smells to a minimum? Then Traumeel is the pain cream for them! It’s best known to treat bruises, inflammation, and muscle pain from sprains, strains, and sports injuries. But people say it also helps with all kinds of chronic pain, joint pain, back pain, soft tissue healing, edema, and more. Acupuncturists love it because it has arnica which is an herb that moves circulation and we’re big fans of moving circulation to support healing. In Chinese Medicine there is a saying that translates as “If there is no free flow, there is pain. If there is free flow, there is no pain.” It’s even more clever sounding in Chinese because the word for flow and pain is the same word tong, but with different accents: Bù tōng zé tòng, tōng zé bù tòng. In 2015 there was a supply chain disruption and we couldn’t get it in the US for 8 years. Several patients with chronic pain were so upset they were crying because it was the one cream that really worked for them. Then in 2023 our distributor was able to get it direct from the manufacturer in Germany. Like most natural products from Europe, it’s super high quality, clean, effective, and feels luxurious to put on.
5. ❄️Taiwan Pain Patches: That’s what we affectionately call them because that’s easier for most of us to say than Shuenn-An Yan Ji Huo Jin Tou Gu Gao Yao Jiao Bu (External Pain Relieving Medicated Patch). Patients and staff love these pain relieving patches. They have strong menthol that brings quick relief and herbs that promote healing for inflammation, circulation, muscle, bone, and joint injuries. They are better than the usual minty pain patch you get at the grocery store because of the herbs in there that promote healing. So you feel good when they are on, and after you take them off. They are a permanent fixture in my herbal first aid kit. One time at an acupuncture class my friend and colleague was having menstrual cramps so I gave her a patch. After a bit her cramps were gone, so she took it off and put it on her sore shoulder. Her shoulder started feeling better, so she moved it to her knee. When her knee was feeling better she turned to me and said “Why don’t I have these in my bag?”
6. 🦶 Herbal Medicinal Foot Soaks: Wild-crafted and small-farm cultivated herbs make up these effective and relaxing foot soaks. They help with inflammatory pain, promote circulation, support the immune system & metabolism, and are super calming to the nervous system. It may be surprising to hear that medicinal foot soaks treat the whole body because there are thousands of capillaries in the feet which serve as highways to the rest of the body.
7. 🧴 Emily’s Skin Soothers: Natural and effective skin care powered by herbs to treat dry skin, chapped and cracked hands and feet, burns, eczema, psoriasis, and any other irritated, red, rough or flaking skin. The original formula was created by an acupuncturist/herbalist for his baby who had eczema, so the whole line is free from anything synthetic and great for sensitive skin. This is the balm that got us through the extreme amounts of hand washing at the start of the pandemic and still keeps our hands smooth. Let us know what skin condition you want to treat and we can help you choose the best formula. We have regular and sample size jars for sale.
8. 🐝 Immune Throat Spray: Soothe and treat the throat with this tasty spray that’s antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and immunomodulatory. This is the most fun way to support your immune system! Great for people who travel, give talks, sing, or otherwise find their throat dry and sensitive, as well as those who want to prevent and treat colds, flus, and sore throats.
9. 📘 Do You Want To Know A Secret Book: A little book of resilience and clarity, whatever your age. Everyone who picks up this little children’s book with a big message gets a smile on their face. Some even get tears of joy. People don’t tend to spend much time in the waiting room here, but when they do and they pick up this book, they often buy a copy right away. Plus, we have it shipped here directly from the author in England, so it’s a truly unique gift.

You can pick any of these up at your next appointment. If you don’t have a scheduled appointment, please reach out by phone or email so we can answer any questions, get it ready for you, and make sure we’re not at lunch or otherwise busy in our small business when you swing by.

Clinic Happenings in the Spirit Of Growth and Service

Welcome Alisa to the Front Desk Team

We’re so excited to officially welcome Alisa Yu to the front desk team! Alisa joined us in mid-October (it just took me a while to remember to get a photo so we could introduce her here) and many of you may already recognize her from the days she filled in for Darien prior to that. She’s now with us every Monday, supporting our growing practice and bringing wonderful qi to the clinic.

Alisa comes to us with valuable front desk experience from both a spa and an acupuncture clinic in San Francisco. She is also currently pursuing her Master’s in Chinese Medicine, which gives her a unique understanding of our work and a deep appreciation for the medicine we practice. Patients consistently comment on her warm and welcoming presence, and we’ve found her to be curious, detail-oriented, and always ready to jump in with a can-do attitude.

Please say hello the next time you’re in on a Monday—she’s looking forward to getting to know each of you!

What We’re Treating in the Clinic—Holiday Stress & Exhausted Adrenals

One of my favorite questions this time of year is “are the holidays fun, stressful, or no big deal for you?” Most people say stressful with some fun. We see them drag themselves through the door—exhausted but wired, running on fumes, pushing through because there’s just too much to do before the holidays hit. And they tell us about that bone-tired exhaustion that coffee can’t touch. The irritability that comes out of nowhere. The way you fall into bed exhausted but then lie there, mind racing, unable to actually sleep. This is what happens when your battery runs all the way down.

If that’s true for you, you’re probably tempted to pull all self care out of the schedule. But to me that means it’s time for more self care—both the micro doses of self care and the truly effective self care that supports your nervous system.

Your adrenals—those little glands that sit on top of your kidneys—they’re your stress managers. And right now? They’re working overtime. Holiday prep, year-end deadlines, family dynamics, the fact that it’s dark at 5pm… it’s a lot. And when you’re in constant go-mode with no time to recharge, your body starts stealing energy from your deepest reserves just to keep you upright.

Here’s what we want you to know: You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through the holidays. We’ve seen this pattern in our practice for years, and we know how to help. Acupuncture doesn’t just mask the exhaustion—it actually rebuilds those reserves. It calms your nervous system down from high alert. It helps you sleep deeply again. It gives your body permission to stop running on fumes. And we have great custom herbal formulas to make sure your supported in between treatments. Herbs are so effective at treating stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and fatigue that some patients just use herbs, some do acupuncture, and lots do both. We’d love to see you before the holidays get any more intense. We’d love to help your body remember what it feels like to have actual energy—not just caffeine and willpower.

Here’s the truth: You’re not broken. You’re not failing. You’re just running on an empty tank. And that’s something we can absolutely fix. You can make an appointment at our online Online Booking System or get in touch.

And if this made you think of someone else who’s barely holding it together right now, forward this email to them. We have room for a few more patients before the holidays, and we’d love to help.

End of Year Schedule🌟🌲🥂

We’ll be here through Tuesday December 23 then we are taking 2 weeks off to rest, reflect, and recharge. We have appointments in the new year starting Monday, January 5.

Book Your Appointments📆

We Can’t believe that we only have 2.5 weeks in the clinic before we take our end of the year break! We get busy before and after the break, so now is a good time to get yourself on the schedule, especially for the new year so you have a plan before all those new years resolutions patients! You can book through our Online Booking System or get in touch. If you can’t find an appointment online–call, email, or put yourself on the waitlist and we’ll keep an eye out for you. This time of year we have some cancellations because people get sick (thanks for keeping your germs to yourself) so we are pretty good at getting people scheduled off the waitlist.

Stock Up on Herbs🌿

Now is the time to plan to stock up on herbs to carry you through the new year. Let’s make a plan to make sure you have:

1. your custom formula
2. digestion support
3. immunity support and/or supplies for treating a virus if you or your loved ones catch one

Herbal Pills To Support Digestion😋🌿💊

Don’t forget to stock up on simple Chinese herbal pills to get your digestion back in balance through all the end of year celebrations.

We have 2 options: Microgard Micropills or Ease Digestion Pills. They’re both so helpful for any kind of digestive upset that every acupuncturist and herbalist has one of these ready in their medicine cabinet, first aid kit, purse, and in the car. I always have extra around the holidays–yes I’m the one that brings the digestion pills and sets them out with the drinks, at the end of the buffet, or even just on the dining table–and my friends and family have learned to do the same.
👉🔗 You can read all the details that we shared in our last newsletter here.

Immune Support🤒🌿💊

Stock up now on herbs, supplements, and sprays in case you, or those around you, get sick.

We have simple herbal antiviral pills that are easy for travel and the whole family. We also have our Virus-B-Gone powder, formulated by Christina from her personal search and years of helping patients avoid getting sick. And if you have a thing that always happens when you get sick (asthma, headaches, bronchitis, sinus infections) we can mix up a custom formula to have on hand.

“I just have to tell you that your magic herbs are the real deal! I started to get sick, and remembered I had squirreled away herbs to take if and when that ever started to happen. I rarely get sick, so it had been awhile. So I went to the box, got them out, took them as recommended and WOW, the next day I was no longer ill! I have no idea what’s in those but they really worked for me. Thanks for the recommendation that I should always have them available – and for knowing about them.  You are the best!”
–J.G.

Check out our recommendations we’ve been sharing for the past 4+ years called “The Golden Window For Treating Viruses” and let us know if you want help creating a plan that will work for you:
👉🔗 https://thrive-acupuncture.com/the-golden-window-for-treating-viruses/.

You can pick some herbs up and ask us any questions at your next appointment. Or swing on by to pick some up. If you’re coming by without an appointment, it’s best to call or email ahead of time with your ETA to check that we won’t be at lunch or out running an errand.

Here’s to having fun being healthy as we celebrate through the start of the new year!
Christina and Team Thrive

P.S. Please share this with anyone you think could benefit from any of this info.

🥧🍗🥂 Holiday Digestion Support, More About Megan, End of Year Schedule…

Don’t Put “Feel Good” At The Bottom Of The To-Do-List

This time of year we hear a familiar chorus… “In the new year I’m gonna…eat better, exercise, make time to relax, spend more time with friends, take a break from drinking…” It’s a busy time of year and all too often the things we know help us feel good get pushed to the bottom of the to-do-list. And then we try and make sense of it by aspiring for a fresh start in the new year.

But why wait? Every moment—not just January 1st—is a chance for a fresh start and a chance to make a micro-adjustment to support you feeling more like your best self.

I’ve learned this lesson over and over in my life—you ever notice we’re often learning the same lesson at a deeper level? When we moved up to Sonoma County life was hectic. I was working several jobs and saving up to start this business. I got focused, and to be honest a little gripped, and was putting off doing the things I enjoy that are good for me. I realized I wanted to get back out on my mountain bike because I love being outdoors and I wanted to get more exercise. The only way I could figure out how fit mountain biking into my schedule was to go for a 30 minute ride after work. If you know anything about mountain biking, you know NO ONE goes for a 30 minute ride. I mean it takes more than 30 minutes to gather your gear, get your bike on your car, drive to a spot, put your helmet on…you get the picture. But I decided I was going to do it anyways because I needed to take a stand and do something for my health and my enjoyment and a 30 minute bike ride was better than nothing. And you know what? That spring I rode my bike more than I had in years. I had lots of short rides and lots of fun. Then I found time for longer rides and I was in good enough shape to really enjoy them too.

You don’t have to wait for the new year to do more of the things you already know make you feel great, or make some small adjustments to try on some new habits. Even as the end of year holiday activities ramp up don’t let stress, holiday pressure or overwhelm trick you into believing you should wait for a “better time.” If you don’t think you can find the time, do the thing for a ridiculously short amount of time, because something is better than nothing. And choosing to do it for your wellbeing sets things in motion. Not only does it feel good, but the world needs more people who are in balance and contributing to what they feel called to, in their special way.

Our top micro-adjustments to support balanced holiday eating and drinking are below.  You can try them on this week.  If you want deeper support for your digestion or something else—family stress, cold achy joints, an immune boost because everyone around you is sick, hormones got you more on edge—we got you. Find an appointment with the online booking system or give us ring. We have some openings this week to get you feeling good for Thanksgiving.

Holiday Eating & Drinking Support

A lot of patients have been telling us that they are deeply enjoying time with family, friends, and community—and looking forward to the end of year holidays.  As we enter holiday time it’s good to set ourselves up for success for all the abundance coming our way–gratitude, gifting, celebrations, and especially abundant eating and drinking

Here at Thrive we think one of the benefits of being healthy is that you can consciously choose to indulge here and there, and still come back to balance easily.  If you are working on a specific health challenge or goal, now might not be the time to indulge.  But if you’re feeling pretty good, moderation of all things, including moderation sometimes, is healthy.

It’s good to be real about where you are at, make conscious decisions for health and pleasure, and then make sure you have support in place so you can come back to balance easily.

If you are going to consciously indulge in that rich holiday meal, treat, cocktail, or desert (or all four) here are 5 tips to support you through celebratory eating:

1. 💧 Stay well hydrated.  Aim for 80 ounces to 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water per day.  Include some electrolytes or natural salts in there, so all the water doesn’t just flush right through you.
2. 🍽 Don’t starve yourself before big meals.   Skipping food to save room makes it harder to make good choices and leads to blood sugar spikes.  Eat some fat and protein in the meals leading up a to a big meal to help stabilize blood sugar.
3. 🫖 Have fresh ginger tea before and after rich meals.  Cut a few slices of fresh ginger and simmer it in water for 5 minutes.  The fibers from the ginger are especially good for your digestive system so fresh ginger gives you an extra boost of support.
4. 💪 Keep moving.  Plan some exercise to start the day and you’ll not only feel like you’re starting the day healthy, you’ll also make better choices throughout the day.  Exercise is funny that way.  The more we exercise, the more we tend to make healthy choices.  Invite friends and family to go for a walk after a meal together.  No one ever says “I wish I didn’t take that walk after dinner.”
5. 🌿💊 Stock up on simple Chinese herbal pills to keep digestion balances.  We have 2 favorites: Microgard Micropills or Ease Digestion Pills.  They’re incredibly helpful for any kind of digestive upset. Every acupuncturist and herbalist keeps one of these on hand in their medicine cabinet, first aid kit, purse, and car.  I always have extra around the holidays and set them out with the drinks, at the end of the buffet, or even on the dining table. My friends and family have learned to do the same.

Option 1: Microgard Micropills

What are they?  An herbal pill that treats common holiday digestive imbalances: upset stomach, indigestion, heartburn, overeating, hangover, bloating, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and even food poisoning (hopefully not part of the festivities).

If you’ve been with us for a while, you may remember Curing Pills. We’ve replaced them with Microgard because the herbs are higher quality (imperial grade) and we’ve found them more effective

How can they be good for so many things?  Unlike western medications that move digestion in one specific direction, Microgard regulates your digestion back to harmony.  Their traditional name translates to Preserve Harmony Pills and modern herbalists joke that they absolve you of your dietary sins.

Here’s how we recommend taking Microgard:

• Prevention (rich food ahead / ate too much): 10-20 Micropills before or after a meal.
• Upset Stomach (something didn’t agree with you):  10-20 Micropills now, 10-20 More every hour for the next 3 hours if needed
• General Digestive Imbalance (off for a few days): 10-20 Micropills 3 Times/Day for a day or two, often right before one of your meals.

10-20 Pills?!?!?!  Yes, but they are teeny tiny MICROpills.  The vial contains many teeny tiny round micropills, so they are easy to take when digestion is unhappy.  To make is easy count out your desired dosage (10 or 20 micropills) in the cap and notice how full it is, and use that as your guide going forward—no need to count each time.

Pro-Tip: Microgard is minimally processed with no preservatives.  Store it in a cool, dry place, or refrigerate if you’re not going to use it up within 1-2 months.

Option 2:  Ease Digestion Pills

Similar to Micorgard,but in larger, shelf-stable pills that are easier to store and cost a bit less. Microgard is stronger, but if the ease of use and storage requirements prevent you from using it, Ease Digestion is a great choice.

Each dose is 2 pills at a time. So everywhere above that it says the dosage is 10-20 micropills, you instead take 2 pills of Ease Digestion. We have small and large bottles–yup some patients love it so much they buy the large bottle

Stock Up NowWe have Microgard and Ease Digestion Pills in stock.  They’re helpful year-round and especially around the end of year celebrations—for you, your family, and guests—to bring you back to digestive harmony.  Set them out with the celebratory spread and see who is interested in herbs to support their digestion.

Just tell us you want some and ask us any questions at your next appointment.  Or swing on by to pick some up.  If you’re coming by without an appointment, it’s best to call or email ahead of time with your ETA to check that we won’t be at lunch or out running an errand. 

Clinic Happenings in the Spirit Of Growth and Service

Fun Facts About Megan

Megan’s favorite color is blue.

And she love’s treating pain.  She’s super knowledgeable about the body because she was a massage therapist. And she knows first hand how helpful acupuncture is for treating pain. Acupuncture helped get rid of her neck and shoulder tension and headaches, which was particularly impressive because she had back surgery when she was young.

Here’s what Megan says about how massage led her to becoming an acupuncturist so she could help people even more deeply:

“I didn’t set out to stick needles in people to help them feel amazing–this journey started with a great Shiatsu teacher I had in Massage Therapy School. He introduced us to Traditional Chinese Medicine and how powerful Acupressure could be in healing and releasing stuck energy in the body. It sparked my interest in getting Acupuncture and experiencing even deeper effects.

During my first treatment, I felt like I was FLOATING off the table (in a good way!), and I felt like that for days afterward. During a series of acupuncture visits, my health issues—specifically my neck and shoulder tension, tension headaches, and terrible PMS—faded away to the point that I forgot about them. I realized that I had been bottling up painful emotions and stress and storing them in my body. It was such a relief to release them and change that pattern.

I could feel how powerful this medicine was–literally in my whole being–and I decided that I wanted to help people feel as good as I did with acupuncture.”

You can read more about Megan’s background here.  And schedule with her here.

Holiday Schedule

• Thanksgiving Week:  We’re seeing patients Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until 2:00, then we’re taking some time off Thursday and Friday, November 27 & 28.  We have some openings this week if you’re feeling family stress, aches and pains from all the extra action, or run down from the holiday push.
• End of the Year:  We’re here in December through Tuesday Dec 23 until 2:00, then we’re taking 2 weeks off to rest, reflect, and recharge.  We have appointments in the new year starting Monday, January 5.

📆 Get on our schedule now, because those times get busy.  And people often need extra support around the holidays–hello stress, overwork, digestion, and sleep imbalances.  You can book through our online scheduler or get in touch.

🌿 Make sure to stock up on herbs ahead of time so you have everything you need.  Sometimes there is a rush on herbs before the end of year break, so it will help us out if you aim to stock up early.

What We’re Treating In The Clinic—Sinuses

This fall so many patients are coming in for help with their sinuses, whether it’s from fall allergies, weather changes, lingering symptoms after being sick, chronic inflammation or environmental sensitivities.  Acupuncture and herbs are great at treating sinus symptoms—headaches, congestion, clogged ears, post nasal drip, facial swelling, brain fog, fatigue—and changing the pattern so your sinuses and your immune system can stay in balance.

If you are sick and contagious get in touch so you can get some herbs to take at home, and once you’ve turned the corner and are not contagious anymore, come on in for acupuncture and more herbs to clear out that phlegm and get your energy back.

Then there are those extra smart patients that know they want extra support for their immune system as the seasons change, they have travel plans, or they start to feel stress or overwork wearing them down.  A little secret–acupuncture and herbs work best as preventative medicine!

If you want support treating you chronic sinus issues, lingering sinus congestion after a cold, or preventative care, you can make an appointment at our online booking site or get in touch

If you want to be ready with herbs and supplements on hand in case everyone around you is sick, check out our recommendations we’ve been sharing for the past 5+ years called the Golden Window For Treating Viruses–because if you treat viruses preventatively or as soon as you feel symptoms it’s surprisingly effective for preventing a virus from taking hold or reducing symptoms and duration.   👉🔗 You can find the link for the Golden Window For Treating Viruses Handout here: https://thrive-acupuncture.com/the-golden-window-for-treating-viruses/.  The handout includes a link to our online pharmacy for the things you can’t get in our clinic.  Take a look and let us know if you want help creating a plan that will work for you.

Here’s To Not Putting Off Feeling Good So We Can Enjoy The End of Year Holiday Spirit!
Christina and Team Thrive

P.S. Please share this with anyone you think could benefit from any of this info.

It’s actually feeling like Fall now! In Chinese Medicine it’s the season of the Lungs and Large Intestine. And people are talking about how to avoid fall and winter colds and flus. So we’ve got a Fall Lung Experiment in support of resetting and letting go, some clinic happenings including fun facts about Megan, and a product highlight to boost your immune system–and your mood!

💨Fall Lung Experiment: Breathing To Start The Season Off Right

In Chinese Medicine, Fall is the season of the Lungs. The gift of the lungs is breath and inspiration. Moment by moment, our lungs offer us the gift of life, the rhythm of inhaling and exhaling, expanding and contracting, taking in the new and letting go of the old. Each breath is a tiny cycle of life, and that same breath can also serve as a powerful reset for your nervous system–immediately, anywhere, anytime.

So at the start of this fall, we invite you to try a simple micro-mindfulness experiment:
Practice recalibrating your nervous system and letting go by connecting to your breath. All you have to do is notice your breath, appreciate the rhythm, and breathe a little deeper–knowing that breath is both dynamic and restful. You’re already breathing. You don’t need to stop what you’re doing, take a time out, or change anything. Just notice your breath and breathe a little deeper into your abdomen.

I like to remind myself to breath by telling myself: Every time I do  ____(Fill In The Blank)____  I will breathe a little deeper. So I breath every time I open a door in the clinic to treat a patient, or look at my phone, or finish a patient chart. What are the things you do on repeat that you can use as a cue to breathe a little deeper? Breath is available to you 100% of the time, and you can return to it again and again.

Why It Works:
The simple act of breathing a little deeper resets your nervous system from fight-or-flight into rest-and-digest. And from that calmer place, we create more space in our bodies and minds–space to listen for wisdom, to feel into what’s next, to act with clarity instead of reactivity, to let go of what isn’t ours to do.

The Ripple Effect:
As if calming your own nervous system weren’t enough, your breath also creates a ripple effect. When you breathe deeply and your body begins to relax, the people (and pets!) around you can feel it too. Our nervous systems communicate, like metronomes synchronizing in the same room, and your calm helps set a steadier rhythm for everyone nearby.

Try It for a Week:
Set a gentle reminder (post it on your mirror, in your car, on your computer), or find a task you do on repeat and use that as your cue to notice your breath, without judgment, and breathe a little deeper.

Even after just a week, you’ll begin to train your body to access this restful state more easily. Start by doing it for yourself, and then see if you notice it rippling out to smooth the tempo of your home, your work, your relationships, your day.

I can’t wait to hear how your Fall Lung Experiment goes–how this small act of mindful breathing supports your rhythm this season!

And if your wanting some extra support breathing, resetting, and letting go we’re happy to help. Make an appointment through our online booking system or get in touch via phone or email, because acupuncture is the fastest deepest way to reset the nervous system and take a full body breath.

Clinic Happenings in the Spirit Of Growth and Service

Fun Facts About Megan

Megan has been shadowing Christina in the clinic to learn our systems so that as we expand our ability to help more people, we still provide the high quality care (with a dose of healthy laughter) that we are known for. Pro tip–having smooth systems is our key to making room for our brains to be creative and give the best care possible!

Here’s some of the fun facts that came up when some of you met Megan:

Megan and Christina went to school together, graduated at the same time, and sat for the 8 hour California Board exam on the same day. Our licenses are only 2 numbers apart!

Megan and Christina were in China together for an internship at the Yue Yang Hospital in Shanghai.

Megan’s acupuncture is gentle and effective. Christina gets acupuncture from Megan and my nervous system is a gentle soul.

Megan loves treating stress. She says acupuncture is so good at regulating the nervous system and that makes everything work better in your body and mind. Megan remembers one of her first times getting acupuncture she had a profound and palpable experience during the treatment of relaxing and feeling more like herself again. She could feel it physically, mentally, and in her spirit. She loves to share that potential with patients–to quickly and deeply calm your nervous system so that you are less stressed, anxious, or depressed. And she loves that this helps your body function more efficiently to support your:

• musculoskeletal system (pain and tension)
• digestion (IBS, bloating)
• sleep (hello 3 AM again)
• periods (cramps and breast pain),
• hormones (irritability and rage),
• immune system (allergies, frequent colds & flus)

Megan is a mom of 3 kids age 9-13. So she knows what it’s like to be a busy mom. She’s not gonna judge you. And she’s really good at finding super simple doable recommendations to help you feel better in your body.

You can read more about Megan’s background here. And schedule with her here–just click the photo of her face to see her availability.

Do I Need To Book A New Patient Appointment If I’m Seeing Another Acupuncturist at Thrive?

Nope. This was a common question when existing patients realized that they could see Megan if it works better in their schedule, they want to get her fresh perspective, or they just want options.

Megan and I have similar treatment styles, are in close communication, and can share charts so we can pick up where each other left off.

It’s good to have options. And you don’t have to schedule more time or pay more for it!

Using the Online Scheduler

A few patients have told us they got a little confused using the online scheduler now that we have 2 practitioners. So here’s a few tips:

• Book By Treatment (If your priority is finding a time that works for you): click on one of the appointment type turquoise boxes for Acupuncture Follow Up or Initial Exam and Acupuncture Treatment. It will show each appointment time available with the acupuncturist’s name is next to it.
• Book By Practitioner (If your priority is finding an appointment with a specific acupuncturist): click on one of our faces, then the appointment type. It will show the appointment times available with that practitioner only and there isn’t any name next to the times.
• To See The Waitlist Link: click on either an appointment type or one of our faces and when the next page opens up, it will show up on the left hand side, under the list of appointment types.

As always–if you have a question give us a call or send an email!

Product Highlight–Vitamin D Plus K

TLDR: take 5,000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily to boost your immune system and mood. We carry a pill with 5,000 IU D3 ad 100 mcg K2, because Vitamin K is good for you, it’s synergistic with Vitamin D, and it’s hard to get enough from food.

It’s really feeling like fall now and people are talking about how to avoid getting sick. Of course we recommend eating healthy, getting good quality sleep, acupuncture, and herbs. But there’s another foundational piece that is simple and super effective–a Vitamin D supplement.

The key thing to know about Vitamin D to support your immune system is that you want to get your levels up before colds and flus start going around. This prevents you from getting sick, or if you get sick it prevents severe symptoms. And there’s an added bonus—Vitamin D can boost your mood. People with low Vitamin D are more prone to depression. And deficient people who supplement often experience improved mood, energy, and cognitive function!

A lot of people assume that because we live in California we get enough sun exposure to make enough Vitamin D. But this far North of the equator you’d need to get daily full body sun exposure for at least 20 minutes in order to make enough Vitamin D to get your blood up to the optimal level. That’s not happening in the Fall around here.

So instead of trying to run around mostly naked when the sun comes, out you can take a daily supplement. In recent years advice about Vitamin D has changed. The current recommended target for optimizing your immune system is a blood level of 50-60 ng/ml. You can get your numbers from a blood test and supplement accordingly. But the good news is that current information shows that we don’t need to be as careful as they used to think about taking too much Vitamin D–you’d have to super-mega-overdose for a long time to experience any negative side effects.

Around here the usual dosage to achieve the optimal target range in your blood is between 5,000-10,000 IU/Day of Vitamin D3. So we carry a Vitamin D Plus K Supplement that has 5,000 IU D3 ad 100 mcg K2.

Why the K2? D and K work synergistically to support bone & teeth health, cardiovascular function, and cell growth and repair. And it’s not easy to get enough Vitamin K2 from your diet.

If you want to pick up the Vitamin D Plus K Supplement just tell us you want some and ask us any questions at your next appointment. Or swing on by to pick some up. If you’re coming by without an appointment, it’s best to call or email ahead of time and set up a pickup time to make sure that we won’t be at lunch etc.
 

Here’s to Breathing A Little Deeper!
Christina and Team Thrive

P.S. Please share this with anyone you think could benefit from any of this info.

It was a busy summer behind the scenes here at Thrive. We’ve been getting our systems dialed in to better serve you and enjoying some summer fun. Here’s all the updates and an experiment to help you ease into Fall–because we’re having late summer more than ever this year!

Fall Transition Experiment

I’ve been having this conversation with a lot of patients lately so I want to share it with you.  And it’s perfect to help our transition through hot late summer into fall which is a drying time of year.

Experiment: 💧💦 Start your day with water and electrolytes💦💧.  Yup before coffee.  Try it out for a week, or 2 or a month and see how you feel.

Why: Most of us wake up a little dehydrated because we just spent the past 8 hours breathing, and sometimes sweating, without drinking water.  Start your day off by prioritizing rebalancing your body.  Using electrolytes helps ensure your body absorbs the water.  You can have the drink you want–coffee, tea, chai, matcha, etc–after you give your body what it needs.  It’s a subtle but clear message that you’re taking care of your body.

How: You can use any electrolytes you like, but avoid lots of sugars to start the day so you don’t end up on a blood sugar roller coaster.  I don’t like the taste of stevia so I use Boulder Salt electrolytes (you can order them online with a quick google search) which is a low sodium electrolyte with all the minerals that should be in your water if it came from a mountain spring.  If I’m exercising or sweating a lot I use LMNT unflavored variety (also available online), again b/c it doesn’t have stevia in it.  If you want to be super simple you can add a pinch (about 1/8 tsp) of Himalayan Sea salt to a tall glass of water.

What you might notice:  A clearer mind, better digestion, smoother energy (even after you drink coffee), improved metabolism, a feeling of appreciation for your body to start the day.  Did you know that chronic dehydration increases the risk of kidney stones, UTI’s, constipation, diverticulitis of bowel blockage, poor nutrient absorption, cardiovascular strain, and heat exhaustion.  No wonder we feel better when we’re fully hydrated!

Why Now:  According to Chinese Medicine our bodies feel the seasonal transitions and the adjustment can be a strain.  And while it’s officially Fall here in Sonoma County we typically have late summer weather that is hot and dry.  And boy are we having a hot late summer this year, after a pretty cool summer that was windy.  In Chinese Medicine Fall is a time of drying.  We see it in nature when the summer bounty starts to dry up and leaves turn colors.  The combination of a hot late summer and the start of Fall means it’s a great time to tune into hydrating your body to help make the transition a little bit easier for your body.

Try it out and let us know how you feel.  Several patients have told me lately they notice they feel better all day when they start the day with this simple change.

Clinic Updates in the Spirit Of Growth and Service

Welcome Megan

I’m very excited to announce that Megan Rauch has joined the clinic as Associate Acupuncturist and Herbalist!  Megan and I went to Chinese Medicine school together in San Francisco way back when. Megan and I had imagined working together over the years and we’re both excited that the time is now right for her to join the Team Thrive.

Megan and I have studied with and been inspired by many of the same teachers and we have very similar treatment approaches and styles.  She’s super bright and always learning something new.  Plus she has a great sense of humor!  I’m excited we’ll be able to help even more of our community to not just feel better, but feel more like themselves with enough oomph to contribute to their family, work, or whatever inspires them.

Megan loves the variety of being a general medicine practitioner (because in Chinese Medicine it’s all connected) and has treated a wide variety of conditions ranging from chronic and acute pain, sports injuries, digestive issues, fatigue, allergies, sinusitis, and frequent colds.

She is an expert in treating stress-related conditions–stress, anxiety, panic, depression, insomnia, and issues that get worse with stress such as digestion (IBS, acid reflux, ulcers), tension, headaches, chronic pain, sleep, asthma, allergies, and auto-immune conditions.

And she loves exploring the connection between the mind and body.  She’s a bit of a nerd about the our musculoskeletal system and circulation.  She knows that supporting both the mind and body help you get long lasting, sustainable change.

She also has a special passion for women’s health–she was a birth doula over 20 years ago and has 3 kids herself so she brings a depth of knowledge and experience to helping women through all stages of life.  As an acupuncturist she loves supporting pregnant and postpartum women as well as women experiencing hormonal imbalance such as PMS and menopause.

Megan will be in the practice shadowing for a few weeks so she can make sure she’s ready to flow in the Thrive procedures and systems.  You can read more about Megan’s background here.  And schedule with her here.

Schedule Updates

Those of you that have been in this month know that Christina updated her schedule–same amount of appointments, slightly different schedule. I was feeling behind on some of the admin tasks and needed some more uninterrupted time for them.  So I listened to my own medicine and chose to change in support of more flow.  Flow with patients and flow with admin tasks.

I’m human so deciding to make a change can be hard.  When I’m stuck, I often ask myself–What would I tell a patient in my situation?  This time the answer was clear–set your schedule up to flow the way it will work best for you and trust that you will be able to serve patients better.  Thanks to all of you who have been flexible with moving your standing appointment times if they happened to be part of the schedule that was effected.  When I made the schedule change, I didn’t know Megan would be joining the team–because we create the online calendar about 3 months out.  Now that Megan has joined us I have even more trust that we’ll have appointments to serve the community, and we’ll be resourced so we can do it  with all our best energy.

Expanded Herbal Pharmacy

Just a few weeks ago Christina travelled back east to take an advanced class with her herbal mentors.  I got to hang out with a bunch of herb nerd and I brought back a deeper understanding of the foundation for diagnosis and prescribing custom formulas using our existing herbal pharmacy.  I also a fine tuned some details of the advanced layer of diagnosis and added a whole lot more herbs to our pharmacy!  So we’re ready to treat stubborn conditions, patients that aren’t responding “as usual”, and less common ailments.

 

I say this all the time, but I can’t stop…herbs can be the best bang for your time and money because you leave after one appointment with a potent medicine that you take twice a day, usually for about a week.  You can’t take us home with you to get acupuncture twice a day, so herbs are the best way to take our treatments home in with you.  And there are some conditions that are simply better treated by herbs or patients get better results if they are taking herbs along with their acupuncture treatments.

What We’re Treating In The Clinic

• Injury related
• Post surgical
• Nerve entrapment or compression
• Post Chemo
• Toxin exposure
• Diabetic
• Autoimmune
• Vitamin Deficiency 
• Infections (Shingles, Lyme)
• Unknown cause

If you want help treating or managing neuropathy make an appointment through our online booking system or get in touch via phone or email because we’d love to help you get through your day with less pain, be more active and independent, and feel more like yourself!