An Shen means “tranquil spirit.”

There is an old axiom that the very first thing your teacher tells you is the most important thing. The first thing my original teacher ever said to me was, "This job is not that difficult. Your patients will tell you exactly what is wrong with them if you will just listen to them."

He also told me, "Before you step into the clinic, imagine a trash can in front of the door. Take all of your own worries and concerns and put them in that trash can, knowing you can pick them up again when you leave. But while you are in the clinic, you are only there for your patients."

He would say that the natural state you must assume to provide the most benefit for your patients is that of a tranquil spirit. Only then will your mind give you a clear, mirror-like representation of the patient's situation, allowing you to see exactly how to bring them back into balance.

It is completely normal to wonder about this if you have never had acupuncture before. However, acupuncture needles bear no resemblance to the thick, hollow needles used for medical injections or blood draws. They are solid, flexible, and about the width of a single strand of hair.

Most people feel a brief, tiny tap as the needle is placed, followed by a sensation of warmth, heaviness, or a mild, dull ache—which is simply a sign that your body's energy is moving and responding. The process is so relaxing that a majority of our patients actually drift off to sleep during their treatment.

Because every person and every condition is unique, there is no single answer. However, it helps to look at it through the lens of symptoms versus underlying causes. For acute, sudden issues—like a fresh neck strain or a recent injury—you might experience significant relief in just 1 to 3 sessions.

For chronic, deep-seated conditions that have been developing over months or years, it takes a bit more time to realign the roots of the problem. In those cases, patients usually notice a distinct, positive shift within 4 to 6 treatments. We evaluate your progress at every single visit to ensure you are getting real results.

Our treatment puts absolutely nothing into your body, and it takes nothing out. Instead, it is an elegant and effective care system that uses your physical symptoms to identify exactly where your body is out of alignment.

Acupuncture contacts and directs the energy that flows through the meridian system (energy pathways) in the body. This re-aligns the body with its own inherent blueprint and self-healing capacity. We are simply opening the impedances so your system can do what it was naturally designed to do: heal itself.

You don't need to do anything complicated to prepare. We just recommend two simple things to make your session as comfortable as possible:

Wear loose clothing: Comfortable, loose-fitting clothes make it easy to access common points on the arms (from the shoulder down), and legs (from the mid-thigh down) without needing to change.

Give yourself a buffer: Try to arrive five minutes early so you don't have to rush. This gives your mind and body a moment to sit, unwind, and transition into your treatment.

Yes, acupuncture is an exceptionally safe, drug-free therapy. We use only sterile, surgical-grade, single-use needles that are packaged individually and disposed of immediately after your session.

Unlike conventional prescriptions or medical interventions that often come with a long list of warning labels, acupuncture has virtually no negative side effects. Instead, the most common "side effects" our patients report are significantly better sleep, clearer thinking, and a profound, lasting sense of calm.

Not at all. Acupuncture is a physical, physiological medicine, not a psychological trick. It works beautifully on animals (like horses, dogs, and cats) and infants, none of whom have any concept of "belief."

You don’t need to understand the mechanics or believe in the philosophy to get relief. The only requirement is your willingness to lie back, relax, and let your body's natural healing mechanisms do their job.