Meet Bruce!

Bruce Peters was trained in California where he studied acupuncture and Chinese herbs.  He practiced community acupuncture in Shoreline before coming to The Pin Cushion.  Come meet Bruce and get a great treatment and herbal prescription!  Bruce is in clinic on Tuesday mornings
and  Monday and Saturday afternoons.

Testimonials for The Pin Cushion

This spring our website will be getting an overhaul. You can expect the same easy access with an updated look and more content. We want to include patient testimonials so we need your help! Most of our patients find us via referrals from you and word of mouth. This trust helps our clinic grow, and keeps us open 7 days a week so we can be available to you when you need us! If you would like to share your experience so that others may gain insight about our little clinic, please send your testimonial to info@thepincushionclinic.com.  
We really appreciate it!

Meet Holly!

Holly joined The Pin Cushion in February 2013

and has been practicing Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for over 15 years. She specializes in pain and stress relief, autoimmune disorders, women’s health, weight loss and facial rejuvenation.  Holly graduated from Southwest Acupuncture College’s Santa Fe, NM campus in 1998 with a Master’s of Science degree in Oriental Medicine. She began her career in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at the Chinese Acupuncture & Herbology Clinic in Asheville, NC, and owned and operated the Appalachian Acupuncture & Herbology Clinic in Boone, NC for 5 years. She moved to Orcas Island, WA in June 2005 and was a practicing member of the Healing Arts Center - the oldest, continuously run healing arts cooperative in the country. In May 2012, Holly decided to try living in the city and moved to West Seattle. She is happy and excited to practice Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in another island community, Vashon.

Additionally, Holly has a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Florida and a Certificate of Graduation from the Florida School of Massage/Florida Institute of Natural Health and practiced massage therapy for 10 years. Over the past 5 years, Holly has practiced Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine on board several luxury cruise ships. Holly has traveled and worked with people from all over the world and has explored natural healing techniques from several different cultures. In her free time, Holly enjoys sea kayaking and camping, yoga, cooking, hiking, biking, board games and traveling.

Summer and the Fire Element

The weather is warming up and summer is well on it's way...  the days are longer and we are getting more sunlight, which is probably having a positive effect on your energy level and mood.  This is the time of year when Yang (the active, energetic, enthusiastic, and extroverted part of us) is at its peak for the year.  

Summer is associated with the Fire Element in Chinese Medicine, and the The Fire Element  has a corresponding Yin organ (Heart), Yang organ (Small Intestine), and emotion (Joy).  It's natural and healthy to feel more joyful this time of year, as well as more social, because the Heart enjoys connection, communication, and laughter.  Chinese Medicine refers to the Heart in an energetic sense, but it's important to take good care of the physical heart organ as well, and get regular exercise to keep our circulatory system flowing and healthy. 

Because Summer is a warmer time of year, and it is the peak time for the Fire element, it's a good time of year to enjoy more cooling foods such as watermelon and cucumber.  Even being near a body of water is soothing for the Heart, which needs water to feel balanced and grounded. 

Lastly, the Heart governs our sleep, and between the high energy and long daylight hours of summer, it's easy to skimp on sleep.  However, sleep is still essential this time of year, and it's the best time for your Heart to rest and renew. 

Use this summer to take good care of  your Fire element, your Heart will thank you!

Chinese Medicine for Urinary Bladder health

Urinary Tract Infections, or, UTI's, are diagnosed according to Chinese Medicine as "damp heat."   Symptoms often include frequent, burning, or painful urination, or the sensation of a bladder retaining urine even after urination.  Urine may be cloudy, and in some cases there is fever due to the excess heat and inflammation from the infection.  UTI's more commonly affect women because of shorter, more easily infected urinary ducts.  This type of infection can be extremely uncomfortable, yet many people don't realize that Acupuncture can help.

Many people have heard recommendations such as cranberry juice for urinary bladder health.  What other foods and herbs are beneficial?    Well, since an infection of this nature is "damp heat", you want to consume foods that are cooling, and foods that aren't acid forming (this contributes to "dampness.")  Acid forming foods are refined sugar and other sweeteners, greasy, oily foods, and too much starch.  Overeating can also contribute to dampness, so try to eat lightly, with broths and herbal teas.   Coffee and alcohol are too warming and can aggravate heat. 

Here are some cooling and alkalizing recommendations to help your body clear the infection: (you could even make a broth from these ingredients):  celery, carrots, asparagus, aduki beans, lima beans, mushrooms.

Fruits are cooling, but also have sugar, so some good options are: watermelon, lemon (diluted juice), cranberry (unsweetened juice), and huckleberries. 

Here are some beneficial herbal teas: uva ursi, dandelion leaf, plantain leaf.

Acupuncture is a great way to support bladder and kidney health, and help your body clear the infection even quicker.  We also have some great Chinese Herbal formulas that you can take on a daily basis between treatments.  Don't suffer, come on in and get some relief.

The Doyo

Happy Spring everyone!  The calendar says it is officially the first day of Spring and we can all feel it, yes?  More delicious sun breaks among the clouds and rain and temperatures are rising.  According to Chinese medicine, we have been in the "doyo," or the season between the seasons, when the weather can be rather tumultuous, stormy, windy and changeable.  Spring is a great time for a gentle cleanse or detox and the doyo is a common time for people to fall ill.  Acupuncture can assist in detoxification and even ultra-healthy people can benefit from a "tune up" treatment this time of year.

Spring allergies are also very common here in the Pacific Northwest and taking good care of ourselves to keep our immune systems strong is essential.  Eat well, stay hydrated, get plenty of rest, stay active and enjoy some natural vitamin D from the sun!  And if you are sneezy/sinusy, we have some very effective Chinese herbs for allergies and there's always acupuncture.

Ear Acupuncture & Acupressure for Stress Relief

You've probably noticed when coming in for your Acupuncture treatment, that although the points used vary from treatment to treatment, you almost always have needles in your ears. Why is that?  The ears are actually a microsystem, meaning that much like foot reflexology, they have an "imprinted map" of our entire body.  If you picture a baby curled up in fetal position, upside down, you can imagine this microsystem on an ear, with the head of the baby on the ear lobe, the spine curling up the ear, and the lower body at the top of the ear.    By locating points according to this map, any area of the body can be addressed with a needle placed in the correct point location.

The ears are rich with nerve endings, and ear points have direct calming effects on the central nervous system, making them especially effective for pain relief, addictions, and stress relief.  In a community acupuncture clinic, we see a lot of conditions aggravated by stress and anxiety, so ear points are almost always incorporated into a treatment.  A particular favorite is a point named "Shenmen" which has a calming, relaxing, and soothing effect on our entire system.  When we are relaxed, our body has a much easier time using it's energy to heal, so this is an extremely therapeutic part of the treatment.  When patients are coming in specifically for stress and anxiety relief, sometimes after the needles are pulled out we will stick tiny stainless steel balls known as "earseeds" onto ear points.  These earseeds have an adhesive that keeps them stuck to the ears, and they can be worn for several days and stimulated with your fingers for an ongoing "acupressure" treatment effect even after you leave the clinic.

If for some reason you can't make it in for a treatment, give yourself some stress relieving acupressure by grasping your ear between thumb and index finger, and massage the entire ear.  You can start at the top, and gradually work your way down and around the ear to the ear lobe, and then massage the deeper inner concave part of your ear as well.  Massage the ears for a minute or two until you can feel the warmth of increased blood flow.  Take deep breaths and allow your nervous system to settle down again.  Enjoy the benefits of this acupressure ear massage anytime you are feeling stressed or anxious, and then as soon as you can, get in for a stronger dose of Acupuncture to heighten the therapeutic effect.  Have a stress free holiday season!