Weaving is a meditative practice of creation and imagination. Herbs support our wellbeing and are part of our wild, healthy ecosystem (just like us). The ritual of weaving, creating a fabric with all of our experiences, with the addition of healing herbs to guide us, is a powerful meditation and arts practice. Join us in…
Learn the basics of Chinese herbal medicine in this beginner class, including basic Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, nutrition and a few simple formulas to keep on hand for colds, flu, cough and allergy symptoms. Herbal medicine was common knowledge to communities of every culture. Just like knowing when to take aspirin, people knew when to…
Many high functioning people can’t eat, sleep or poop with ease or contentment. Weird. These are basic biological functions. How have we drifted so far from balance to miss out on these simple joys? Why do we think it’s normal to have difficulty in these essential areas of life? We actually need to do all…
People ask me all the time what acupuncture is good at treating. The list is long and today I will share a story about anxiety. Acupuncture is amazing at treating anxiety, so it is an easy story to share. Anne is 55 years old with life long anxiety that would flare-up to the point that…
We are so excited to be a part of the 1st Annual Stangl Karma Fest on June 1st! The event will be from 10 am to 6pm produced by Wildflower Yoga Collective and Love Flemington – Flemington Community Partnership. We will be doing Acupuncture and Acupressure demos at the clinic from 3-3:45. This is a…
A study in Climacteric, the international journal of the Menopause Society, states that acupuncture can help those suffering from perimenopausal & menopausal symptoms get a good night’s sleep. c The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy on sleep parameters, depression symptoms and quality of life in postmenopausal women with…
Harriet Beinfield is a pioneer in bringing Chinese Medicine to the West. She has been practicing since the 1970’s. I especially like this excerpt from an interview with her: “There’s an ancient Chinese medical text that names three levels of healing. The lower level asks us to address a person’s complaints in order to diminish…
Moxibustion, or moxa, is Fire Medicine. Sounds pretty cool, right? Used since about 500 BCE, moxibustion involves burning ground mugwort to warm certain points along your body. These points can coincide with acupuncture points or be other areas on the body that need attention. Mugwort, or artemisia, is a flowering plant in the daisy family….
What if our first line of medicine was gentle to our bodies and our planet? What if the first options we choose had no side effects and didn’t interact with any other treatments we may require in the present or future? What if this first line of medicine also relieved stress and helped us uncover…
Join us on Saturday, December 9th from 3-5pm to learn about the use of auricular acupuncture and ear seeds to treat stress, anxiety, insomnia, addiction and more. Learn these effective techniques just in time for the holidays! In this workshop you will:– learn the history of auricular protocols– learn safe and effective uses for ear…
Our Community Acupuncture Needs Based Sliding Scale allows more people to access acupuncture and herbal medicine. Our Initial Appointment is $60 and we offer a Needs Based Sliding Scale that allows you to pay anywhere between $60-40. Our Follow Up Appointments are $50 and we offer a Needs Based Sliding Scale that allows you to pay between $50-25. Those…
This past week I was reminded how helpful community acupuncture is for folks as they undergo chemotherapy. A clinic goer first came in at the urging of her care team after having many symptoms from her chemo treatments to treat her diagnosis of breast cancer. She was skeptical that acupuncture could help with her new…
Plantar fasciitis – also called a heel spur – is inflammation of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot. This tissue is called the plantar fascia. It connects the heel bone to the toes and creates the arch of the foot. When inflamed, it causes pain at the heel that varies from sharp…
Pregnancy is a whirlwind adventure. As your mind and spirit get ready for a new life and family member, your body is in full tilt. Most women get morning sickness. Hopefully it isn’t too severe and doesn’t last until delivery. Acupuncture is a great ally during pregnancy. It is very safe, and pharmaceutical free. It…
Xiao Yao Wan or Free and Easy Wanderer is one of the most famous herbal formulas available to help regulate your Liver, Gallbladder and Spleen Organ Systems, bringing about a balanced feeling of emotional and physical harmony. We prescribe this formula to many people and have seen widespread improvements to their individual issues. The Liver…
Lupus is an autoimmune disease causing inflammation of the connective tissue. Western medicine doesn’t understand the cause of this difficult disease that mainly afflicts women. Men can also get this disease, but 9 in 10 people with lupus are women. Ninety percent of patients complain of joint pain, and 40% of patients have skin conditions and…
Here at Jersey Community Acupuncture, we try to post on our blog about once or twice each week. Our posts typically cover content about acupuncture and herbal medicine, but we also post about Nicole’s experiences, local/clinic events, and updates about the clinic itself! Because we post so frequently, this means that some posts (such as…
I have worked at JCA now for a little over 6 years. I started here in my senior year of high school, and over these past few years I have grown a lot & earned two degrees. This winter I was accepted to Johns Hopkins University for graduate school! Because I am moving to Baltimore…
Variscite – Authenticity and Truth Variscite is beautiful stone. When I look at it rough, I want to pick it up and hold it. It is formed through a sedimentary process on the Earth’s surface with the help of aluminum-rich rock and rainwater containing phosphoric acid. It fills in the cracks as it is deposited….
This post is from January 2015: I just finished up a weekend course on Daoism, Chinese Medicine and Health. I love taking CEU’s. It gives me the opportunity to take a break, take a breath and refocus on my vocation. Why am I doing what I do? How can I do my best at what…
Your femoral artery is located at the inguinal area where the thigh meets your groin area. By massaging this artery, the goal is to increase fertility. This massage increases the blood flow to the pelvic organs, providing more nourishment to the uterus and ovaries, testes and penis. By increasing blood flow to the area, the…
The best vitamins for our bodies come from real, whole foods. It would be a sweet life if our foods gave us everything we needed and we made all the right food choices everyday. I would eat a rainbow of colors. My foods would never be processed, always be organic and always be grown in…
Many women believe that painful periods are something that they will always have to suffer through. The most common western treatment for most things regarding a menstrual cycle is hormonal pharmaceuticals, such as birth control pills. Not every woman wants to be on the pill for years, due to concern over the long term use of…
(This post was originally titled Taking Care of Each Other – Election 2016. However, it seems that the point of this post still reigns true, so we updated it a bit.) We can easily start to believe our world is falling apart with the ceaseless barrage of soundbites and rhetoric that media outlets have been…
Part of what we do at JCA is build community around the beautiful concept of affordable, accessible healthcare that gently restores health to the body through the use of tiny needles and natural herbal medicine. Below is an excerpt from this blog post when it was originally posted on our old website’s blog in 2015:…
What are you doing with those needles? How do you know where to put them? This is a really complex question! It took your practitioners 4 years of acupuncture school, and a year of internships to figure it out. It’s hard to condense all that experience into a simple answer. Our main goal is to…
From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) viewpoint, infertility is described as the inability to conceive after two years of having regular intercourse without contraception. This may allow some of you to breathe a sigh of relief! In the US, we are normally only given one year or less to get pregnant. TCM and acupuncture encourage…
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat. A diagnosis of PTSD is becoming more common. After…
Click here to view Part One and Part Two of this series. Three days for a retreat isn’t a long time, but it feels like the perfect amount of time to reset. Long enough that your mind can quiet and your body can relax. Long enough to appreciate the new patterns and new community you…
Lyme disease is tricky. If the person is lucky, they present with an obvious bulls-eye rash and overt symptoms that easily lead to a quick diagnosis. A course of antibiotic therapy to rid the body of the pathogen, followed up with acupuncture and herbal medicine to help the body return to balance, is usually an…
With close observation of Hunterdon Medical Center’s masking policies as well as CDC recommendation guidelines we have made a decision regarding changing our masking policy at JCA. From April 10th onward, masking in JCA is OPTIONAL. We will not require anyone to wear a mask, but if you are having respiratory symptoms such as coughing…
Stress effects all of us. The more tools we have to reduce stress, the better we feel. Some tools work better at certain times than others and some aren’t always available. The more options we have, the more prepared we will be. So what can we do for ourselves to feel better and reduce stress?…
Eating 101. Eating, the process can be joyous; your taste buds are alive, your body is being nourished and sustained. Most people have some forms of joyous eating, followed by days of indecision. Stress and hurried lifestyle lead to a sad tummy, sad taste buds, and interesting bathroom visits. With all the food trends out…
This week marks the astrological beginning if springtime. Spring is the time of the cleanse. We do our Spring Cleaning in the house and more and more, through advertisements and media, we are encouraged to do some internal cleansing as well. But what is a LIVER cleanse? What does it mean? Are all liver cleanses…
To make an Herbal Infusion, use the delicate parts of the plant, like flowers and leaves. If you are using roots or branches, you will simmer it, which is a different process. Simply boil water, pour the water into a quart jar with about one ounce of herbs (or about 1 cup of water to…
Lower back pain is a common complaint. You can have acute low back pain from lifting something; hopefully it’s only a muscle spasm. You can have chronic back pain from pelvic instability or herniations of discs or the narrowing of your spinal canal or … there are so many options. Too many options. Acupuncture does…
Two teachers guide us through this three day silent meditation retreat. Their names are Tuere Sala and Shelly Graf. The retreat itself is taking place over MLK weekend and the retreats guiding focus is the intersection of the tenets of buddhism, like non-harm and mindfulness, and the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The retreat…
As the temperatures fluctuate and our bodies try to discern how to respond to the outside weather conditions, we can take some steps to ensure our immune system and general wellness don’t take a hit. Step one: Dress like your grandma is watching. My grandma always told me to keep my neck covered and in…
Chances are, your switch is still set at fast and furious to get all your holiday work done. This past week, more clinic goers have been asking me to help them reduce holiday stress. We all need to remember to slow down. Has the cold already encouraged you to retreat inside and to rest? Are…
How Acupuncture Can Support Your Care Plan. *Note: This blog post was originally published to our original blog on 10/16/2009. The information shared in this post is still accurate and is quite important to the current functioning of our clinic space. Thanks, and enjoy. In June of 2009 I was able to attend an integrative…