Welcome to 5shen acupuncture & herbal therapy. 5shen is about increasing access to acupuncture and other complimentary and alternative medicine.

Taking inspiration from community acupuncture and acudetox models, 5shen promotes harm reduction, peer-led & client-centered services and treatment on demand.

For more information, or to get involved, please get in touch.

tragedy of the market: from crisis to commons. a conference to explore ‘commons’ as an alternative to capitalism. shared resources & collective approaches to food, health, housing, education, decolonization & more. i’ll be part of a panel discussion on food sovereignty & healthy communities. friday january 6 – sunday january 8 2012 in burnaby, coast salish territories.

here is a link to a radio interview i did with people’s health radio in the fall, talking about self and community care as part of radical movements.

Community acupuncture style! Duo acupuncture treatments $20 – $40 per person. Bring a friend or a loved one and both of you can chill out together in a beautiful setting with a mountain view. Accessible East Vancouver location close to busses & skytrain just off Commercial Drive. For more information or to book a session please contact me here.

Sunday July 24 is Free Acupuncture Day in Vancouver. Check out the Chinese Cultural Centre between 10am & 5pm at 50 East Pender in Chinatown for info, demos & free treatments!

Click on the image below to read..

Fraser Health Burnaby acupuncture group has started again and is in high demand. Accepting waitlist folks now. Fully subsidized for anyone with MSP extended benefits (low income, income assistance, disability, status first nations). Open to members of Mental Health, Addictions, Primary Care & other Burnaby Hospital programs, or self referral. Contact me for info, referrals & registration.

Private acupuncture sessions at Positive Living Society of BC (formerly BCPWA). Membership required. MSP subsidized or by donation with receipt. Health Spending Accounts may apply. For bookings or info, please call 604.646.5311 or email clinic@positivelivingbc.org

Hello all. I am a member of Acupuncturists Without Borders and I am hoping to travel to Japan as part of an AWB disaster relief team. At this time, they are assembling volunteers and working out logistics so there is not a plan in place yet, though it is in the works. As many of you know, many parts of Japan are experiencing shortages of food, shelter, gas and medicines, particularly the ravaged northeast. There are many ways to help right now, this is just one. I am starting to fundraise for the AWB Japan effort in hopes that I will be able to go, but if not any money raised will either continue to go to AWB for Japan, or it will go to Vancouver’s Japan Love Project. Thank you.

I’m preparing to embark on a diy, self-designed preliminary research project around acupuncture and transgender health. My project partner is a transguy who will be co-designing the study and directing the goals and outcomes. I will be the “practitioner” and he will be the “patient”.

We will be studying acupuncture’s effect on hormone production, secretion & inhibition as it relates to transgender health. We will also be looking at measuring acupuncture’s effect on other trans-related health concerns – ie. promotion & maintenance of specific desired characteristics, reducing unwanted effects of hormone therapy or other kinds of therapies, pre & post surgical care, mental health & more.

Right now I’m looking for transgender / gender-variant folks who have had acupuncture (it is irrelevant whether or not it was done by me, also irrelevant whether those treatments were specifically ‘trans health’ related) who would want to share their stories -confidentially- to contribute to the project. This could be in the form of an in-person conversation or a few points jotted down & emailed to me or.. whatever folks are comfortable with. There is absolutely no budget for this as it’s completely diy, so there is no honorarium involved, but I’d be happy to trade an acupuncture session for your time.

This project is a response to the almost complete lack of information regarding the link between acupuncture & trans health. We know acupuncture has a direct effect on hormones, and there is existing research and information exploring this connection in relation to things like growth hormones, mental health, menopause, infertility, sexual “dysfunction”.. but I’ve seen next to nothing around specifically transgender, genderqueer and intersex related health concerns.

The goal is to create a body of work that we can share with trans communities & healthcare communities.

For more information or to get involved, please contact me here.

Thanks & be well!

Facial rejuvenation

Acupuncture “facelifts” are a gentle, non-surgical & safe way to reduce scars & wrinkles, lift jowls, tighten pores, brighten eyes & tone skin. How? Acupuncture tones the facial muscles, increases qi, blood & lymph circulation in the area, and increases collagen production.
Here are some before and after shots over a 5 week period. This is an ongoing work in progress..

Weight loss
Acupuncture can help with weight loss by eliminating toxins, improving digestion, increasing metabolism, reducing stress, treating edema, assisting with food cravings, and so on. All acupuncture is in some way working to improve overall health & balance, and weight loss may be a by-product of a treatment for something completely different.
In this case, we are working specifically on weight loss through tonification, toxin elimination & improved digestion. Here are some before and after shots over a 5 week period. This is also a work in progress..