Sea of Light Wellness
and Acupuncture
Sea of Light Wellness and Acupuncture has many offerings to support you on your self-care journey.
Our Pasadena location offers multiple modalities from skilled practitioners that we are proud to partner with
(see "Pasadena" page for a listing of practitioners)
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient practice of using sterilized needles to release blocked Qi from meridian pathways in the body. The body has many points that influence Qi and blood flow in the body that restore health, reduce inflammation and redirect areas of stagnation into a more freely flowing system.
Acupuncture works wonders with: pain and injuries (chronic or acute), disease conditions such as hyptertension, diabetes, auto-immune issues, stress and anxiety, depression, insomnia, fertility issues and many more.
E-Stim acupuncture may be used for additional support to create a stronger and more effective treatment for certain conditions, it is especially helpful for pain, injuries and neurological conditions.
Facial Acupuncture
Facial Acupuncture uses micro-thin needles to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. It is a natural alternative to botox, known in current social media as "no-tox". The needles in the dermal layer of the skin stimulate skin cells to produce more collagen to resore firmness and a tighter feel of the skin.
Very fine (thinner than a human hair) and tiny needles are then inserted into the dermal layer of the face to reduce lines and wrinkles and restore a youthful look and glow.
Facial Guasha can be added to bring more circulation, blood and lymph flow to the face.
Cupping/Fire Cupping
Cupping is an ancient technique used by many indigenous medicine traditions to apply a reverse pressure gradient on the skin to draw out blood and toxins from the body as the skin is suctioned into a cup either with fire or with a suction hose.
Patients with aunts and uncles back in home countries abroad often speak of receiving this treatment at the first signs of cold/flu, which is still an effective remedy that we still use today.
Cupping is also very helpful for sore muscles or areas where lots of scar tissue has limited range of motion from injury. There are a number of ways cupping is done - either on specific meridian points, or opening up a channel, or to loosen up fascia and break up scar tissue.
The suction will create a bruise in the shape of the cup (*ask us about love cups!) which can last for about a week. The darker the color, the more stagnation of blood and toxins are present in that area, so a very tight and injured area can become very purple.
Guasha/Tuina
Guasha is a scraping technique used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It uses a tool such as a crystal, horn, spoon or stainless steel scraper to break up fascia and scar tissue adhesions to release toxins and tightness from the body. A proper guasha treatment will often leave marks that look like a rash or rug burn.
Tuina is a Traditional Chinese Medicine body work technique that uses hands to push and pull body parts such as muscle, tissues and bone to better facilitate and manipulate movement of blood, lymph and qi.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is a term used for burning dried mugwort and directing the smoke of the herb to specific points or meridian channels on the body.
Herbal Formula Prescriptions
In Oriental Medical Diagnosis, we look at your tongue as a map of the organs of your body and feel the quality of your blood as it runs through different meridians as we feel your pulses. From what we see, feel and hear from what you describe about your own observations of your body, we come up with a TCM Diagnosis.
From here, we will write a formula that may consist of herbs, shells, leaves, flowers, bark or even animal parts (when necessary). The formula may come in different delivery methods such as decoctions, teas, capsules, tea pills, lineaments or poultices. You will likely take a formula for 3, 7, 10 or 30 days and then come back for another reading to change the formula to match how your body has changed and is now behaving.
Nutritional & Lifestyle Consultation
Prior to our industrialized nations that have turned food into capital gain, in ancient Asia, food was viewed as medicine for the body and movement was prescribed as daily activity to keep blood and qi flowing properly.
In our current times, we have things like air conditioning to mask the heat and fossil-fueled cargo vehicles that ship produce from all over the world, making it possible to eat a strawberry in the U.S. in December.
This is not natural and does not deliver the best nutrient-dense foods to our body systems. As acupuncturists, we are trained to look at your body and hear about your lifestyle to help determine what needs to be added or subtracted from your diet and what movement modifications would need to be practiced regularly.
Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy (based on Cranial Osteopathy) is a gentle but effective method for treating the body from the perspective of the Central Nervous System. Many people describe it as a deeply relaxing brain massage.
It is a very effective technique to treat headaches (including migraine), TMJ dysfunction, sinusitis, spinal stenosis, anxiety and depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune conditions and more.
Somato Emotional Release Technique
The human body is an extraordinarily multifaceted system that experiences emotions and trauma in very interesting ways. In the face of danger, instead of fighting or fleeing like most in the animal kingdom, at times we cognitively choose to freeze. In that process, the positions our bodies assume in the moment of trauma/injury store the memory of the incident and will hold that pattern as a lesion until it is fully released, which often requires that the sympathetic nervous system re-set itself and release the trauma pattern from the body.
Often times this can look like sobbing or intense shivering despite not being cold. This is a normal process in allowing the body to find homeostasis and return to a feeling of safety and restoration.
Somato Emotional Release Technique was developed by John Upledger, D.O. as a technique that uses the Craniosacral system to facilitate this release in a safe, nurturing setting with a skilled facilitator.
For more fascinating info on this: "Waking the Tiger" by Peter Levine, Ph.D. or "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
Myofascial Release Technique
The entire body is made up of a wonderful connective tissue network called "fascia". Fascia is everywhere in the body and looks like a clear membrane that extends from over the eyeballs to the periosteum of your pinky toe and is completely interconnected as a sticky, gooey matrix.
When we get injured, fascia responds. It is like sticking your finger in jello, where much of it will come back together and stick to it's original form, but if the force is strong enough, it can disassemble and rearrange the connective tissue to give a different format, which can reassemble in a more chaotic way. Myofascial Release work on the body will help to reorganize connective tissue by stretching and combing it out and allowing it to melt into the right position surrounding the bones and joints in the body. What ensues is an increase in mobility and a more free sense in the body.
Reiki
Reiki is a Japanese Energy Medicine technique that uses symbols to tap into certain energetic frequencies that will help heal the energy of the patient.
A Reiki Practitioner has been attuned by a Reiki Master and has been given the symbols for practice both with hands on or near the patient or from far away.
TuiNa (Chinese Medical Massage)
TuiNa is an anatomically-based type of massage that focuses on certain areas of the body that are functioning less optimally and need more attention.
Various types of techniques are drawn upon and utilized based on a patient's individual needs.
Some of the techniques used are Muscle Energy Technique, Swedish Massage, Lymphatic Drainage, Ligamentous Articular Release, Myofascial Release Technique, Counterstrain and more.
