Professional Path
QIGONG
I was introduced to Qigong practices in 1987 as part of my acupuncture training. In 2016 I committed to deepen my Qigong study and practice as a tool for nurturing my body/mind/spirit and with the intention of sharing the practices with my patients.
I opened Sunset Hill Qigong in August 2018. That pilot class became permanent and we outgrew our space; so I gradually added additional class sections with new qigong students.
In March 2020, COVID restrictions prevented me from seeing acupuncture patients in-person. So I offered my patients a free 30-minute class at 8:00 AM on Monday mornings. Monday Morning Qigong now serves as a touchpoint for centering and rejuvenation at the beginning of the week for patients and families, friends and neighbors. All are welcome!
All Qigong classes and private lessons are now online through Zoom, with occasional Seattle green space offerings. As the situation changes our format will likely adjust. Yet it is clear to me that I will continue offer the online class option for student convenience, ease on environmental impact and in order to serve students outside the Seattle area.
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I teach Qigong because it pulls together 3 primary strands of past experience:
- 40+ years of teaching health-promoting movement: from water exercise and aerobic dance classes to using movement suggestions for addressing specific health concerns in my acupuncture practice.
- 25+ years of tending to my patients by nurturing optimal health and addressing disease through acupuncture, herbal medicine, and health education.
- BA in education and music.
To sum it up . . .
Drawing out and nurturing students' resilience, strength and balance through movement practices whose foundations are based on the principles of East Asian Medicine feels like coming home.
ACUPUNCTURE PRACTICE
For over 25 years I have been graced with wonderfully diverse and compelling patients, working in partnership to support resilient vitality and to address disease.
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Following graduation from Seattle's Northwest Institute of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, some professional milestones have included:
*Clinical Supervisor and Faculty:
NW Institute of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
*Instructor at the Taoist Studies Institute, Seattle.
*Recognition in the "Top Doctors" issue of Seattle Magazine.
*Private practice in the heart of Ballard, since 1995.
*Study and practice of Toyohari acupuncture, since 2008.
*Qigong instructor, since 2018.
My in-person acupuncture practice has been on "pause" since September 2021. I am happy to consult virtually, though typically refer patients on after one or two sessions so they can be seen in-person. I have a number of exceptional acupuncturist colleagues in Seattle and scattered across the country to whom I confidently refer.
Toyohari Therapy
The study and practice of Toyohari acupuncture has continues to vitalize and inform my work. Toyohari is a branch of Japanese Meridian Therapy. The extremely refined and gentle Toyohari techniques were originally practiced by blind practitioners in Japan. Today Toyohari is consciously and continuously evolving through empirical study by local Toyohari Branch Associations from around the globe and remains rooted in the foundations of classical Chinese medicine based on the ancient texts of the Nan Jing, Nei Jing, Su Wen and Ling Shu.
Beyond Qigong and Acupuncture
I live and work in Ballard. My husband, daughter and I enjoy hiking, camping, canoeing and sharing meals with Seattle friends, while remaining connected to our Montana roots.
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