Medicine that asks why. Not just where it hurts.

What classical means.

I practice Classical Chinese Medicine: a complete, channel-based system that treats the root cause of illness, not just its symptoms. This is acupuncture as it was intended before standardization simplified it for mass export.

In the 1950s, Chairman Mao's government standardized Chinese Medicine into an exportable commodity, now called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). To make it politically palatable under Marxist-materialist ideology, they stripped away the Daoist foundations, the spiritual dimensions, and the sophisticated diagnostic systems passed down through lineages for thousands of years. What remained was a diluted, point-based system relying almost exclusively on the Primary Channel System offering mainly 14 out of the 61 available classical channels.

There are two main channel systems. The Primary Channel system, mentioned above, and the Complement Channel System (Sinews, Luos, Divergents, and Eight Extraordinary Vessels). These other systems were largely omitted from standard TCM education. The Cultural Revolution as well as the current attempts to Westernize acupuncture have only deepened these losses. Sadly, this is still what most acupuncture in the West looks like today.

The resurgence.

Master Jeffrey Yuen, an 88th-generation Daoist priest, has been a beacon for reviving the classical roots of this system. My teacher, Ann Cecil-Sterman, studied directly under Master Yuen for decades and teaches this rare tradition worldwide. At Gateway, you have access to all of the medicine: The Primary and Complement Channel systems, all 61 channels, as well as classical pulse diagnosis. Classical Chinese Medicine treats the root cause of illness with the elegance and complete scope of the medicine as it was intended.

What to expect.

Every visit is its own reassessment. We meet what is in front of us that day rather than grading you against the last session or a fixed plan.

Many people feel a shift early, though I won't promise it by a certain visit. Healing here is a partnership. My part is to be present and curious, to listen for what your body is asking for, find the pattern accurately, and treat it well that day. Your part is trust, and a willingness to be honest and stay with the process even where it is uncomfortable. The more each of us brings, the more the medicine can do.

Every session includes whatever your treatment calls for: needles or needle-free channel work, cupping, moxa, gua sha, bodywork. The price never changes based on what we use.

If you have tried acupuncture before and didn't get the results you hoped for, it may not have been the medicine that fell short. Most acupuncture practiced in the U.S. is unable to reach deep enough to effect real change. If your condition lives in the Complement Channel System: the Sinew Channels, the Divergent Channels, or the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, the mainstream approach may be insufficient. Classical Chinese Medicine was designed to go there. If acupuncture hasn't worked for you, it may be worth finding out whether you've experienced the full system yet.

Who this is for.

• Chronic conditions that haven't resolved with standard care
• Pain that keeps returning after treatment
• Anxiety, depression, or insomnia with a physical dimension
• Digestive, hormonal, or autoimmune conditions
• Fertility support, trauma recovery, or post-viral fatigue

Nine people with low back pain will have nine different causes. Classical diagnosis finds yours.

On working together

Personal, and built over time.

Working with me is personal. One patient at a time, your story heard, the root treated through the complete classical system.

This work rewards those who want to build a healing relationship, with the medicine and with me, more than a silver-bullet solution or quick fix for chronic, complex conditions. If you commit to the process, I commit to you, and to the freedom it can return to your life.