A Well-Rounded Holistic Care Plan Includes Acupuncture
Acupuncture has always been an essential part of SuNu’s approach to whole body wellness. We believe that a diverse, robust and well-rounded care plan is a more effective method. In fact, that’s why SuNu is designed as a holistic collective with a variety of health care options available within one space. Therefore, practitioners and modalities can work in tandem to support patients in a way they can’t find anywhere else. The benefits of acupuncture can build upon the benefits a patient simultaneously receives from seeing one of our Chiropractors, in addition to regular body work from a Massage Therapist.
Carey, our Acupuncturist in Minnetonka, has been with SuNu for 7 years. She’s built an esteemed reputation based on authenticity and sincere service. Recently, Andrea joined the SuNu team in Linden Hills. She also has a distinguished reputation within the Twin Cities through her work in acupuncture medicine. We are lucky to have such intentional and ethical women leading SuNu’s services in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Experiencing Acupuncture Medicine at SuNu
There are countless benefits to acupuncture medicine. People have been using acupuncture for over 2,000 years to assist in treating a wide variety of things ranging from common ailments/discomforts to infertility, hormone management, mental health and more.
Something we find ourselves coming back to when describing the efficacy and experience of acupuncture, is regulation. The use of acupuncture to regulate the body, mind and heart, allows transition to occur more easily and readily within the body. So much of preventative health care is about guiding a person to self-regulation. For instance, the collective work that happens at SuNu, offers many paths to help people come to recognize their health and find their way to more of it. If, for example, through acupuncture, a client is able to get familiar with what it feels like to feel ‘better/clearer/calmer’, then they may be more likely to notice when something feels off and (hopefully) do something about it sooner.
As Andrea explains, “One way to think about it is ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ and that is why we need to interact with other people who can point things out to us. In the case of acupuncture, a session can help your nervous system regulate so you can feel what a bit more calm or clarity is like – or less pain. Once a person can regularly feel a healthy shift in their body, it can allow for more long term shifts toward vitality or balance to emerge. We create a positive feed back loop …”
Symptoms are Both Physical and Emotional
Unlike what is so often the experience in Western medical thinking, there is no split between the heart, mind and body. Symptoms are ways to describe what is being experienced whether it is physical pain or emotional pain or numbness. In acupuncture medicine, symptoms like feeling sad, anxious, irritable, short fused, depressed, etc., hold the same relevance as the physical symptoms that we may be more familiar with reporting.
Every session is different for each person, of course. Because it is a collaboration between client and practitioner in identifying the patterns of symptoms, behaviors and observations. Cary and Andrea look for where the innate health of a person is showing up; their personal knowing, wisdom, healthy perspectives and impulses. They look for where things may feel stuck or under-resourced and focus clinical interventions to those areas.
Meet SuNu’s Practitioners
Carey
Carey is available in Minnetonka. She has been practicing for over 19 years and graduated from NWHSU College of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in 2002. Master of Chinese Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Diplomate in Acupuncture (NCCAOM). Carey worked for 9 years in an adult and adolescent residential eating disorder treatment facility. She’s going on her 7th year of working at SuNu Wellness. Her experience has given her the necessary tools and wisdom to treat a wide variety of patients and conditions. She commonly helps clients with symptoms including, but not limited to: depression, anxiety, digestive issues, pain and injuries, menstrual irregularities, fertility, auto-immune disorders, headaches and migraines, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and menopausal discomfort. Carey uses an individualized, intentional and patient-led approach to care. She creates space for healing and change to happen.
I take time to listen to each patient and to hear all of their concerns. Each patient’s comfort is my number one priority.
Click here to learn more about Carey and here to schedule an appointment or free 15 minute consult at our Minnetonka location. Carey sees clients Tuesday-Saturday.
Andrea
Andrea sees clients in Linden Hills. Like Carey, she also has almost 20 years of experience practicing acupuncture and East Asian Medicine. She has established a reputation for quality, professional and compassionate care. Andrea has a diverse resume of training. She’s certified as a Doula, in Shiatsu, meditation, qi gong and is also actively involved in food justice initiatives. When working with Andrea, patients can expect careful listening and inquiry to build an accurate picture of what they’re experiencing. She uses her gentle and versatile application of training and experience to address the whole person.
As a practitioner of traditional medicine from a culture that is not my own, I acknowledge cultural appropriation has happened and still happens in the health and wellness field. I am committed to educating myself about structural and systemic racism (including when it targets people of East Asian and Pacific Island descent) and working to make changes. I hope to exercise grace and openness when it comes to my own mistakes so I can learn and adjust.
Click here to learn more about Andrea and here to schedule an appointment or free 15 minute consult at our Linden Hills location. Andrea currently sees clients on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
SuNu’s Service in Action
At SuNu Wellness, we are committed to honoring, respecting and crediting the practices we’ve learned and offer which come from cultures not our own. With deep conviction, we use our good intention to lead us towards collective healing and connection. When we misstep, we come back to our intention and use what we’ve learned to change, grow and improve.
We’re grateful to have acupuncture practitioners who have been in practice for nearly 20 years, and are committed to serving in a manner that aims to appreciate rather than appropriate these cultural practices.
We fiercely advocate for all people regardless of race, sex, status. Furthermore, we pledge to create a space for honest, solution-based, heart-forward communication. We would love to hear from you. SuNu has always encouraged engagement and conversation. Tell us how you feel, your experience and your feedback. The more we know, the better we do.
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