by urban-acupuncture | Jun 13, 2017 | Acupuncturists
I had trouble finding work I could be passionate about. I grew up in the country in Defiance, Ohio. My parents were social studies teachers/coaches, and we had acres of trails and creeks right in our backyard. My interest in history and nature, along with my love of reading, helped me learn about the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world, and how important that was, but I didn’t know how to incorporate it into a career.
After studying English literature and Spanish language and culture here in Ohio, I went to teach English in Costa Rica, with the duel intentions of sharpening my Spanish-speaking skills and finding out what I truly wanted for my life’s work. There I learned to meditate, began a yoga practice, and ultimately met local healers who inspired me to go to school to become an acupuncturist and herbalist.
After graduating from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, I practiced for three years at Source Healing in Chicago under founding director Christie Hwang Jordan. In Chicago I also spent time working in a variety of community acupuncture settings, from a women’s clinic, to a mainly Spanish-speaking clinic, to setting up healing events to support and educate those involved in community organizing.
I’m so happy to be here at Urban Acupuncture. Community acupuncture and holistic ideology in general give me hope and comfort in the present and for the future.
by urban-acupuncture | Oct 25, 2016 | Acupuncture, Acupuncturists, Art
2-person show features fiber work by Kate Gorman and Gwen Surratt; show runs through December 2016.
KATE GORMAN
I am a visual storyteller. I love stories; I love telling stories through pictures. I work in fabric because of the tactile and textural qualities inherent in cloth, and I do narratives because the story is a natural starting point for me. My background is in illustration and literature. After working for many years as an illustrator-for-hire working in watercolor and pen-and-ink, I fell in love with textiles and began making contemporary narrative art quilts.
The pieces here incorporate both my appliqué technique, layering commercially printed and hand-dyed fabrics, and my more recent method of working; drawing with thickened dyes and hand-stitching on linen. I love the immediacy of the appliqué work, but also the contemplative nature of the hand-drawn and stitched pieces.
When not in my studio, I work at the Goodwill Art Studio and Gallery, in Columbus, Ohio, creating art with adults with disabilities. I am also an Ohio Arts Council residency artist, traveling around the state sharing my love of narrative quilts with schoolchildren of all ages.
GWEN SURRATT
As a fiber artist I am drawn to color, shape, texture and line. I look to the natural world for color, to architecture for shape and structure, and the beauty of calligraphy for linear inspiration.
The works on display are a small part of my journey of exploration in fabric and thread. Hand stitching for me is like drawing or writing with needle and thread. My canvas is cotton, wool, silk, linen or paper. The sensual qualities of fabric, such as its texture and drape, feed my vision of what I want to create. Hand stitching, making marks with thread, grows into a grid-like design, with each little cell-like shape connecting to the next.
My work is meditative and at times feels like I am writing my own language with thread, stitching my own stories.
by urban-acupuncture | Feb 10, 2015 | Acupuncture, Acupuncturists, Uncategorized
Matthew will be joining UAC on Saturday afternoons in Clintonville from 1-5 pm. His first day with us is Valentine’s Day, February 14th
About Matthew:
Upon arriving at the Ohio State University in 2006, I felt completely lost amongst the thousands of potential paths open to me. Through a whirlwind of self-exploration, music, spiritual investigation and other meaningful encounters, I knew that I had found my purpose as a healer. I resonated strongly with Chinese medicine’s big picture: the mind, body, and spirit as one whole; using logic, creativity, observation, intuition, and heart to bring balance. I want to live in a world where Eastern and Western medicine have put their guards down and become good friends, with the shared goal of benefitting humanity. Eastern medicine excels at promoting wellness and balance, while Western medicine is unrivaled in disaster management; with their forces combined we could have our cake and eat it too. Outside of acupuncture, I regularly practice a Chinese martial art called Baguazhang, which is the foundation of my internal cultivation. I nourish myself with good food, company, and art forms of many kinds. I have a great passion for music, the greatest healer of all. Nature has always been a source of comfort to me, when I feel like something’s missing I can usually take a step out into nature and feel at home again.
by urban-acupuncture | Apr 9, 2014 | Acupuncture, Acupuncturists
A famous acupuncturist said: When you are young, you can cheat your body; when you are old, your body cheats you. We’ve all heard truisms along this vein which reflect the wisdom of a life lived. But, self-care can be a means to living longer and living better, because what’s the point of living long if you can’t be strong at the same time? My Mom, like Ben Franklin, I believe, encouraged moderation in all things. And, I think that this is a useful way to look at the big picture. Your life, and, therefore, your body and mind, and even your Qi is an accumulated collective of everything that you have experienced and been exposed to. Your lifestyle habits – diet, exercise, sleep, stress relief, hobbies, medications, relationships, expression of emotions, the ability to create, your connection to the natural world – all have profound and direct effects on your experience as a human being in this material world as well as a spiritual entity in this universe. Focus on your daily routine, the things you eat everyday, the type of exercise you do, how engaged you are in your life and your job and in this very moment as a way to change and influence the course of your trajectory. You have the control unless you choose to give it away.
This is what the ‘Acupuncture Lifestyle’ encompasses. Acupuncture needles adjust the functional energy of the human body to make it work as efficiently as it was designed. What this means is that you have the ability to aid it by nourishing your Qi or hinder it by wasting your Qi or using it all up without replenishing it. You can only cheat your body for so long before it begins to cheat you. Here’s to practicing what we all try to preach to others.
by urban-acupuncture | Apr 8, 2014 | Acupuncture, Acupuncturists, Community
Acupressure First-Aid Kit: Relief for Common Ailments That Can Be Used at Home
WHEN: Wednesday
April 30, 2014
TIME: 7- 8 pm
COST: $10
WHERE: Meeting at the Westerville UAC Clinic
Register and Pre-pay by April 25th please call 614-426-4406 to sign up. Space is limited!
Have you ever wondered what you could be doing at home in between treatments to help relieve minor pain and lingering issues? Maybe you have a family member that could really benefit from acupuncture but they won’t let us get near them with needles? In this class we will cover several powerful acupuncture points and how to do acupressure on yourself and loved ones. The points we will be focusing on are useful for many common complaints such as: pain, headaches, stress, insomnia, and digestive issues. This is a hands-on class where you will get to practice locating and stimulating each of the points.
by urban-acupuncture | Apr 8, 2014 | Acupuncture, Acupuncturists, Community
“Sometimes you don’t know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” Georges Duhamel Almost 4 years after completing chemotherapy I was still experiencing an intense amount of neuropathy in my feet. I tried physical therapy, medications and exercise. The feeling in my feet flowed from stinging needles to shooting pain. The pain was relentless 24/7 and I had accepted that this was simply the way my life would be. As a LAST resort I decided to try acupuncture, after-all, the thought of anyone > sticking anything into me was not at all appealing.
A friend recommended Urban Acupuncture Center. This place had a soothing effect as soon as I walked in. It’s quiet, yet friendly and smells really good! The treatment room is calming with comfortable chairs, relaxing music quietly playing in the background and interesting artwork on the walls. After the very first session, all the pain in my feet disappeared. This is no exaggeration. I realize this might not be the result for everyone, but it was for me!
I was so amazed, and of course relieved, that I continued to go for weekly treatments. The sessions eventually focused on other aches and pains, my insatiable appetite and my sleepless nights and, of course my practitioner made whatever adjustments were needed to try to address my current issue. After one and a half years I thought that maybe I was “good to go” and even thought that maybe the acupuncture was really a placebo, where because I thought it was working, that it did. So I decided to take a break. I stopped going for approximately 5 weeks. It didn’t take long for my body to start to feel off-centered. By the end of 5 weeks I couldn’t wait to return.
The acupuncture brought me back to center because the acupuncture gives my body a focus of attention that nothing else does. I now recommend to people that acupuncture become their FIRST resort. I am grateful that the persistent moments of the aftermath of my chemotherapy is now a memory.
Ellen, Columbus, OH
