Acupuncturist and Herbalist in Burlington, VT &
Practice Visionary

I became an acupuncturist after being fired from my last jobby-job. My mistake? Taking cues from the community I was serving, not from our out-of-touch donors. At that time, I thought justice and liberation was the domain of nonprofits. But being booted by the very people I thought were “my people” called that idea into question in a very big way.

How could I tend justice and radical belonging outside of organizational structures? Could justice work be done on a somatic level to cultivate refuge and belonging in a world that undermines our inherent worth?

With these questions alight, I dug deep, I cried a LOT, and eventually realized that acupuncture and herbal medicine had already helped me do just that. It had tended the pieces of myself that I shunned and cast-away in order to belong. I was in my mid-20s, in the closet, an immigrant, in the throes of disordered eating, chronic physical pain and depression. My first acupuncturist, Itzik Zangi, relieved my physical pain but also (and perhaps most importantly) held a space of true refuge for me. And little by little, I found more belonging in my own body and mind which is what health actually is. This profound level of being seen, accepted, and tended with deep reverence is what I aspire to do for my patients whether you’re taking your first or your last breaths on this planet.