My Story

I was first introduced to acupressure when I was a child suffering from motion sickness. A friend told us about "Seabands," a special acupressure wrist band that stimulates an acupuncture point called PC-6 or "Neiguan" that treats nausea. I liked that they helped me feel better without knocking me out like the medications I had tried.

Years later I began to have neck, shoulder and back pain, headaches and trouble sleeping that I associated with stress and too many hours in front of a computer.  Regular acupuncture helped me to manage my stress and as my symptoms began to subside I decided to enroll in acupuncture school.

I chose acupuncture over psychology and med school because it works for me personally, and because it gives me the opportunity to work on my own schedule and spend more time with my patients.

I'm an avid reader and researcher, always looking for new ways to improve my health and the health of my clients. I'm also a long-time meditator and enjoy lifting weights, hiking and swimming.

Treatment Philosophy

My treatments are guided by the following core principles:

1. The human body is a single interconnected network of systems where individual parts influence one another and the system as a whole.
2. Each person is made up of body, emotions, mind and spirit. Physical health is deeply tied to psychological, emotional and spiritual well being and vice versa.
3. The body is a naturally self-regulating system that is capable of self-healing and maintenance of health. Dis-ease and dys-function are treated by removing obstacles to healing and supporting the natural healing process.
4. Successful treatments address root causes of illness, rather than simply treating individual symptoms.
5. I work collaboratively with each individual patient to build a plan that works for them. This plan may include different treatment modalities, lifestyle changes, diet and nutrition counseling, corrective exercise, herbal medicines or nutritional supplements and more. My goal is to break a cycle of pain, illness and disease as quickly as possible, then give each person tools that they can use moving forward.

Training

I have a profesional Doctorate of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM) from the Pacific College of Health and Science in San Diego. During my degree progam I also attended the New England School of Acupuncture in Massachusetts and the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco.

I am nationally board certified in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine by the NCCAOM and I hold a 500 hour massage certificate specializing in Tuina sports massage.

Clinical Tools

I view Acupuncture as just one tool in my toolbox. I have advanced training and clinic experience with the following modalities:

• Acupuncture
• Electro acupuncture
• Auricular (Ear) acupuncture
• Mukaino Method
• Tuina Sports Massage
• Reiki
• Cupping
• Herbal medicine
• Nutritional supplements
• Reading, understanding and translating labwork
• Diet and Nutrition counseling
• Functional medicine
• Qigong and Tai Chi

Specialties

I am expert at treating the following conditions:

• Pain (Back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, sciatica, abdominal pain)
• Headaches
• Recovery from injuries and surgeries
• Stress and anxiety
• GI complaints like reflux or GERD, gas and bloating, IBS, Crohn's disease, diverticulitis

Contact Information

You can reach me at james@opustotalhealth.com and on Linkedin and Twitter.