Community Acupuncture
Community style acupuncture is a model of practicing acupuncture that prioritizes accessibility and affordability. This way of practicing acupuncture is quite commonly practiced in China. When Chinese Medicine made its way to the North America in 1970's, the Western world started to offer it in another form, 1 on 1 sessions charging higher rates per session.
Patients are seated in a room together, fully clothed and quietly treated with acupuncture needles on their limbs, head and ears to address chronic pain, various health conditions & emotional support.
What is it?
How to prepare for your treatment
If it's your first session, please arrive 5-10 min early to fill required forms.
Wear warm, comfortable, loose fitting clothes
Wear clothes that you will be able to roll up to access lower legs and arms
Bring ear plugs or headphones if you'd like to have your session undisturbed by noises or movement from others
If you tend to run cold, please bring an extra blanket for yourself. A light blanket will be provided.
Please arrive after you have eaten a meal. Low blood sugar and acupuncture are not a good mix.
Please arrive well hydrated and use the toilet before hand.
Health care as activism
For much of recent human history medicine and health care has only been accessible to those who had the privilege to afford it. And in modern times this is no exception.
With the corruption and greed of the pharmaceutical industries and health insurance companies coupled with health care systems that are overloaded, essential health care are, again relegated to those who are in a privledged position to afford it and access it.
Access to medicine and proper health care is a fundamental human right, alongside clean air, fresh clean drinking water and healthy foods.
Community acupuncture is grass roots way of offering affordable and accessible health care to a local community. Frequency is key to good health. Frequent excercise, frequent healthful eating, frequent taking of medicine, etc.
And frequent treatments are no exception. Community acupuncture is a low barrier way of accessing that frequency.
Radical roots of community acupuncture in America
It would be neglectful not to acknowledge the radical roots of Community style acupuncture in America.
In early 1970s, heroin was flooding the streets of New York City. Black and Puerto Rican neighbourhoods like Harlem and the South Bronx. Dr. Mutulu Shakur, stepfather of the late Tupac Shakur, along with members of the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords, combined community health with radical politics to create the first community style acupuncture detoxification program in America. This is how the 5 point ear acupuncture protocol called NADA (National Acupuncture Detox Association) came to be.
‘Dope is Death’ is a documentary and podcast that tells the heavy but radical history of Community style acupuncture in America and the NADA protocol used by Acupuncturists and Chinese Medicine doctors throughout the world to this day.