Acupuncture treats:
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Chronic pain, illness
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Digestive disorders
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Addictions
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Depression, anxiety, mental & emotional disturbances
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Sports injuries, sprains, strains
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Urogenital dysfunctions
Acupuncture supports:
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General well-being
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Prevention
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Health
Classical Five-Element Acupuncture
Acupuncture is the oldest and most effective non-drug form of healthcare in the world. Brighton Pathways offers Classical Five-Element Acupuncture to assess and treat the root cause of illnesses and conditions at the body, mind, and spirit levels. Treatment helps patients move back into balance and harmony within themselves, their emotions, and their life.
What Can I Expect?
Classical Acupuncturist Diane Macchiavelli uses the Laws of Nature to diagnose, treat, and assist healing by freeing your energy to align your body, mind, and spirit. The treatment Diane provides ultimately engenders health and well-being within you and ameliorates your symptoms.
To identify disharmony in the energy of your body, Diane uses the four classical diagnostics—See, Hear, Ask, and Feel—along with pulse diagnosis and odor, color, sound, and motion assessment to determine the root cause of your imbalance.
Diane diagnoses blocks between the meridians of energy that flow like rivers throughout the body. She assesses which of the Five Elements is predominantly out of balance and how this affects you. She will then use treatment to support your spirit through unique choices of acupuncture points.
Is Acupuncture Safe?
Acupuncture does not cause any ill side effects; at worst, there is no effect. Also, there is little to no risk when you receive acupuncture from Diane, a licensed New York State practitioner that adheres to a clean needle protocol. She uses pre-sterilized, one-time-use disposable acupuncture needles that conform to all New York State Department of Health regulations.
Does It Hurt?
Acupuncture needles are super-fine, pre-sterilized, solid, surgical quality filaments inserted into the surface of the skin. They are not at all like hypodermic needles used by your physician to draw blood or inject fluids. When the needle accesses the blocked energy of the acupuncture point, patients may experience a sensation of warmth spreading, a momentary dull ache, a slight tingle, or nothing at all. These feelings may be different from one side of the body to the other and from one treatment to the next.
Moxibustion
Very warming, calming, and relaxing, traditional Chinese moxibustion heat therapy is a perfect example of yin-yang balance in action!
An important component of Worsley-style Classical Five-Element Acupuncture, moxibustion enhances and increases one's health through the use of Chinese mugwort, also called moxa. A medicinal herb, moxa strengthens the blood and stimulates and tonifies the flow of qi throughout the body, mind, and spirit. Similar to warming the house before a guest arrives, moxibustion makes the body more accessible to the work of the needle.
The practitioner rolls the finely milled mugwort into a small bead-sized cone, places it directly on the skin at the acupuncture point, and then lights it with an incense stick. The practitioner remains present at all times, watching and listening carefully so she can immediately remove the mugwort when the patient first feels its warmth. The practitioner then repeats the process with a new cone of moxa until reaching the prescribed allowable number of moxas for each acupuncture point. The distinct smell of pungent smokiness lingers after treatment.
Moxibustion is sometimes performed by using a cigar-shaped moxa roll that is lit and held and/or moved over precise areas of the body. This particular method is widely known to be useful in turning breeched babies prior to labor.
Auricular Acupuncture
The human ear is a microsystem with special acupuncture points to treat the entire body. Auricular acupuncture stimulates these points using very small hair-like needles. Clients sit comfortably and quietly, fully clothed, either in silence or listening to relaxing music for a minimum of 30–45 minutes.
Asian Bodywork treats:
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Fever
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Fatigue
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Respiratory conditions, such as colds, cough, bronchitis, asthma, emphysema
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Muscle, tendon or ligament damage
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Sluggish circulation
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Fibromyalgia
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Headaches, migraines
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Digestive disorders, such as nausea, constipation, diarrhea, slow motility,
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Stiffness, aches, pain,
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Urinary, gynecological disorders
Asian Bodywork
Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT) is the treatment of the human body/mind/spirit, including the electromagnetic or energetic field, which surrounds, infuses, and brings that body to life, by pressure and or manipulation. Diane Macchiavelli offers the following traditional ABT techniques and treatment strategies for the promotion, maintenance and restoration of health.
Jin Shin Jyutsu
The art of Jin Shin Jyutsu® physio-philosophy gently balances the flow of Universal life energy in the body. In contrast to the mechanical delivery of many oriental massage and healing techniques, Jin Shin Jyutsu is an art. Practitioners apply minimal pressure to the tissue to create a connection with 26 safety energy locks in the body to redirect or unblock the unlimited Universal energy pathways. This awakening bestows the awareness of complete harmony within the self and the universe upon the recipient.
Tui Na
Tui Na is a hands-on treatment that uses Chinese Taoist and martial art principles to bring the body to balance. To balance the eight principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the practitioner may brush, knead, roll/press, and rub the areas between each of the joints, known as the Eight Gates. These techniques open the body's defensive (wei) chi and get the energy moving in the meridians as well as the muscles.
Gua Sha
In Chinese, Gua Sha translates to scrape away. Extremely common in all Asian countries, this ancient medical treatment has the same or similar effect as cupping.
Gua Sha involves putting oil balm on the skin and then applying slight pressure with a small hand tool to scrape or skim along with the muscles or the pathway of the acupuncture meridians in circular or upward and downward motions. This technique releases blood into the surrounding tissue, sometimes leaving temporary marks on the skin that fade within hours of treatment. While the marks left like bruises, they are not hematomas. Patients typically feel an immediate sense of relief and change to their muscle tension, aches, and pains.
Women's Health
From the beginning of menstruation to post-menopause, Classical Chinese Medicine supports women's reproductive cycles throughout their lifetimes.
Fertility is an increasing concern for women of all ages and nationalities and their partners. For more than 20 years, Diane Macchiavelli has helped women and men achieve parenthood by integrating Classical Five-Element Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and dietary and nutritional therapies.
Diane also uses these methods to address and successfully treat women's postpartum conditions, which often go unrecognized and undiagnosed. Even years after pregnancy and delivery, the onset of many conditions like depression, anxiety, and other functional physical conditions like migraines, can be traced back to lack of proper care after giving birth.
Symptoms of a nutritional imbalance:
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Mood swings, mental & emotional disorders
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Skin conditions: dry, red, itchy skin; eczema
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Hives
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Digestive disorders
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Constipation, diarrhea
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Weight gain, obesity
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Body aches, pains
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Hormonal imbalances
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Menstrual difficulties
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Infertility
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Headaches, migraines, cluster headaches
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Gout
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Bloating, cramping
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Foul breath
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Hair loss
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Heart disease
Nutrition and Dietary Support
Each person has unique nutritional needs. Two universal principles in Chinese Medicine describe and aid in understanding those needs: The Law of Five Elements, and the Law of Yin and Yang.
Every food item has a set of qualities that describe the action of the food, such as warming, cooling, stimulating, and so forth. Diane recommends foods and herbs, depending on the season and the condition and needs of the person.
Living in a post-industrialized, modern society leaves us regularly exposed to toxins in our food, air, and water. Mass-produced foods grown in depleted, mineral-deficient, and chemical-laden soil provide little to no nutritional value. The availability of refined and over-processed foods loaded with sugar and caffeine but lacking in quality causes an alarming degree of obesity in the United States. Lastly, increasingly sedentary lifestyles added to the mix and it's no wonder people feel empty, depleted, and exhausted.
Start with the right foods and nutritional products.
Diane has over 20 years of personal and clinical experience with a variety of nutritional and dietary products and thoroughly vets all the brands she uses and recommends as a practitioner. She is an authorized distributor for some and recommends others that are readily available at the local grocery or natural food stores, including FDA-approved and manufactured dietary products such as herbs, supplements, homeopathic, and other remedies.
To learn more about this important aspect of a healthy lifestyle, contact Diane.
Athletic Enhancement
Acupuncture, Tai chi, yoga, massage, proper nutrition, and herbs optimize the internal and external physical performance of your body. These modalities successfully treat for peak performance and also treat any resultant injuries that might occur along the way.
Acupuncture and Tai chi successfully treat Orthopedic issues such as joint, bone, muscle, ligament and tendon damage. If surgery is necessary, acupuncture and Chinese herbs are the perfect adjuncts to help the surgery go smoother and to assist and speed up the healing process post-surgery. We offer a safe and time-tested Chinese Herbal pre- and post-surgery protocol that works!