About Me

I have been living and working in Woking since arriving in the UK in 2003. I am from Minnesota, a Midwestern state in the US, which is best known for 3M, Prince, Bob Dylan, snowy winters, Spam, the Mayo Clinic and the Mississippi River. Contrary to the Scandinavian feel to the state, from an early age, I grew up with Vietnamese, Hmong, Chinese and Tibetan friends; so I was immersed in East Asian culture. But it wasn't until finishing 5 years of university in 1992 in Minneapolis that I first discovered acupuncture.

Before starting my formal studies in Chinese Medicine, a nanny position in Paris landed in my lap and I eagerly travelled across Europe with my purple travel backpack (sometimes called a refrigerator by others). I flew to Israel and volunteered on a kibbutz on the mountainous border of Lebanon working, watching kartusha bombs fly overhead and travelling around the country. I then taught Tibetan and Russian-Buryat monks English in Dharamsala India while attending the Dalai Lama's public lectures. From there I travelled by train from Hong Kong to Tibet, passing through Guangzhou, Guilin, Qongqing, Sichuan and Xining.

I then spent 4 1/2 years living in Tokyo and Hiroshima, Japan when I studied Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostics at Beijing University of Pharmacology and Traditional Chinese Medicine. After getting fed up with being politely crushed on the commuter trains, I bought a scooter and zipped all over Tokyo and Hiroshima. Meanwhile. I visited Chinese and Tibetan Universities and hospitals in Beijing, Heiliongjiang and Qinghai before deciding to enrol in a BSc acupuncture course in the UK. I followed my British husband Huw from Japan back to Woking in 2003.

Since 2006 I've been practicing acupuncture in Woking and Guildford. Outside of the clinic I play ice hockey on the Ice Crushers women's over 50's ice hockey team, Windsor Knights ice hockey team, cook Japanese food and paleo bars, brush the cat, meditate, grow flowers and plants, work with neighbours on residents' projects and chat with friends and family over a fire pit.

I'm really interested in the things we do at home to stay well, natural personal care products, cooking, exercise and social interaction. I incorporate positive psychology and essential oils into my practice and share recipes for home-made health promoting products/foods. In the clinic I use acupuncture, guasha, moxabustion, cupping, electro-acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. I am also a mentor-supervisor registered with the British Acupuncture Council and facilitate small group and individual professional practice sessions with acupuncturists and yoga teachers.

I hope you'll try acupuncture and I can hear your story too