Chinese medicine believes that each major organ has an energy meridian line running up and down the body and then links to the main organ itself. All areas of the body are traversed by a meridian and the breast is no exception. The liver, gall bladder and stomach meridians go through the breast and the liver controls the nipple. Mastitis means that there is inflammation but not necessarily infection.

What can cause mastitis?

Cracked nipples can be a cause along with stress and missed feedings. It can also be due clogged milk ducts and lymph system. However blocked ducts can lead to infection with pathogens like staph or strep.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, toxic heat has entered in through the nipple and then caused blockage in the meridians that traverse through the breast.

Do you put the needles in the breast?

Acupuncture is not actually performed on the breast but on acupuncture points away from the problem on the meridian lines of the Liver, Stomach and Gallbladder which are on the arm or leg.

The different acupuncture points all have special properties and functions. The liver meridian has 14 acupuncture points in total and they can treat many different problems associated with the liver. For example, the first liver point on the toe can treat headache and the second liver point in the web of the toes can treat heat and inflammation in the breast. The third liver point on the foot can treat pain in the breast.

Depending on what part of the breast is affected will determine which meridians and points I will use. I also use moxibustion on the stomach meridian to help boost the immune system. It is a very gentle and relaxing treatment.

In addition, the acupuncture treatment can help the new mom feel more relaxed, rested, and refreshed as she moves into momhood. I recommend three consecutive treatments for a full and timely recovery.

Please call West Wellness for an appointment- 828-266-5658

We were living the American dream. Or the dream that has been as touted as truth for the longest time. Finally found a great town in Northern California to raise our boys and create some roots. My husband had a successful Home Inspection business. I was doing his scheduling and books as well as taking care of our 2 boys- ages 7 and 10.

There is that whole thing about what society thinks is ‘acceptable or good’, what makes you a successful human. Like we moved the boys from a public school in Santa Cruz to a public school, North a few miles in Scotts Valley. It was said to be the ‘best’ school in Santa Cruz County. And what exactly makes the ‘best’ schools these days? Testing high, apparently. Okay, I could get way off topic with that.

We also had a pretty fun group of friends where you have moms, dads, and kids that all get along!! That’s kind of a rarity these days. So, we did fun things on the weekends, dinner parties, travel together, and impromptu dinners out during the week. There was crossover with the kid activities, the mom activities, even the dad activities. It was kind of awesome. Now that said, lots of the gathering and parent activities had alcohol involved. And Jon and I were on the older side of the group dynamic, so we were light weights with that. Non the less, there was a lot of fun had all around.

We felt like we had it all. We had finally bought our first home, in a great community, boys happy in school, and business going well. What more could we ask for?? But when you feel like you have it all on paper but still feel like something is missing, what do you do?? I’d say most people just keep doing what they are doing. And what is it that is missing really? It is balance. That word, that we, as an American society, find illusive. We are all about excess with little moderation. And as a result, we have a nation full of obese, sick folks, who eat poorly, stare at their devices and work too much. I guess we just were not willing to keep doing the same thing and hope for different results. In February of this year, we decided to pull our boys out of school and begin to home school. Time to get out of the good ole comfort zone. Everything really moved quite fast. Our house sold immediately, we bought an RV trailer and closed our company June 2017. Our intention was to travel through the year and hopefully find a new place to settle that was more affordable to live.

We traveled through the Southern United States visiting friends and family and taking our boys to places they had never been like the Grand Canyon and the beach we got married on in Sarasota, FL. It was a great journey and Im so glad we did it. Our boys will remember that experience forever.

We ended up settling in Boone, NC which is where my mom lives and runs a BnB. We are all living under the same roof and attempting the multigenerational way of life. I am starting my acupuncture and wellness practice, Jon is figuring out what makes his heart sing and we are still homeschooling the boys. It has not been easy and continues to stretch us all. But if you aren’t growing and stretching, what is the point?? Our goal is to live simple in a communal way with little overhead and work together to create in the kitchen, to create art, to create in the yard and learn from eachother and grow as a multigenerational unit.