Four Seasons Acupuncture & Healing Arts

23/11/2025

In Ireland, any & evey day of the year, people are jumping into the ocean for a quick, extremely cold swim. This practice invigorates one's life force, increases white blood cell production which boosts immunity, and improves circulation. Cold water plunges also reduce inflammation, which is at the root of nearly all pathologist. Depression and anxiety are included in that!

Cold water swimming is emerging as a powerful natural therapy for mental health. A study from University College London found that regular exposure to cold water can ease symptoms of depression and anxiety, in some cases even more effectively than antidepressant drugs. The sudden drop in temperature triggers a strong release of endorphins, dopamine, and noradrenaline, which lift mood and sharpen mental focus.

People who practice cold water swimming often report better sleep, lower stress, and a deeper sense of emotional balance. The cold also reduces inflammation in the brain, improves blood flow, and strengthens the immune system. Because of these benefits, mental health programs across Europe are now testing cold water therapy as a drug free treatment for depression. It is a reminder that sometimes nature provides the most remarkable healing tools.

27/10/2025

The dichotomy of practicing a 5,000 year old medicine in a modern era of capitalism & insurance companies! Here I am at my favorite juice spot in Long Beach getting my claims & Medical Necessity Reviews in and checking on Reimbursement status. I know so many acupuncturists don't take insurance, and with all the hoops this system makes us jump, I get it!

The truth is I became an acupuncturist because I wanted to provide sustainable medical care to folks who need it. Taking all kinds of insurance allows me to stay in integrity with my values. For those who can afford to pay out of pocket, your patronage allows me to treat Medi-cal & Medi-care patients. The sliding scale & multi- tiered business model allows me to treat ethically and still pay my bills in LA County.

Grateful for all of my amazing patients and looking forward to a more just medical model that is bound to come on the other side of the current health insurance purge.

19/10/2025

This patient's back pain reduced from a 9/10 to a 2/10 with 3 weeks of twice weekly treatments. The game changer for her was incorporating cupping on one day, and electrical stimulation on the other. Cupping uses negatinve pressure to draw stuck & dead blood cells up to the surface to be handled by the body. This allows fresh blood to come into the area, reducing pain & inflammation, improving circulation, supplying nutrients needed for repair.

DM me to book a session.

17/10/2025

So grateful for this new review! I love mybpatients so much 🙏♥️
https://goo.gl/maps/fLiDRbCRQat5TdRPA?g_st=ac

11/10/2025

Come on out tomorrow for community, connection, solidarity, learning & healing.

03/10/2025

I just received a phone call asking if Traditional Chinese Medicine can help treat varicose veins. From our lens, this presentation is considered "blood stagnation" and of course is something we can treat. In considering herbs for this patient, I began to pull up clinical research and studies on those that address the veins specifically. Although I am trained in Chinese herbalism, I also prescribe western herbs when appropriate. I always consider nutrition as food is our most consistent and frequently used medicine.

This study gets into the uses of ginko, gotu kola, horse chestnut extract, grape seed extract, bilberry, cranberry, blueberry and broom brush in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency. While these individual herbs and food all are helpful for her condition, I will also do a deep dive into the studies done on Tao He Chen Qi Tang regarding the treatment of varicose veins.

Being a Traditional Chinese Medicine provider includes analyzing research & data, considering drug-herb interactions, making dietary suggestions within the understanding of allergies and aggravating foods, using infrared therapy, physical modalities such as massage, cupping & guasha, using & prescribing moxa and steams, holding space as counselor and life coach, treating spiritual afflictions that manifest as mental illness, using acupressure, contact needling, electrical stimulation *and* acupuncture. Lately the title of Licensed Acupuncturist is feeling like a misleading downplay of all that I and my colleagues provide.

For anyone interested in checking out this study on herbal efficacy, here it is!

DM me to schedule a session 🙏

The prevalence of chronic venous disease (CVD) is relatively high, it affects 20–80 % of the population worldwide. CVD may affect any veins in the hum…

02/10/2025

Please join me at Yogalution on Saturday, October 11th
as we explore the realities of disability rights as women's rights and the role of the Chinese Medicine provider within this intersection.

As women and those with chronic illness, pain and autoimmunities continue to fall through the cracks of western medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine is filling the gaps in care. Come find out how Chinese Medical practices can ease your pain, rewire your nervous system, and improve healing outcomes. I will be offering a complimentary auricular therapy session for all participants.

See you there!



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24/09/2025

So grateful for this wonderful new review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lara is amazing! She truly cares about helping you. You don't find that very often these days. She takes the time to listen to all of your concerns and explains what the best treatment would be. My IUD came out out of nowhere and I started bleeding a lot. I went to the ER and they did not give me anything to control the bleeding. The very next day I reached out to Lara and told her what I was going through. She scheduled me that same day. She gave an accupunture treatment to control the bleeding. It worked almost immediately. The heavy bleeding stopped. My period was all over the place while my hormones regulated from the IUD removal. The accupunture treatments helped a lot with that too. My periods are now regular and not heavy at all. I will forever be thankful to Lara for helping me during this time. I have recommend her all my friends and family.

★★★★★ "Lara is amazing! She truly cares about helping you. You don't find that very often these days. She takes the time to listen to all of your concerns and explains what the best treatment would be. My IUD came out out of nowhere and I started bleeding a lot. I went to the ER and they d...

22/08/2025

Healing occurs in love. This is why I treat each one of my patients as unique & worthy, with sacred stories of survival and perseverance through difficulty. In love, the body can go deeper into a parasympathetic state, which is essential for recovery.

In 1995, twins Brielle and Kyrie Jackson were born 12 weeks premature in Massachusetts, each weighing just two pounds. As Brielle’s health deteriorated, nurse Gayle Kasparian made a bold decision placing the sisters together in the same incubator. Almost instantly, Brielle’s breathing and heartbeat stabilized. Then came the iconic moment Kyrie stretched her tiny arm across her sister, a gesture immortalized as the “Rescuing Hug.” That embrace not only saved Brielle’s life but transformed neonatal care worldwide, leading hospitals to adopt co-bedding for premature twins, improving survival rates and health outcomes. Today, both sisters are thriving adults, living proof of the extraordinary healing power of closeness and love.

21/08/2025

You may have heard of lymphatic drainage as it's become a new exciting trend in natural medicine. I have gotten into providing them and patients report feeling lighter, clearer headed, with less pain, reduced edema and improved digestion. This is really exciting to see that it has alzheimers prevention capacity as well. I work with a lot of cancer survivors and lymphatic drainage monthly or seasonally is a really great way to keep the cancer at bay. Check out what western science has ro say about the lymphatic system and mental health!

🧠 Scientists have discovered a remarkable way to double the brain’s waste clearance system—not with drugs or surgery, but simply by massaging the skin.

A team from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has shown in mice that gently stimulating the lymphatic vessels under the skin of the face and neck can dramatically boost cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow. This process helps flush out toxins and waste products from the brain, including harmful proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Using a specially designed mechanical stimulator, researchers restored CSF drainage to youthful levels in aged mice, suggesting a safe, non-invasive strategy to improve brain health.

Even more exciting, the study mapped previously unknown drainage routes from the brain to superficial lymph nodes through facial lymphatics—pathways that remain active even in older animals. This discovery completes the anatomical picture of CSF outflow and hints at future wearable or clinical devices designed to enhance brain cleansing.

While more research is needed before human applications, this gentle mechanical approach may open the door to new therapies aimed at preventing or slowing neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

📖 Source: Nature, “Increased CSF drainage by non-invasive manipulation of cervical lymphatics” (June 4, 2025).