I am drawn to Chinese Medicine because it reminds me that we are connected to nature, and that our bodies respond to the changing of seasons.

I am drawn to Chinese Medicine because at the heart of the medicine is the idea that health emanates from balance (so creating balance creates health).

Most of us have seen the yin/yang symbol. The yin comes to yang as the yang comes to yin, in perfect harmony. This is a beautiful analogy for who we are. We are darkness and we are light. We are warm and we are cold. We soar among the clouds and commune with the very earth we stand on. These symbols are drawn to show us that we are all connected with the most opposite parts of ourselves and with the very thing we don't understand in others. We can't escape our nature and we can't escape our center. Harmony lies in each of us. I have seen acupuncture bring balance. I have seen herbs maintain balance. I have seen lives change, and I have seen unbelievable transformation.

It is this transformation that keeps me in the healing profession. It is my mission and goal to help people find their balance and realize their potential. I believe that with deep relaxation, health is not far away and therefore neither is balance. This subtle shift can occur because life is a series of circles: some overlap, some interconnect, and some seem like they will never meet. But they will. The proof is in the seasons. Each year we think the cold will never end, the rain will never end, the heat will never end but it does. And as the rains come, we shift. As the cold comes, we shift. As heat comes, we shift. Yin and Yang separate but connected, open and closed, interconnected and lying within a circle is the very nature of who we are. That is powerful medicine and it lies within each of us.

Chinese medicine is not about taking a pill. It is about finding the center in your lifestyle, in your food, in your thinking, in your physical being and striving to stay in Balance. At Ayaffa, my goal is to show you through deeply relaxing treatments of various modalities how to stand firmly in a place of balance and continue your journey towards health and centeredness.

About Elisha

I am often asked when I first wanted to be a practitioner of Oriental Medicine. Over twenty years ago when my little sister and I were young, she contracted shingles, which was rare for a child. My family tried everything to make her more comfortable, but nothing helped her pain or her fever. One day, my parents were given the name of an Acupuncturist. Since they had exhausted all other options they were willing to try anything. My sister and my parents left and I was at home, terrified at the idea of my little sister being poked all over with needles.

When they returned two hours later, my sister, who hadn't done much besides moan for a week, walked into the house and sat at the table. I started asking all kinds of questions only to find out the acupuncture didn't hurt her at all. After her treatment, not only was the pain dramatically reduced, but also her fever broke and she had energy and an appetite. It was at this point, when I was awed at the unbelievable, that my first interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was kindled.

Years later, in my twenties, I broke my back while doing some tricky rollerblading moves. My option was surgery. That sounded like a very bad idea to me. When I mentioned this to a friend, she suggested an Acupuncturist she had seen, and I thought of my sister and her case of shingles. I immediately started a course of acupuncture treatments and my back slowly but surely began to heal. At this point, I began getting regular acupuncture and became increasingly interested in the theories behind the healings. That interest has never dwindled.

Many people would have you believe that Chinese Medicine is a miracle medicine. That has been my experience in very few cases. It is true that Chinese Medicine receives patients who have exhausted all other options, so the relief they feel after many years of pain seems miraculous. Rather, I have found that the combination of Chinese medicine, food therapy, daily focused relaxation and exercise are the staples of health.

In my experience treating patients, I have found Acupuncture and Herbal Therapies to be extremely effective for not only pain, but for: systemic relaxation, emotional trauma, headaches, vitality issues, gynecological issues, allergies, digestive issues, arthritis, fibromyalgia, post-stoke rehabilitation and as a conjunctive therapy with cancer treatments. In fact, there has not been a dis-ease that I have found Chinese Medicine to at least energetically address. Chinese Medicine, combined with healthy living is really the key to unlocking your true potential.

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Elisha Weinberg, L.Ac, Relax your soul with unique holistic treatments.