Jenny Lea, L.Ac

Could it happen this fast??
One of my favorite parts of practicing Chinese medicine is helping women on their fertility journeys. Sometimes it takes time, and sometimes—like in one memorable case—it happens almost overnight.
In my latest blog post, I share two real stories from my practice:
💚 A mom of IVF triplets who found balance, calm, and then—unexpectedly—conceived naturally.
💚 A woman with “unexplained infertility” who became pregnant after just four acupuncture and herbal treatments.
Every fertility journey is unique, but acupuncture and Chinese medicine can uncover hidden patterns that may be standing in the way.

If you know someone who’s exploring fertility support, feel free to share this with them. 💕

read the full post here:

Acupuncture used to conceive naturally When people think of acupuncture, fertility might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But some of my most rewarding experiences as an acupuncturist have been helping women grow their families.Chinese medicine approaches fertility differently—it’s not just about hormones and lab results, b...

What color is your tongue?
It might sound like a strange question, but in Traditional Chinese Medicine, your tongue can tell us a lot about what's happening inside your body.

A pale tongue?
You might feel tired after being in the heat, get dizzy when you stand up, or feel like you never quite recover after a busy day. Excessive sweating can gradually deplete fluids and blood, and nourishing foods like cherries, beets, dark leafy greens, eggs, and black beans can be especially supportive.

A red tongue?
You may feel hot all the time, get thirsty easily, have trouble sleeping, or become irritable during the summer. Cooling foods like watermelon, cucumber, celery, pears, and mint can help your body find balance.

One of the things I love about Chinese Medicine is that there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer. Two people can both say, "I can't handle this heat," but need completely different approaches.
So here's your challenge today:
The next time you brush your teeth, take a peek in the mirror. Is your tongue pale or pink? Red? Dry or moist?

Your body is always communicating with you—we just have to learn its language.
Have you noticed that you feel different in the summer than everyone else? I'd love to hear what you've experienced.
Read more: https://wix.to/nWCTwdu

Jenny Lea L.Ac, pattern detective
Acupuncture • Herbal Medicine • Massage
Helping you uncover the clues your body has been giving you all along.

wix.to

If your shoulder pain is worse at night, it’s usually not just a muscle problem. Not just shoulder pain either.
This is one of the biggest clues I look for.
Pain that flares at night often points to something deeper like circulation, inflammation, or the way fluids are moving (or not moving) through the joint.
That’s why stretching or massage doesn’t always fix it.
Have you noticed your shoulder bothering you more at night?

One simple thing that can make shoulder pain worse:
Using the wrong temperature.
If your shoulder feels stiff, achy, and better with movement heat is usually more helpful than ice.
Heat helps relax the tissue and improve circulation.
Ice has its place, but for a lot of chronic shoulder pain, it can actually slow healing down.
Pay attention to what your body responds to, that’s often the best clue.

One of the biggest differences between Western herbalism and Chinese herbalism is that Chinese medicine rarely thinks in terms of “one herb for one problem.”
In Western herbal traditions, herbs are often discussed individually:
Peppermint for digestion. Valerian for sleep. black cohosh for menopause.
And many of these herbs are wonderful medicines.

Chinese herbal medicine developed differently.
For thousands of years, Chinese medicine focused on combining herbs into formulas designed to match a very specific pattern in the body.
Not just the chief complaint.
Two people may both have headaches, painful periods, insomnia, anxiety, or fatigue — but receive completely different formulas because the underlying pattern is different.
We pay attention to details like:
• hot vs cold• deficiency vs excess• dryness vs dampness• tension vs weakness• circulation and blood quality• digestion and fluid metabolism• sleep, stress, sweating, thirst, temperature, pain quality, energy, tongue, pulse, and more.

The formulas are adjusted according to the entire picture.
Another unique aspect of Chinese herbalism is the extensive processing methods used to intentionally change an herb’s properties.
Herbs may be:
• dry-fried• honey-fried• wine-prepared• vinegar-processed• ginger-prepared• steamed• charred• mineral-calcined• fermented.
These methods can make an herb warmer, gentler, more drying, more moistening, more circulating, better directed to certain channels or body systems, or reduce harsh side effects.

So in Chinese medicine, we are not only choosing which herbs to use — we are also considering how those herbs were prepared.
The depth of observation in Chinese herbal medicine comes from an enormous continuous clinical tradition developed over more than 2,000 years of recorded use.
The formulas survived because physicians repeatedly observed what happened in real people over generations.
Modern research now studies many of these formulas and often finds measurable effects involving inflammation, circulation, neurotransmitters, immune signaling, and the endocrine system.

But the original system itself was built from careful observation of patterns in the human body long before modern laboratory science existed.
That pattern-based approach is still the foundation of how Chinese herbal medicine is practiced today.

One of the more complex shoulder cases I see is after cancer treatment.

A patient came in with shoulder pain and tightness that started after radiation.
It wasn’t just sore but felt tight, it felt stuck. Limited movement, lingering discomfort, sometimes sharp pain and getting worse over time.
It’s not just muscle and fascia. This situation involves how the tissue heals, how fluids move, and how the body recovers after treatment.

We took a more individualized approach, focusing on what her body specifically needed.
These cases take a little more attention, but they can change.
More and more doctors are sending people to acupuncture for this type of, thankfully. If you’ve been told to just “live with it,” that’s not always the full story.

Have you or someone you know dealt with this after treatment?

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4056465/ #:~:text=In%20normal%20tissues%2C%20radiation%20toxicity,and%20sclerosis%20that%20characterizes%20RFS.&text=The%20possible%20factors%20that%20may,cardiotoxic%2C%20and%20other%20chemotherapy%20types.&text=Another%20factor%20in%20the%20development,field%2C%20and%20type%20of%20radiation

“Is this just part of getting older?”
I hear this question a lot, especially around chronic pain and stiffness.
And while our bodies absolutely change with age, many people are surprised by how much can improve when the underlying pattern is addressed.
Sometimes the issue isn’t simply “wear and tear.”
It’s compensation patterns, tension, inflammation, stress on the system, or limited movement building up over time.
Getting older and feeling limited are not always the same thing.

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I think having 1000 followers would let them make a little money off of Facebook

Sometimes people are nervous about acupuncture needles, but still want help with pain and tension patterns.
That’s one reason I also use fascia-focused bodywork techniques.
Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds and supports muscles throughout the body. Some modern research has found significant overlap between acupuncture pathways and connective tissue networks in the body which may help explain why both movement and acupuncture can affect pain patterns so deeply.

When fascia becomes restricted, people often notice:
• Tightness
• Pulling
• Limited movement
• Pain that keeps returning

One simple thing you can try at home:
Take a slow walk for 5–10 minutes while gently swinging your arms and allowing your ribs and upper body to rotate naturally.
Not forcing a stretch, just restoring smooth movement through the body.
Often fascia responds better to gentle, consistent movement than aggressive stretching.
Especially if things feel stiff, stuck, or “bound up.”

Scientists are finally decoding how acupuncture eases pain — National Geographic Your body has a built-in painkiller system. Acupuncture may switch it on.