Acupuncture is the practice of gently inserting single use tiny hairlike needles into the body and activated through gentle and specific movements of the practitioner's hands or with electrical stimulation. This adjustment brings balance your natural energy and brings your body to homeostasis. Depending on your treatment plan, the needles are left on the body from as few as 10 seconds to 45 minutes.

Acupuncture is just one practice in the toolkit of the ancient practice of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). TCM practitioners use more than 2,000 acupuncture points connected by meridians. These pathways convey vital energy flow (Qi, pronounced "chee") through the body that is responsible for mind, body and spirit health. Disruption of the energy flow causes illness. Acupuncture at specific points improves the flow of Qi and can result in improved health.

Studies have shown that acupuncture is effective for a variety of conditions.

Acupuncture points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system. Chemicals released into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain may stimulate the body's natural healing abilities.

Cupping is the use of glass jars (cups) to create suction on certain points of the body. At Santa Barbara Health & Healing Center we use traditional fire cupping methods for colds, flus, lung conditions, swelling, pain, injury and even anxiety. Cupping is especially useful in cases of anxiety with neck and back tension often from office or schoolwork.

Moxibustion is the relaxing and delightful practice of combining heat and medicinal herbs to move blocked energy and warm the yang. Artemisia (Mugwort) is most often used for this purpose. The leaves are dried and ground into moxa “wool.” These are often formed into small sticks or cones which are then lighted and used to warm points on your body and relieve a variety of conditions.

“Moxibustion can travel through the 12 meridians, which carry energy throughout the body,” Dr. Nguyen says. “It is able to regulate qi and blood, dispel cold, warm yang and prevent diseases to maintain overall well-being.”

Moxibustion involves holding the moxa tool about an inch away from your skin and warming an area, or placing the moxa onto acupuncture needles and allowing the heat to travel to your body through the needles, or putting the moxa on top of another therapeutic material, such as ginger or salt before placing it onto your skin.

Chinese herbal medicine is part of a larger healing system called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Healing herbs are prescribed to restore energy balance to the opposing forces of energy known as Yin and Yang that course the meridians of the body. Chinese herbal formulas, used for more than 2,200 years, are composed of ingredients chosen to function synergistically with each other. Unlike Western medicines which are prescribed individually for a specific effect, TCM herbal formulas combines herbs that each have a different purpose or role to help the body achieve harmony.

Chinese herbal therapy can be prescribed as granules, capsules, teas, liquid extracts and powders.

Chinese Herbs are especially useful for people who have hard-to-diagnose problems or syndromes such as:

Allergies.

Autoimmune disorders.

Cancer treatment side effects.

Diarrhea and constipation.

Digestion issues.

Infertility.

Irritable bowel syndrome.

Immune system regulation.

Menopause.

Menstrual or endometriosis pain.

Persistent fatigue.

The very best medicine is a balanced diet. TCM dietary therapy is functional nutrition in that it looks at the whole body, mind and spirit while factoring in the tastes, temperatures and elements. "Let Food be thy Medicine, and Medicine be thy Food" - Hippocrates

Aromatherapy is the practice of using essential oils for therapeutically. The inhaled scent molecules in the volatile essential oils travel from the olfactory nerves directly to the brain and effect the amygdala. The main function of the amygdala is in emotional responses, including feelings of happiness, fear, anger, and anxiety.

Essential oils can also be absorbed by the skin. Acupoint aromatherapy combines either acupuncture or needless acupressure with essential oils at particular acupuncture points in order to achieve balance and homeostasis.

Dr. Hazard uses native plant therapy as individual herbs, ingredients in larger TCM formulas and as essential oil therapy. The most potent and appropriate remedy for inhabitants of any given region is arguably that region’s local native plants. For example, similar to how an unhealthy deer eats a certain native plant to rid itself of disease, humans have traditionally used herbal medicine endemic to where they live. Some herbalists claim that local medicinal plants are better suited to treat the local human population.

According to Professor J. R. Worsley,

Anything that can be done with needles (acupuncture) can also be done with herbs, but if you use herbs, for God’s sake use local ones, because they are not ten times stronger, they are not a hundred times stronger, they are one thousand times stronger than any plants that grow someplace else (Cowen 64).

Functional lab testing can pinpoint specific problems like determining an autoimmune disorder, intestinal permeability, or food and pathogen exposures. The results help guide treatment recommendations in a science based way. Every patient’s life experiences, genetics, and biochemistry are unique and functional lab testing can be another magnifying glass in symptom identification. Dr. Hazard is well-versed in the wide array of available lab tests and how to read the results from a Functional Medicine holistic perspective. Lab results read using Functional Medicine ranges (which are wider) cast a bigger net catching disorders like Hashimoto’s or Pernicious anemia much sooner that Conventional MDs using standard ranges can.