Photograph By Hillary Harvey

Jipala R. Kagan is an acupuncturist, a teacher and a writer. She is a New York State Licensed Acupuncturist and a NCCAOM Diplomat. Her work emphasizes Emotional/Spiritual Acupuncture, Trauma Recovery and Muscular-skeletal Relief. She has a working knowledge of Western Herbology, Homeopathic Medicine, Nutritional Supplements, Dietary, Lifestyle and Energetic counseling.

Transpersonal Acupuncture (TPA) is an integrated approach to holistic health care and takes an in-depth look at each person and their symptoms. One full hour is spent with a client individually, utilizing the one -on- one time to foster growth and nurture the healing process. Instead of continually finding temporary fixes, TPA helps the patient make permanent changes to their health, correcting the energy imbalances that lead to symptoms and disease. TPA can also balance the body’s energetic network and break blockages that form as a result of disease, trauma and old patterns. Activating the body’s healing potential, TPA marshals the patient’s own resources to heal from within. TPA is psychological form of acupuncture based in Chinese medical philosophy. It draws from Five elements principles and patterns of living,  creating an interpersonal model of healing that sees each person and supports energetic embodiment and integration.

An average appointment begins with a deep listening and intake session. If it is a new patient, I ask lots of questions and get to know the person presenting. If it is a recurring patient, I follow up from the previous meeting and find out if there have been new developments or changes. This is a concentrated time spent focused on current issues and symptoms. The treatment begins as I take the pulses, my version of bowing. I choose my points with care, taking into consideration the information gleaned from the intake, the musculoskeletal evaluation and the pulses. Keeping in mind the patient’s own expression of health and their desired outcome, I weave the points and their stories, essential oils, and Bach flower remedies into an amalgamated treatment. The goal is always to keep people moving in the direction of integrated health.

“An authentic bow strikes a chord with everyone. Children bow with their ears when they hush to listen to crickets and frogs. An artist bows with a paintbrush as he or she touches it to the palette. The old man in the park bows to the ducks in the pond. Everyone bows to something. When we understand the power of bowing, we find ourselves secretly nodding to the goodness that is everywhere, and each time we raise our heads, our dignity radiates a little further.”

– Roger Guest, A Tender Heart of Sadness