OUR PRACTITIONERS

Kirstin Lindquist, L.Ac.

“What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
~Antoine Saint de Exupery, The Little Prince

I assist people in shedding obstructions and old patterns so that they may bring more of who they are, their true nature, into the world. I do this through the time-tested tools of Chinese Medicine with my acupuncture patients and qigong students, and by creating a healthy, supportive work environment for Energy Matters staff.

I practice relational medicine. Within the context of the clinical setting, I feel the greatest gift I give to my patients is that of presence. It is an honor to be a witness and guide through their healing process.

I was fortunate that I found my path relatively early in life. I am now 30 years into my journey with Chinese Medicine and patient care. I am also fortunate to have chosen a profession that will keep me engaged and challenged for at least another 30 years. With thousands of years of history to the medicine, and the uniqueness of each patient, I will never be without more to learn.

Currently, I accept new patients whose primary struggles are with metabolic risk factors: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, low HDLs, and high waist to hip ratio. If you would like to explore effective, natural options for these issues, I would love to work with you.

Angela Coon, L.Ac.

“Everything in moderation, including moderation.”
~Oscar Wilde

I am a primary care practitioner with a focus on Digestive harmony, and the lead practitioner for our 21 Days to Better Health Program. Over the last decade I have immersed myself in current approaches to diet, nutrition, western herbalism and whole food supplementation to help my patients with modern digestive health challenges and autoimmune disease, while maintaining a keen eye on Chinese Medicine’s root cause philosophy.

As a mother to two teenage boys I am extremely versed in family systems and teenage health challenges and bring an integrated approach to whole family health.

My curiosity for a healthier life and deep self investigation began in my 20’s after suffering from a serious bout of Chronic Fatigue. I was led to Chinese medicine and the Naropa Institute, both holding mind-body-spirit balance at the core: one with needles and herbs, one with meditation.

This changed my life forever. I studied with several international clinicians at the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences, learning the arts of NADA protocol for anxiety and chemical dependence, Balance Method, various aspects of the Master Tung methodology, cupping and electro-stim for pain relief and stroke patients, all of which earned me a Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. I hold a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado with a minor in music; both of these art forms remain an active part of my world.

I believe health is a nuanced process and I understand how key it is to meet people where they are, that each person has their own starting point, and that the complexities of our lives matters. Health is a constantly moving state and to approach balance we must work together to weave a plan that makes sense. There are many roads that lead to wellness. Together we can remove the roadblocks and take workable steps to make lifelong change.

Kari Napoli, L.Ac.

“We too are part of Nature, therefore constantly changing, so we are always looking at Nature from a different viewpoint. We are a little piece of continual change looking at an infinite quantity of continual change. Small wonder that it gets quite exciting.”
~B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life

I love orthopedics because I love puzzles. Chinese Medicine has always recognized that pain, especially chronic pain, is something far more complex than the pain or injury itself. When one is having no luck reducing back pain by treating the back, time to look elsewhere. Modern medicine is finally subscribing to this way of thinking and integrative medicine is the future of medicine: the wisdom of the past is meeting the power of today’s technology.

I would describe myself as an integrative acupuncturist who practices Orthopedic Acupuncture in combination with Dry Needling, Neuro (or scalp) acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Korean SA AM. I am highly supportive and encouraging of concurrent therapies. My responsibility is to you, the patient. Sometimes that means connecting you with a different (specifically, the right) intervention; I recognize this as part of my job, too. 

Change is necessary to transform pain and though change is inevitable, we are able to resist it. I do believe we must step away from our comfort zones to change. I will not rush you, I will tell you that it is okay to feel frustrated and when things "stink", I will commiserate that they do, in fact, "stink".  But I have watched so many lives and pain patterns change, including my own, I do not lose hope and I do not quit. 

You can feel better. “Better” is different for everyone. Better happens when you are ready. Take your time.

Prajna Choudhury, L.Ac.

“You can’t heal what you can’t feel.”
~Ralfee Finn

I specialize in acupuncture for beauty, dermatology, and gynecology. I love helping people look and feel their best, to help them radiate health, happiness, and comfort in their own skin. I love working with women throughout their lifespan for natural and effective ways of addressing issues with difficult or irregular cycles, PMS, fertility, pregnancy and postpartum, and menopause. I love helping people with very few medical options to experience relief for their skin ailments (which are usually much more than skin-deep).

I love being able to harness the power of Chinese Herbal Medicine, which has thousands of years of clinical use and study. I am grateful to have so many modalities of treatment available to choose the most appropriate ones for each patient – acupuncture, cupping, guasha, meditation, qigong, dietary therapy, nutritional supplementation, and lifestyle counseling.

Philosophy: When people come in for treatment, of course they want their symptoms to go away. Alleviating pain and discomfort – whether physical or emotional – acupuncture and Chinese Medicine are great at. But in the process of treatment, I’m also curious about: What is your pain or discomfort telling you? What lessons are there to learn from your experience of ill-being? Our bodies are wise messengers. When we ignore their messages, our bodies speak up louder and louder in protest. Maybe ‘I need rest,’ ‘I need to sit with this feeling that’s coming up,’ or ‘ I need more nourishing food.’

In the modern world, we can become so disconnected from our bodies. We can treat them like machines, with doctors being the ‘experts’ on ‘fixing’ them. I want my patients to be empowered in their bodies. I want them to re-learn what helps and what harms their bodies, and to realize their agency over their own health and well-being.

For my facial rejuvenation patients, I want them to love their face – this is the best feedback I hear. Aging is a natural process. To deny or dislike it is to say ‘no’ to reality, which is the primary cause of suffering. How can we age gracefully, and cultivate the most radiant health and peaceful well-being available to us at any given moment?

Health, like anything else, is a path of spiritual learning – to both be at peace with what is, and at the same time cultivate vitality, ease, and joy.

My Path: When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. As I grew older, I wanted to understand human behavior and pursued a doctorate in research psychology immediately after college – but soon realized that I really wanted to work with people to alleviate suffering. I went on to work with survivors of violence, run a crisis hotline, and work on violence prevention in communities. While this work was fulfilling, I knew there was still something more for me.

When I discovered Chinese Medicine, all the pieces fit together. I finally found a way to use my head, hands, heart, and spirit together. It gives me a way to create real change by helping people in very tangible (as well as intangible) ways. Most people get relief of what’s ailing them that brought them into treatment. But even for the very few who don’t – they still leave feeling more relaxed and at ease, heard and witnessed, and better than when they came in that day – and I feel grateful to be able to offer that.

I do feel like I have achieved the essence of what underlay my desire to become an astronaut – to discover and explore the vast mysteries of the universe, through the microcosm of our wondrous bodies and spirits.