Village Acupuncture
and Chinese Herbology
Acupuncture Acupressure Chinese Herbology
Phone Number
973-744-7539
973-744-7539
Email
Acuvillage (at) gmail.com
Acuvillage (at) gmail.com
Acupuncture Acupressure Chinese Herbology
In ancient times, Asian healing rituals often included acupuncture and herbal treatments. Century after century, practitioners of these healing arts shared their experiences and observations to refine the practices of acupuncture and herbology. In an effort to explain how the insertion of needles can affect a person's health, these practitioners developed the concept of Qi.
Qi (pronounced "chee") is the Chinese name for the vital energy that powers the universe and gives us life. When we are born we inherit a finite amount of "Ancestral Qi." As we perform the normal functions of life, we tap into this Ancestral Qi, thus depleting the energy in our bodies. To supplement and preserve the Ancestral Qi, we convert food, water and air into more vital energy. Life ends when Ancestral Qi is totally depleted.
When Qi is plentiful and flowing smoothly through the body to our organs and limbs, we feel healthy and strong. When Qi is depleted and its movement is inhibited, we feel ill and debilitated. This debilitation may take the form of physical pain, emotional imbalance, digestive difficulty, or any other symptom of disease. Qi that doesn't move properly often stagnates in one part of the body causing pain in that area.
According to the ancient theories, acupuncture helps break up Qi stagnation, enabling Qi to move freely, thereby improving bodily function. One modern theory is that the needle actually creates a circuit that reopens a pathway of Qi in an area where it has become congested.
Qi imbalances that are relatively recent may change right away with the patient experiencing great relief after only one treatment. Conditions that have existed for a long time often lead to a complicated pattern of imbalances that can take longer to unravel.
Western medical practitioners are eager to explain the positive benefits of acupuncture. Their research has demonstrated that acupuncture affects the endocrine, immune and central nervous systems, but has not been able to account for the curative effects people experience from acupuncture treatments.
Today, many Eastern and Western healers work together to improve the health of their patients, continually finding ways in which the two disciplines complement each other.
Acupuncture is a complete healing system and can treat most diseases. The following is a list of some that lend themselves particularly well to acupuncture treatment.
Mitchel Chalek, acupuncturist at Village Acupuncture since 1999, received his Master of Science in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, and his bachelor's degree from New York University. He is Nationally Certified in Oriental Medicine and licensed to practice acupuncture in both New York and New Jersey. He also holds certifications in Chinese Herbology through studies with Jeffrey Yuen at The Swedish Institute, and the Japanese acupressure technique, Ohashiatsu, through studies with Wataru Ohashi at the Ohasi Institute.
Mitchel is a faculty member of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York City and The Eastern School of Acupuncture and Traditional Medicine in Montclair, NJ, where he teaches acupuncture and Chinese herbology. He held the position of Senior Acupuncturist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Integrative Care Center from 2002-2003. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Acupuncture Society of New York where he was the editor of their publication The Meridian Times.
Village Acupuncture
33 Plymouth Street, Suite 102
Montclair, NJ 07043
Please contact for current rates and hours
The name "Village Acupuncture" pays homage to the social unit that lies at the very heart of civilization, both eastern and western, ancient and modern. More than just a place of origin, the village is the center of our community and provides the "home base" or background against which we live our lives. In the following poem, the village is described as a place in which to commune with nature and with one's fellow man.
My old friend prepares chicken and millet
And invites me to visit his home in the fields.
Green trees enclose the country village,
Blue hills slope upward from the outskirts.
Opening the window, we face fields and garden;
Lifting our cups, talk of mulberry and hemp.
Wait till the Autumn Festival comes again,
I will return in time for the blooming of chrysanthemums.
Meng Hao-Jan (689-740)
(Translated by Daniel Bryant)
Illustrations by Jill Johnson
Calligraphy by Zeng, Xianwen