Frequently Asked Questions about Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine

Chinese Medicine is about early prevention and the maintenance of a healthy, balanced body for healthy aging and longevity; it functions to improve the quality of life for the easier management of symptoms. Most of us are born with inherent weakness and predisposition to certain bodily imbalances. Chinese Medicine recognizes each individual’s own unique predispositions to imbalance and gives recommendations on how to prevent the body from going towards the predisposed, stress-induced imbalances. When your body already shows symptoms and signs of imbalance, Chinese Medicine helps restore your body’s balance. If you have been ignoring your body for a long time and chronic conditions have developed, Chinese Medicine can also alleviate the symptoms within a short period of time, as well as facilitate the body to gradually reach a balanced state so that chronic symptoms may dissipate in the long-term. For details about acupuncture, herbal medicine, and other services offered at HolliBalance, please visit each individual service page.
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Chinese Medicine is the longest-practiced professional and literate medicine in the world. The oldest complete and systematic description of Chinese Medicine is found in Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic, dated back to 2,500 years ago, the authorship of which is ascribed to the legendary Yellow Emperor.

The theories and empirical experiences of Chinese Medicine have been further developed by some of the most highly educated and brightest practitioners of the past thousands of years, from the time of Yellow Emperor till today. Before 1900, between 30-40,000 extant books after Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic were passed down, recording clinical cases and the enrichment of the theories. Since then, thousands of more books and articles in professional journals have been written and published in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and other countries around the world.

Chinese Medicine includes acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, nutritional and dietary recommendations, Tui Na (oriental massage), Tai Chi, and other adjunctive therapies. Archeological discoveries in various parts of China support that oldest acupuncture needles were constructed from stone during the Stone Age (>4,000 yrs ago). Herbal medicine developed later, around 3,000 B.C., and has become a major part of Chinese Medicine since the 2nd century A.D.
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Imbalances of the body cause discomforts and diseases. The ultimate goal of Chinese Medicine modalities is to help the body re-establish balance and harmony. After the balance is restored, the therapies further help the body maintain its balance so that there is a minimum amount of stress on the body. When the body’s functions are enhanced and the inherent weaknesses are strengthened, the body can protect itself from many predisposing factors of illness.

The vital energy that supports all the body’s activities is called Qi (pronounced as ‘Chi’). Qi circulates in the body along channels called meridians. The natural smooth flow of Qi is the basis of life. Aging is the result of slowing down of Qi circulation. Imbalances of the body block the natural smooth flow of Qi, leading to lack of vital energy support in some areas or accumulation of too much energy in others. All Chinese Medicine therapies are developed to promote the smooth flow of Qi throughout the body. For detailed explanations on how acupuncture and herbal medicine work, please refer to acupuncture or herbal medicine section, respectively.
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Many symptoms and diseases in our modern society are the result of a combination of mental and/or physical stress (i.e. excessive worrying, overworking, and over-exercise), negligence of health (i.e. couch potato-ness, eating junk food, and ignoring or denying personal health problems), and overindulgence in physical pleasures (i.e. overeating and excessive sexual activities). If no appropriate measures are taken to correct the roots that lead to bodily imbalances, the symptoms will reoccur or be aggravated. The earlier you start addressing the problems and correcting the root causes, the faster you become symptom-free.

Chinese Medicine was developed thousands of years ago by elite scholars who were not looking for quick fixes to health problems but were pursuing wholesome bodily health and longevity. Therefore, Chinese Medicine is not simply an alternative to conventional Western medicine. Chinese Medicine places heavy emphasis on early prevention. It is believed in Chinese Medicine that many age-related diseases may have delayed onset, lessened severity, or zero reoccurrence if early action is taken.

Chinese Medicine includes Tai Chi/Qi Gong exercises, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Chinese nutritional and dietary therapies, acupuncture, Tui Na (Chinese massage), and other adjunctive therapies. Acupuncture is only about 20% of Chinese Medicine, while Chinese Herbal Medicine accounts for about 80%. Acupuncture has been gradually gaining popularity in the US since New York Times reporter James Reston wrote about its pain relieving effect in 1971. But Chinese herbal medicine is still largely unknown to many people in the US, which is why many people identify Chinese Medicine with acupuncture.
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Most of us are born with inherent weakness and predisposition to certain imbalance in the body, which may be correlated to genetic risk factors in Western medical science. The best way to manage genetic predisposition is to pay close attention to the body, especially to the aspects that present weakness or tendency toward imbalance. We try to prevent all the scenarios in which weakness or its tendency would manifest. Remember, the environment plays a significant role in the prevention and/or manifestation of disease. Making an effort to correct imbalances as early as possible not only improves the quality of life but also enhances the body's function. We help you realize what you could do in your daily life to strengthen the body's weaknesses and to protect your body from predisposing factors of illness.

Chinese Medicine is about early prevention and the maintenance of a healthy, balanced body for healthy aging and longevity; it functions to improve the quality of life for the easier management of symptoms. Most of us are born with inherent weakness and predisposition to certain bodily imbalances. Chinese Medicine recognizes each individual’s own unique predispositions to imbalance and gives recommendations on how to prevent the body from going towards the predisposed, stress-induced imbalances and other external factors. When your body already shows symptoms and signs of imbalance, Chinese Medicine helps restore your body’s balance. If you have been ignoring your body for a long time and chronic conditions have developed, Chinese Medicine can also alleviate the symptoms within a short period of time, as well as facilitate the body to gradually reach a balanced state so that chronic symptoms may dissipate in the long-term.
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There are many different styles of acupuncture. Within the same style, the practitioner’s energy plays an important role in the recipient’s healing. Like any medicine, there are good and bad practitioners. We have seen people who have gone to other acupuncture clinics and said they were disappointed with the result or had a terrible experience. Whereas we could not control the quality of acupuncture services offered at other clinics, we firmly believe in what Chinese Medicine can offer and our unique approaches and techniques. We strive to make every person coming in our Center for help feel the benefit of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine and become an advocate of our profession. People are always happy with our services. We make people be amazed at what changes we can make in one session even though they have tried acupuncture and didn’t think it helped them at that point. It is our passion to promote Chinese Medicine. We don’t merely put needles in you. What we offer to your body is a complete healing experience with acupuncture needles, herbs, massage, and our philosophy as the vehicle to influence your body energetically. Therefore, don’t jump into the conclusion that acupuncture doesn’t work for you. If you ever consider giving it a second chance, we will make you a total believer of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine at the end of your visit.
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Some insurance plans have started covering acupuncture procedures, however others still do not. If you have a PPO health insurance plan, we can verify your benefit to make sure that your visit at HolliBalance is fully or partially covered. We do more than just acupuncture. Sometimes although your insurance plan itself will not cover acupuncture procedures, we may still be able to bill your insurance for the other procedures that we perform. We bill your insurance directly. So you don’t need to pay us at the time of service if your insurance plan can be billed. You don’t need to worry about submitting lengthy paperwork to your insurance company and waiting anxiously for the reimbursement from them. We take care of all the paper work and make you benefit from our high quality services in the same way that you are used to as any other doctors’ offices.

We do not work with HMOs at this point, but you can contact your own insurance company to get reimbursed; and you can use your health savings account towards your expenditures. Right now, herbal medicine is not covered by insurance but may be covered by your health savings account. Medicare does not cover any of our services. If you have a PPO secondary insurance plan that is not a supplementary Medicare plan, however once again, we are able to verify the benefit to make your visit at HolliBalance fully or partially covered.
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We are very patient and spend necessary time with you to help you achieve optimal effects from our services. We offer authentic comprehensive Chinese Medicine services and a combination of all Chinese Medicine therapies, designed and optimized to your individuality for maximal effect. Our goal is to help your body achieve balance and long-term health, as well as to enable as many people as possible to benefit from Chinese Medicine.

We strive to make you feel significant improvement with the minimum number of visits. You SAVE both time and money at HolliBalance Well-being Center. See what other people have experienced at our center...

We are among very few acupuncture clinics that offer to bill your insurance directly. Your visits at HolliBalance Well-being Center are therapeutically effective and worry-free!
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