Acupuncture
Find Your Balance. Restore Your Vitality.
Experience the healing power of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the heart of Santa Cruz. Our skilled practitioners blend ancient wisdom with modern care to help you find relief from pain, stress, and imbalance—naturally.
Our unique approach
Whole-Person Approach
At Santa Cruz CORE, we see you as a whole person, not just a collection of symptoms. Our experienced acupuncturists take time to understand your unique needs, creating personalized treatment plans that address root causes—not just temporary relief.
Advanced Treatment
Our acupuncturists have advanced knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine, combining acupuncture with herbalism, cupping, and moxabustion. A diverse range of modalities allows us to provide deeper healing and balance to your nervous system.
Collaboration
Your massage therapist works seamlessly with our chiropractors, trainers, and acupuncturists, and more to create integrated treatment plans. Because true healing happens when every part of your wellness team works together.
Experience relief from:
- Chronic Pain
- Migraines
- Stress + Anxiety
- Arthritis + Joint Pain
- Digestive Issues
- Hormone Imbalances
- Insomnia + Sleep Issues
- Fertility Support
- Addiction Support
Conditions We Treat
- Chronic Pain
- Migraines
- quitting smoking
- orthopedic limitations
- back pain
- migraines and chronic headaches
- stress management
- fertility
- anxiety
- insomnia
- skin conditions
- chronic disease
- arthritis
- auto immune disorders
- Gua Sha
- Tai Chi
- Dry needling
- Traditional Chinese Acupuncture
- Moxa
- Herbal Remedies.
Ancient Practice
Blended with
Modern Techniques
Qi energy circulates throughout the body along specific pathways called meridians. As long as this energy flows freely, health is maintained. When the flow of energy is blocked due to stress, lifestyle or other causes, the system is disrupted and pain and illness occur. Acupuncture works to restore normal functions by stimulating certain points on the meridians with fine needles. The specific combination of points is chosen after your TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner applies in-depth systematic TCM diagnostic techniques, used to address the root cause of your symptoms and identify potential patterns that may cause disease or illness.
The primary focus of TCM is on correcting the underlying cause of an illness or disease and thus producing lasting relief. Symptoms can often be relieved in a matter of hours or days, but correcting the illness itself is a much longer process. It is important, therefore to take an adequate number of treatments to ensure the best results.
Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture
Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture is a non-invasive method that works with your body to enhance your complexion and reduce wrinkles and fine lines! Very fine acupuncture needles are placed on and around the face to draw circulation to the area and create minor ‘trauma’ (the same principle as laser face treatment) so that the body produces more collagen to the areas of reduced collagen/wrinkles. The body is also treated holistically, so points are chosen for acupuncture that treats the individual and their own imbalances which may lead to premature aging.
The Nu Skin Galvanic Spa treatment clarifies your complexion and fights signs of aging using advanced technology. This patented technology works in two stages to leave your skin in optimal condition a Pre-Treatment Stage and Treatment Stage. The Galvanic Current adjusts to your individual skin needs and works together with the Galvanic Spa Facial Gels to drive the ingredients deep within the skin, and to remove any impurities and pore clogging debris.
Cupping + Gua Sha
Cupping and Gua Sha are methodologies under the heading of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Cupping and Gua Sha are highly effective for treating musculoskeletal disorders where blood and energy have become stagnant, causing pain. It is also very effective for overall health / immunity, asthma, and digestive complaints. Cupping involves a suctioning cup that is either stationary or moved over the skin, drawing out impurities and improving blood flow to the area.
Gua Sha involves “scraping” the skin with a tool made of buffalo horn, jade, or porcelin. By doing so, blood flow is improved, tension released, and pain reduced. Both therapies will result in what the Chinese refer to as “Sha” – markings of color ranging from a light red to black which appear on the skin after Cupping or Gua Sha. These marks indicate that the toxic energy or blood has been resolved and new blood is able to circulate in the area. The marks may appear strange to the onlooker, but the person receiving the therapy feels immensely better and will heal faster. Marks generally go away completely in one to two weeks.
Chinese Herbal Therapy & Nutrition
Chinese Herbal Therapy and Nutrition involve prescribing traditional Chinese herbal combinations in the form of tea, tincture, pills, powders, washes, plasters, or patches in order to effect healing. Nutritional, dietary, and lifestyle counseling involves assessing a person’s constitution and addressing its rebalancing through advice with its roots in the traditional chinese thinking of tastes, temperatures, and temperaments of persons, seasons, and foods.
Medical Qigong
Medical Qigong is a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine that focuses mainly on energetics. Although its idea may be less palpable than acupuncture, cupping, or herbal therapy, its principles are the same, as are its effects. Medical Qigong is a hands on or hands off approach that involved the practitioner re-balancing the patient’s energy fields. It can be used alone or in combination with acupuncture or cupping. Areas that are stagnant are moved and regulated, areas that need bolstering are tonified, and areas that are excessive are drained. Medical Qigong is useful for any disorder that acupuncture is also useful for. However, it excels in the healing of emotional and mood disorders, which are often the precursors to any number of physical disorders according to the concept of mind-body.
Client Testimonials
Frequently Asked Questions
I am 33 years old and am developing those lines quite nicely and FRA has helped tremendously to prevent those. My mother (age 61) has more definition in those exact lines as well and has been doing FRA and it has helped a lot to reduce the appearance of the wrinkles. So, yes it can reduce those lines -but it will take some time.
Yes, a base of ten will get you to a maintenance level, however everyone’s body is slightly different so if after 10 weeks of doing the treatments weekly you may want to continue at that rate or you may want to spread it out. What is so great about FRA is that not only are you getting improvement in your skin but you are also getting a full body acupuncture treatment and what this does is help keep you young and healthy from the inside out.
The treatment is not permanent and yes doing the treatment monthly or some say ‘as needed’ to maintain results is key, and though it sounds like an investment, it is one of the best investment I have made because not only does my skin look better, but some underlying issues are being resolved in the process which can prevent premature aging.
Acupuncture Recognized for Treating Disease
The World Health Organization has recognized Acupuncture as effective for many diseases. The diseases or disorders for which acupuncture therapy has been tested in controlled clinical trials reported in the recent literature can be classified into four categories as shown below.
Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy
Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
Biliary colic
Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
Dysentery, acute bacillary
Dysmenorrhoea, primary
Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)
Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
Headache
Hypertension, essential
Hypotension, primary
Induction of labour
Knee pain
Leukopenia
Low back pain
Malposition of fetus
Morning sickness
Nausea and vomiting
Neck pain
Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
Periarthritis of shoulder
Postoperative pain
Renal colic
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sciatica
Sprain
Stroke
Tennis elbow
Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
Acne vulgaris
Alcohol dependence and detoxification
Bell’s palsy
Bronchial asthma
Cancer pain
Cardiac neurosis
Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation
Cholelithiasis
Competition stress syndrome
Craniocerebral injury, closed
Earache
Epidemic haemorrhagic fever
Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease)
Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection
Female infertility
Facial spasm
Female urethral syndrome
Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
Gastrokinetic disturbance
Gouty arthritis
Hepatitis B virus carrier status
Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
Hyperlipaemia
Hypo-ovarianism
Insomnia
Labour pain
Lactation, deficiency
Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic
Ménière disease
Neuralgia, post-herpetic
Neurodermatitis
Obesity
Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
Osteoarthritis
Pain due to endoscopic examination
Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans
Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein-Leventhal syndrome ; PCOS)
Postextubation in children
Postoperative convalescence
Premenstrual syndrome
Prostatitis, chronic
Pruritus
Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome
Raynaud syndrome, primary
Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Retention of urine, traumatic
Schizophrenia
Sialism, drug-induced
Sjögren syndrome
Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
Spine pain, acute
Stiff neck
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ)
Tietze syndrome
Tobacco dependence
Tourette syndrome
Ulcerative colitis, chronic
Urolithiasis
Vascular dementia
Whooping cough (pertussis)
Chloasma
Choroidopathy, central serous
Colour blindness
Deafness
Hypophrenia
Irritable colon / bowel syndrome (IBS)
Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury
Pulmonary heart disease, chronic
Small airway obstruction
Breathlessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD)
Coma
Convulsions in infants
Coronary heart disease (angina pectoris)
Diarrhea in infants and young children
Encephalitis, viral, in children, late stage
Paralysis, progressive bulbar and pseudobulbar
Do you live in the Santa Cruz or Watsonville area?
Call 831-425-9500 email info@santacruzcore.com mention this page to redeem!
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Dr. Amberlee Rose is a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, and Chinese Medicine Herbalist, specializing in:
- Orthopedic and sports medicine, injury recovery, and pain relief
- Women’s health, reproductive health and fertility
- Stress relief, relaxation, sleep, and emotional balance
She offers acupuncture, cupping and gua sha, medical qi gong, moxibustion, facial acupuncture, nutrition consultations, and herbal medicine support. Her passion is helping people create deep physical, mental and emotional balance for greater ease and harmony in all aspects of life.
Debra Mayah is an Acupuncturist and Wellness practitioner specializing in chronic immune, pain, and fatigue challenges. She utilizes an integrative combination of modalities to help align the spine, redirect and balance the flow of Qi through the body and nervous system. She received her dynamic training right here in Santa Cruz by some of the nation’s leaders in Integrative Health and Herbal Medicine. She has also traveled and studied throughout India, Asia, and South America, gathering gems of experience and knowledge she considers a gift to share.
Consultations include medical history, constitutional evaluation, personalized nutrition, herbal, and supplement protocols, and other therapeutic recommendations.
Debra embraces a self-care made simple philosophy, and a passion for educating and empowering people on their paths to health and vitality.
Dr. Dylan Simpson combines a Doctorate of Traditional Chinese Medicine with a unique background in chemistry (BS and PhD) to offer a holistic, science-informed approach to acupuncture. Currently in their fifth year of private practice, Dylan brings over a decade of experience including formal acupuncture training and apprenticeship.
He uses channel theory acupuncture and didactic inquiry to address psychosomatic symptoms, recognizing the vital mind-body connection.
His ideal client is a client who recognizes that the mind and the body are not distinctly independent phenomena and wishes to apply their mental faculties to transform their well-being. Clients that recognize that needles are herbs are great methods to initiate change and offer an external means of course correction, but enduring transformation requires contemplation, reflection, and personal investment.
Dr. Simpson enjoys practicing taiji and meditation, and following Santa Cruz’s vibrant live music scene.
Testimonials
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