What to wear to Community Acupuncture?

Basically, think PJ-chic.

Community Acupuncture calls for comfortable, loose, soft and comfortable clothing.

Receiving a community acupuncture treatment entails being treated in a tranquil group setting. You’ll lay in your own personal recliner to receive your treatment so looser clothing with easy access to acupuncture points is ideal.

Some of the most powerful acupuncture points are located on the limbs, specifically below the elbows and knees, so its recommended that pants should be able to come up above the knee - comfortably, without feeling like you're cutting off your circulation. Shirt sleeves should also be able to comfortably roll up to you elbows, with a tank top being ideal.

Tight leggings, skinny jeans, and tight sleeves should be avoided as they cut off blood circulation and restrict the flow of qi in the body. We strive to keep the temperature of the clinic ideal for wearing minimal clothing and also have heat lamps, hot pack sand blankets on hand to keep your body cozy and comfortable.

It’s also important to note that even if you have pain in a specific area of the body (say, wrist pain, for example), it's pretty likely that your acupuncturist will put needles in OTHER areas of your body as well, to help address that pain.

These points are called "distal" points (aka, far away from the area of pain) and are used because everything in the body is connected, according to Chinese medicine.

So even if you have wrist pain, it's likely your acupuncturist may still want to put needles in at your knees and elbows. Wearing comfy clothes that allow access to these areas is the way to go.

If you're coming after work and can't wear pajama-like clothes, no worries. We'll always figure out a way to access the necessary points and allow you to still be comfy enough to take a nap!

But if you ever have the chance, try wearing your PJs to acupuncture (or bring them along so you can change), and see how much easier and comfier it is!

What’s different about Community Acupuncture?

We are Sliding Scale

All our treatments are sliding scale, so YOU decide how much feels right to you, and allows you to afford as many treatments as you need. We adopted the sliding scale because it is important to us that Acupuncture treatments are affordable and accessible to everyone, regardless of financial situation.

You are treated in a Group Setting

Yes, it’s true…You will be treated in a large room with OTHER people in the room. While this can seem odd or invasive to some, (Americans like their privacy) it’s surprisingly a very soothing to experience a healing modality in a community setting. There’s something more powerful about being in a space with others; creating the collective intension to heal. From clinical experience, Michelle has noticed that patients seem to heal faster when they are treated in a room with other people.  Much like meditating or doing yoga in a group vs. alone-it just feels different.

All of our Treatments are Distal-Style

All of our treatments utilize the Balance Acupuncture Method which is a technique created by Dr. Richard Tan. His techniques utilize distal acupuncture points located on the lower arms, lower legs, head and face that can effectively and quickly treat anywhere in the body. Essentially, this means we can treat your neck pain by needling your wrist. This technique has allowed us to administer thousands of treatments, addressing anything from neck pain to menstrual cramps, without asking the patient to do more than roll up their pant legs.

Community Acupuncture is different and it’s important to understand it is not always the best fit for everyone. Some patients have very complicated cases that require lab work and careful monitoring, while some patients just like the privacy of being treated one-on-one. Private treatments can still be booked with Michelle Hamilton at the SLO Wellness Center. The primary goal of Zen Den is to make acupuncture available to anyone in the community and with the sliding scale community acupuncture model, we are able to provide just that.