Melinda Iglesias Wheeler, DSOM, LAc (she/her)

If you are a human being living life, acupuncture and herbal medicine have something to offer you. If you struggle with day to day living and you at times feel as though you’re a different person on the outside than on the inside, come find support here. If you just can’t seem to get a chronic condition (pain or otherwise) to go away no matter what you throw at it, let’s figure it out together. If you have had all the biomedical tests and work-ups and still have not come up with any answers for the daily symptoms that plague you, not to fear! Oftentimes people find us at the end of whatever rope they find themselves on…

One of my favorite aspects of Chinese medicine is that we so resolutely emphasize how this work is an opportunity to treat the whole person—not just the “disease.” I work with all kinds of people on anything they come through the door with – and by treating them as the unique individual they are, we are able to shift the way they experience their ailment and often, their life more broadly too.

My journey to Chinese medicine began when I was living in Eugene, Oregon working as a Diversity and Outreach coordinator at the University of Oregon. I first found acupuncture as a patient—and it not only radically changed my health it also simultaneously lifted and supported my spirit… so I dove right in! I left my job at the University to manage a clinic in Eugene, Luke Adler Healing, and after years being exposed to Chinese medicine while running the front desk, I knew I needed to study this beautiful system of healing firsthand. 

The study of Classical Chinese medicine has been such a meaningful homecoming for me. Classical Chinese medicine is a complete system of healthcare – which means that we can treat most anything. It is also a medicine-philosophy which often becomes a beacon of light toward living a most fulfilled and embodied life. One of my favorite things about Chinese medicine is that it honors each of us wherever we are. The principles of the medicine are based in non-judgement and are deeply life-affirming. 

It is my great honor and privilege to serve my patients, walking alongside them on their path to health and wellness. My life’s mission is to love my family and to share as much of the incredible precision, accuracy, and easeful application of the acupuncture channel system with my patients and my students – not only during treatments or classes but in each of their daily lives.

Education

I hold both masters and doctoral degrees from the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM). During my time at NUNM I mentored closely with Brandt Stickley, L.Ac and immersed myself in the compelling and precise diagnostic method of Shen-Hammer pulse and the work of Dr. Leon Hammer as is presented in Dragon Rises Red Bird Flies: Psychology and Chinese Medicine. In the doctoral program I devoted my efforts to learning classical herbalism with Dr. Joon-Hee Lee which is rooted in the tradition of Zhang Zhong-Jing’s Shang Han Za Bing Lun (Treaties on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Disease). During my time in school I also undertook intensive study of craniosacral and myofascial release with Micheal McMahon at Moving Mountain Institute. Additionally, I have had the honor of being a teaching assistant for each of these dear mentors. 

After graduation, I have found another homecoming in the study of Advanced Acupuncture as taught by Ann Cecil-Sterman. Ann’s teaching and way of being have transformed me as a human being and as a practitioner, and I am a graduate of her Mentorship Program as well. 

I am certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM).