Matthew Duffett, L.Ac.

In practice, that means longer sessions, hands-on structural work, and needling that follows what the tissue actually is doing, rather than imposing a pre-defined protocol.

Most of the people I see are dealing with pain or tension that hasn't responded to the obvious fixes: the shoulder that's been "tight" for six years, the low back pain that flares under stress, or the tight chest and shallow breath that come with anxiety. 

I came to this work through my own body. I was paralyzed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome at nineteen. Recovering my body's function left me with a practiced sensitivity to subtle shifts in movement and structure. Those shifts are easy to miss, and they're often where the problem actually lives. My experience with paralysis left me with a deep and specific respect for what the body can rebuild on its own, and for how much it costs to override it.

So when you arrive with something in your body that just won't resolve, you're describing that experience to someone who's been there, not just read about it.

I hold a Bachelor of Science from UC Berkeley and a Master's in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley. I've practiced Yang-style Taijiquan for years, which has profoundly shaped the way I understand structure, load, tension, and release. It's also taught me what I'm actually here to do: hold a container steady enough for you to finally stop bracing.