New Holistic Therapies in Colville

Anne Cranston, LAc, EAMP, and April Moon, LMP, HDC, are excited about pairing up and offering more alternative wellness options in our area. They invite the community to come see their new location and meet them at an open house on Sunday, March 13th from 1-4 p.m., downstairs at 108 S Main St, Colville. New patients can pick up discount cards for both massage and acupuncture. 

Anne is a Licensed Acupuncturist and East Asian Medicine Practitioner. Born and raised in Washington, she has made her home in Stevens County since 1999. Anne earned a master’s degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine (SIOM), which is internationally regarded as one of the most outstanding English language schools of East Asian Medicine. During her rigorous, apprenticeship style training, Anne studied an eclectic variety of different treatment modalities, including both traditional Chinese and Japanese acupuncture. This allows her flexibility in clinic and an ability to deliver individualized care - including accommodating sensitive patients with more gentle needling. Anne also practices Tui Na, a Chinese medical massage protocol that is highly effective for conditions of pain and muscular imbalance, and she is certified as a detox specialist by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association. Anne’s biggest mission is to take the mystery out of acupuncture and make it accessible to everyone. “Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine work amazingly well for a wide variety of conditions.” Anne Says, “The World Health Organization lists over 30 conditions that acupuncture treats based on clinical research, including back and neck pain, allergy, hypertension, stroke and the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. We treat acute conditions, like sore throat, flu, and sprains, as well as conditions like hot flashes, insomnia, depression, addiction, infertility, and digestive complaints. I like to emphasize that this is incredibly safe, effective medicine based on over 2000 years of observation of cause and effect.”

April is a Licensed Massage therapist and Healing Diets Counselor. She is proud to claim herself as a Colville native, born and raised. “I absolutely adore the Pacific Northwest landscape and the good people in our community. I love the support we give each other and I love seeing familiar smiles everywhere I go.” April got her start in holistic health 17 years ago after becoming a massage therapist, and began her private practice in Kettle Falls. Since then she has been a graduate of the Institute for Phenomenal Touch Massage, School of Natural Medicine, and the School of Advanced Colonic Techniques. The second half of her career has included college teaching, franchise training, and health coaching. Four years ago she relocated to Boulder, Colorado, seeking further education, and has just returned home to start her practice back up with Anne this December. She is currently working on reformatting the health coaching portion of her business, which she expects to have ready to go later this year. In the meantime, her massage practice is already running strong and she is thrilled to see a mix of old and new faces.

Anne and April share an immense passion for nature and a natural healing philosophy. Their vision is to cultivate awareness in the community of what our health options are, how to care for our bodies in sustainable ways, provide education, and build networks with other skilled therapists including western practitioners. “We absolutely believe there is a place for both natural and allopathic medicine,” says Anne. “I’d like to work with other health care providers to better serve our patients by matching them with the appropriate practitioner or combination of practitioners. It is imperative for the health of a patient that I be in communication with their M.D. if they are trying to reduce their reliance on, say, pain medication.The closer and more respectful our connections are with other providers, the more we can benefit our patients. Most importantly, I’d like to see a shift toward prevention and early intervention, before new problems become chronic.” April adds, “I see our health issues becoming more and more complex; multi-faceted and multi-layered. Putting this burden on doctors to try to fix in the limited time they have is unrealistic, and that’s where we come in. Health needs to be centered around proper diet and lifestyle. Hopefully we can tip the scales in favor of prevention. We’d like to play an ancillary role to allopathic medicine at the very least.”

Anne talks more about acupuncture:

As a practitioner of East Asian Medicine (which includes acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, Tui Na massage and dietary advice), I am trained to take the time to delve deep into an individual’s health history, including diet, lifestyle habits and emotions. This can be the key to making a Chinese diagnosis and plan for treatment. For instance, I treated a patient with lifelong cystic fibrosis who was dealing with severe lung congestion. During the first treatment I counseled him on his diet, which was healthy by most standards. We made a few simple changes and he came back a week later relieved to find his lung congestion remarkably improved. Yet he was angry that from the age of 4, none of his doctors had ever advised him to change his diet. East Asian Medicine looks not only at symptoms, but at underlying causes, and is able to provide counseling, acupuncture, and herbal medicine tailored to the specifics of each individual.

There are a lot of common misconceptions about acupuncture in particular. The first is the amount of training acupuncturists undergo, which many think is only a few months. The reality is that licensure as an acupuncturist requires a master’s degree. I am trained in anatomy, physiology, physical medicine and biomedicine, as well as rigorous study and clinical training in traditional Chinese medicine. 

A second common misconception is that acupuncture hurts. People are usually surprised to learn that ten acupuncture needles can fit into the hollow of a hypodermic needle. Usually, people don’t feel the needles at all. 

A third common misconception is that acupuncture is a sort of new age witchcraft unsupported by modern medical research, and that its mechanism is mostly due to placebo effect. In truth there is a growing body of evidence unravelling its mechanism and supporting its efficacy. Acupuncture is used by the US Army to treat PTSD and chronic pain, and is used by many medical doctors and chiropractors. Currently, physical therapists are lobbying to incorporate acupuncture into their practices. Although the language of acupuncture can be difficult for Westerners, there is nothing woo woo or new age about the medicine. I encourage anyone interested in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to contact me. I’m happy to chat with prospective patients about how acupuncture and Chinese herbs may be able to help them and answer any questions they may have. It really brings me joy to see patients feeling better.

April talks more about massage: 

As a massage therapist of nearly 2 decades now, I’ve witnessed it’s benefits a time or two. Massage is still trying to shed the last of its reputation for self-indulgent luxury, but this perception is waning quickly. People come to see me for: 1.) pain management 2.) stress reduction 3.) injury/corrective work 4.) prevention, maintenance, & longevity.

Massage does wonders in these areas.  But as with other modalities, I stress that it should be incorporated into your health regimen on a regular basis if you want to get the most mileage out of your investment.  

The commonly asked question I get is, ‘How long do the effects last?’ In short that’s up to you. Between 3 and 10 days on average, depending on what type of lifestyle you live. The better you care for yourself between sessions the longer you will feel the effects. And I don’t know about you, but for me the pedantic “benefits of massage” script has lost its potency by now. I’ll skip that and give you my top 3 atypical picks on why we should all be getting regular bodywork: 

1.) Detoxification: If we are to be healthy in this post-industrial world I feel strongly that we need employ detoxification as a lifestyle. There are millions of chemicals on the planet today and more are literally being developed by the second. Just because we cant see chemical pollution or that its disguised as something yummy or fragrant doesn’t mean its not there. Toxins create free radical damage disrupting hormones and damaging detox pathways, thereby accelerating the aging process. Massage is a great way to detoxify. Toxins which settle into our tissues get flushed into the bloodstream where they are transported to elimination organs and systems for exit.

2.) Boosts the immune system: The skin is an endocrine (hormone releasing) organ, as well as a detoxification pathway. It plays a major role in ensuring hormones and other messages are transported throughout the body. When stimulated, the skin calls for the release of natural killer cells - a type of white blood cell responsible for killing tumor cells and certain virus-infected cells. 

3.) Better cellular function: Cells feel and respond to texture of their surroundings via molecular muscles. The pressure of yoga, stretching, massage, etc. helps cells find homeostasis by alerting them to check in and make adjustments to the tension of their environment, thus relieving pressure or strain, resulting in overall better functioning. This is in part why seemingly unrelated issues of our physiology improve after a session, such as sleep or menstrual cycle.

My current personal regimen includes weekly acupuncture, bi-weekly massage, chiropractic on occasion, and other holistic therapies as needed, on top of a healthy lifestyle (a perpetually evolving process).  Often I stretch my budget for my health but the way I see it, hospital bills and missed work are expensive, and miserable to boot.  So I'm good with making my health a priority, even if it means I don't get to drive a new car.  These modalities have a considerable positive impact on the body which then carries out to influence every aspect of life. 

Anne and April are hoping to shed new light on alternative therapies. Take care of yourself in whatever ways suit you best. “We are actually blessed with the honor of stewarding a vessel which houses a timeless piece of infinity. A healthy happy body allows us to reach higher potentials amid the extreme vicissitudes of life." they say, as an offering of health and goodwill toward the community. 

You can call April at 509-690-0124 (or visit www.aprilmoon.com) and Anne at 509-675-0062 (or visit www.colville-acupuncture.com) with any questions or to book an appointment.