Laura Kauffmann

Laura Kauffmann LK Mind Body Wellness is a wellness brand with expertise in Acupuncture, Nutrition, 5-element Yin Yang Yoga, Microneedling and Thai Massage.

My focus is on women's health, longevity, natural beauty practices, pain and balancing the body with TCM.

08/31/2026

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this says it all.

How did I do it?

For 2 months, I dedicated 5 to 10 minutes, 4 to 5 times per week, to building a Gua Sha practice focused on neck, chest and the meridians associated with those areas. But that’s not it, I focused my yin yoga practice on those regions as well. This was a game changer.

🔥Fire element season was the perfect timeline for this work. The Heart and Pericardium meridians begin in the chest and the Small Intestine and Triple Warmer meridians end in the face. Lung pathways also begin in the chest and its pair, the large intestine traverses shoulder and neck before ending in the face. Focused Meridian stretching is an incredible way to activate meridians before getting localized qi and blood flow to plump up and change the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. At 59 with some deep wrinkles on my chest, I was blown away by the outcome of my little experiment! Working with acupuncture meridians to improve skin texture and glow is the positive side effect of TheMeridian Method by LK, which brings together 5-Element Yin Yoga, facial and body gua sha, Myo-Yin, Acu-Yin and seasonal food wisdom.

Living in your body never felt, or tasted, so good.

Next Yin&Skin class in Brooklyn is scheduled for Sunday Sept 27. Dm for details or type YinSkin to get more info about my in-person and online events.

Hope to yin with you soon!

&skin

08/21/2026

Some days the body isn’t asking for effort but rather the permission to stay quiet and slow.

This hip mandala practice moves through a full circle of poses all from a lying down position.

Moving from the side that has the most ease is a Taoist practice style and a Japanese So Tai practice that I find so helpful for my own healing and when treating patients in the clinic.

On those days when energy is sticky, I recommend Wood Element focus for your yin practice. This might be a sequence I give to a post partum mom struggling with fatigue, a peri or menopausal woman struggling with hip pain or one of my fertility clients after ovulation. Three different cases, one practice. This is how I work.

Gentle.
Nourishing.
Meridian Medicine.

Save this the next time you find your energy zapped, stuck, and you just want to lie down.





08/20/2026

Half Saddle, which I use in my Earth Element sequences gets skipped a lot because the traditional shape asks a lot of the knee and hip before they are ready.

These two variations give you the same Spleen and Stomach Meridian release without forcing the joint. Strap, towel, block or nothing at all, there’s a version that meets you where you are today.

Which version do you think I used when I was rehabbing my knee from knee replacement surgery?

And yes, you can do yoga when you are recovering from surgery, just be sure to involve your team to make sure you are ready for the next step.

We tend to think of our senses as ways of experiencing the world around us. But they also offer a way in.In Chinese medi...
08/19/2026

We tend to think of our senses as ways of experiencing the world around us. But they also offer a way in.

In Chinese medicine, each element has a sensory doorway, a place where our inner and outer landscapes meet.

Eyes. Tongue. Mouth. Nose. Ears.

What happens when we begin to listen through them?

👁️ The WOOD ELEMENT introduces us to the idea that vision isn’t merely eyesight. It’s our capacity to look inward, imagine what is possible, and envision what comes next.

What are you ready to see differently?

👅 The FIRE ELEMENT opens to the tongue and reminds us that expression is one of the ways the Heart makes itself known. Our words can create connection, reveal joy, and give voice to what has been waiting to be said.

What is your Heart asking you to express?

👄 The EARTH ELEMENT opens through the mouth and taste through the experience of taking something in and allowing ourselves to receive it. Earth asks us to consider nourishment beyond what is on our plate.

What are you truly hungry for?

👃 The METAL ELEMENT opens through the nose. With every breath, we take in what we need and release what we don’t. Smell is primal and instinctive, a soft receptivity that happens before the thinking mind gets involved.

What is worth taking in? What are you ready to let go of?

👂 And the WATER ELEMENT opens through the ears. Water invites a different kind of listening, not for the loudest voice or the quickest answer, but for our innate wisdom living underneath all the noise.

What can you hear when you become still enough to listen?

This is one of the things I love about Five Element medicine.

The elements aren’t simply correspondences to memorize. They give us a way to experience ourselves.

To notice.

To feel.

To listen.

To move between our inner and outer landscapes with a little more awareness.

Five Elements. Five Sense Doors. Five ways in.

Save this for when you want to experiment with tuning into your sense doors.

Photos by Julia Beck Vandenoever 😍

08/17/2026

A yin yoga practice rooted in Chinese medicine can become an intentional prescription for the deep fatigue that comes with chronic conditions. Lying Butterfly gently opens the Kidney meridians, and after about five minutes here, many people notice a real shift in their energy. The biggest comment I hear from patients and students alike is that their sleep 😴 improves right after a practice.

Isn’t it amazing that lying on the floor in a few simple shapes can have such a strong effect on our energy stores? Add directed breathwork and seasonal food wisdom, and you have a beautiful toolkit for restoring health in the body.

This is why I always recommend a yin yoga practice before anything else. No flexibility required, no experience necessary. You can even practice it in bed.

08/14/2026

Pigeon pose and its variations have always been hard for me. Not because of tight hips, but because of a constrained disposition. Yin Yoga has been my slow practice since 2009, my “Calm Balm.” Even in the poses that are hardest for my body, or in the practice of simply being still, I have gained a deeper understanding of the why.

As a young person, what was modeled for me was that you had to work hard, and it didn’t always pay off. What I’ve learned through practice is that finding ease brings fluidity. And through that ease, at any age, real change becomes possible.

08/12/2026

Metal Element Imbalances can present as frequent colds, shortness of breath, melancholy, constipation and dry skin. Yin Yoga can be a great adjunct therapy between acupuncture sessions🤍 Here’s how I look at it.

YIN YOGA POSE: Quarter Dog
TARGET MERIDIANS: Lung / Large Intestine

PATHWAYS
Lung: begins in the mid abdomen,descends to connect with the large intestine, then turns upward through the diaphragm into the lungs. Surfaces at the chest below the collarbone, travels down the inner arm along the thumb side, crosses the wrist, and ends at the tip of the thumb. Knots in the sinew channel are most likely to present at the thumb, the wrist, the inner elbow, and the front of the shoulder.

Large Intestine: begins at the tip of the index finger, travels up the outer arm, over the shoulder, and up the side of the neck. Crosses the cheek, enters the gums, curves around the upper lip, and ends beside the opposite nostril. Knots in the sinew channel are most likely to present at the wrist, the outer elbow, the shoulder, and the jaw.

METHOD
From all fours, come onto your forearms and and walk your knees back slightly so your hips are in line with your knees. Reach the side with more ease forward and bend the other side and rest that palm on opposite elbow crease. Let your forehead rest down. Stay 2-3 minutes per side. You should feel a deep opening across the chest, shoulders, and upper back. Breathe into the space between your shoulder blades.

USES
Physical: tight chest and shoulders, upper back tension, shallow breathing, neck and jaw tightness.
Internal: grief or heaviness in the chest, shallow or restricted breath, constipation or sluggish elimination, low immunity.

I often pair this pose with acupressure. LU7 for grief and breath support, LI4 for immunity and facial tension, LU1 to open the chest. A simple adjunct to clinical acupuncture between sessions, part of the Meridian Method by LK.

If this resonates with you, you are in the right place. Let’s glow from the inside together!

08/11/2026

🌱Earth Element Imbalances can be helped with yin yoga between your acupuncture and health coaching sessions. Here’s how I look at it.

🌿 YIN YOGA POSE: Half Saddle

🌿 TARGET MERIDIANS

Spleen: big toe to medial knee, up the inner thigh, through the torso, to the outer ribs, ending at the sixth rib space. Knots in the sinew channel are most likely to present at the medial malleolus, the medial knee, the p***c bone, and the umbilicus.

Stomach: below the center of the eye to the outer corner of the mouth, across the jaw and up to the corner of the head, down the neck to the collarbone, over the chest and torso to the inguinal groove, down the lateral quad, along the outer knee, ending at the tip of the second toe. Knots in the sinew channel are most likely to present at the lateral knee, the hip, the umbilicus, and the jaw.

🌿 METHOD
Start on the side that has more ease. Here, I am entering from a seated position with a cushion under me and a bolster behind me. Use props as needed. Tuck one foot under or to the side of your hip. Slowly lie back. You don’t need to go all the way back if your body is not ready for this, just enough to feel your edge. If your bent knee lifts, place a blanket underneath so it has somewhere to ground. Stay 3 to 5 minutes, but you can start with 5-10 breaths if yin is new to you. You may feel a deep stretch along the quad of the bent leg, this is the main target area of this pose. Lift your arms overhead to activate the torso lines if that feels accessible to you.

External Uses: knee stiffness, tight quads, IT band, hip flexors, throat and chest and jaw tension.

Internal Uses: difficulty focusing and concentrating, chronic gas and bloating, abdominal pain, stress induced stomach issues.

I often pair earth element poses with acupressure on points we may have used in the clinic.

Let’s glow together from the yinside.
If you want to work together I am in-person or online-Reach out!

08/10/2026

🧘‍♀️YIN YOGA POSE: Low Lying Twist

🎯 TARGET MERIDIANS: Heart/Pericardium

PATHWAYS: Heart-Armpit to pinky Pericardium- lateral chest to middle finger

🖊️ METHOD: Enter the pose from lying on your back, shift hips slightly, extend one leg longer and hook your other foot behind the knee of the extended leg. Open the opposite arm upward to stretch through your armpit to hand. Stay quietly without fidgeting for 3-5 minutes. Come to lie flat for one minute and then repeat opposite side.

INTEGRATION: I might recommend this pose as a sleep hygiene option for someone with insomnia. I also use it at the tail end of frozen shoulder when working to enhance that last 10-20 degrees of opening. It’s a great chest and shoulder opener and works well with myofascial release balls near the scapula of the extended arm or paired with acupressure on PC6 and HT 7.

Overall, Fire Element imbalances do well with long quiet holds that stretch and activate the sinew channels of the related organ pairs.

Save this for the next time insomnia has you awake at 3 am. If this resonates with you, you are in the right place.

07/25/2026

In Chinese medicine, the Small Intestine has a job beyond digestion. It separates pure from impure.

Physically, this means sorting nutrients from waste. Energetically, it means something bigger - the ability to sort what serves you from what doesn’t.

Midlife asks you to use this skill constantly. Which relationships still fit. Which habits still work. Which beliefs you inherited but never chose.

The Small Intestine meridian runs along the outer edge of your arm, from your pinky to your ear. It pairs with the Heart. When Heart Fire runs high (think hot flashes, racing thoughts, disrupted sleep), Small Intestine function often struggles too. Clarity gets harder. Decisions feel foggy.

This is why Fire season is a good time to slow down before you decide. Not everything needs sorting today.

💡Simple support this week:
Tap along the edge of your hand, from pinky to wrist. Continue up to the elbow and along the backs of the arms to the scapula. Intentional activation of Small Intestine channel territory can help us boost the Qi of this organ pathway.

Now, ask yourself this-what am I ready to release that no longer serves me?

That’s the separation of pure from impure quality that we are waking up through intentional channel tapping. And in summer when heat is high, emotions can be as well. What do you want to release? This is the season of discernment. 🔥

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