Laughing Tao Acupuncture

Laughing Tao Acupuncture We offer acupuncture treatments, herbal medicine, qi gong classes, and self defense classes.

At Laughing Tao, we offer Chinese medicine acupuncture and herbal medicine in East Peoria with a gentle, root-focused approach that helps you feel more supported, more regulated, and more at home in your body.

Bone broth is one of the main foods we recommend most often. It's because of how simple and yet restorative it can be.Fr...
06/11/2026

Bone broth is one of the main foods we recommend most often. It's because of how simple and yet restorative it can be.

From a Chinese medicine perspective, bone broth deeply nourishes the body's reserves. It's especially helpful for those struggled with conditions of depletion: exhaustion, overwork, feeling burned out, post-partum support, and chronic diseases. It's easy to sip on, gentle to the stomach, and supports smooth digestion.

From a nutritional perspective, bone broth contains collagen, gelatin, and minerals to support deeper hydration and connective tissue health.

Often healing doesn't start with something complicated. Food is always our first medicine. This summer, begin giving your body the tools it needs to replenish and repair.

Being angry isn't a "problem." It's a symptom of something deeper going on, usually at a subterranean level. Instead of...
06/08/2026

Being angry isn't a "problem." It's a symptom of something deeper going on, usually at a subterranean level. Instead of being frustrated with - well, frustration - think of it as information.

In Chinese medicine, anger, frustration and irritability are closely connected to the Liver channel and the element of Wood.

Wood's energy is to MOVE, grow, bend with the wind, and adapt. Think of a healthy tree growing upwards and branching out beautifully over the years. When the Liver's energy is moving well, we tend to feel more resilient, can navigate challenges well, and have flexibility with changes and whatever else happens to come our way.

When the Liver's movement becomes restricted or stunted, energy begins to build. Your temper may shorten, and physical symptoms like headaches, neck and shoulder tension, digestive upset, jaw clenching, or painful PMS can surface.

Anger is the body's way of telling us that something needs attention and movement. Chinese medicine helps support the smooth flow of the Liver meridian so that emotions feel less overwhelming, and then physical symptoms begin to recede.

Clenching, grinding, TMJ, TMD - all of these issues can be painful. Headaches, eating, and even sleeping can become more...
06/05/2026

Clenching, grinding, TMJ, TMD - all of these issues can be painful. Headaches, eating, and even sleeping can become more difficult over time, and eventually the tension may stay present throughout the day - and night.

For some easy relief, try using an electric toothbrush as a mini massager. Turn it on and hold the vibrating handle against the thick jaw muscles just in front of the ears and along the cheeks for 30 to 60 seconds per side. Do not press too deeply - be gentle.

Just like a massage, the vibration can help relax tight muscles and bring more awareness to unconscious clenching during the day. This simple trick can be especially helpful before bed or after a stressful day.

There’s this orange stray cat in our neighborhood. He’s been around for years, but over the past several months he’s sta...
06/02/2026

There’s this orange stray cat in our neighborhood. He’s been around for years, but over the past several months he’s started showing up in our yard and the field across from our home more often. My daughter named him Max. Now it’s become A Thing. Anytime we see him, we say, “I saw Max today!” and then we’ll talk about what he was doing, where he might’ve come from - maybe he was hunting field mice, or sheltering under the shed from the rain, or sunning himself on our roof. It feels like we’re catching a glimpse into Max's life for a second, profoundly simple, yet absolutely lovely. It’s such a small, random thing, but it always makes the day feel better.

Max has turned into this precious symbol of childlike joy. Life can feel heavy and wrench us hurriedly into different directions. And then all of a sudden there’s just this unassuming, orange cat passing through like he has all the time in the world. He just shows up. And somehow that’s enough to pull me out of my head for a minute.

That’s what healing and hope look like more often than we expect. Not some big, obvious elephant trampling through the room, but small moments: slick as cats, and easy to miss if you’re rushing past them. A quick pause, a little lift, something that reminds you there’s still tendrils of good woven into the middle of everything. Max shows up and reminds me of that, over and over.

As we transition from late spring into summer, the body begins shifting into the energy of the Heart and the Fire elemen...
05/28/2026

As we transition from late spring into summer, the body begins shifting into the energy of the Heart and the Fire element. In Chinese Medicine, the Heart is more than the physical organ - it’s also associated with circulation, sleep, emotional steadiness, joy, and the Shen, often translated as spirit or consciousness. When the Heart is balanced, we tend to feel more present, more connected, and more able to enjoy the season without feeling overstimulated or scattered.

But as the weather gets hotter, that same Fire energy can become excessive. Too much internal or external heat can show up as restlessness, poor sleep, irritability, anxiety, feeling overheated, even palpitations.

One simple way to support the Heart this time of year is to avoid iced drinks, especially if you tend toward digestive issues, anxiety, or fatigue. In Chinese medicine, ice-cold drinks can weaken digestion and create more internal imbalance, even in hot weather. Cool or room-temperature fluids, along with hydrating foods like cucumber, watermelon, mint, or lightly cooked greens, tend to support the body much more gently.

Memorial Day carries real weight in our home because Glenn’s path into medicine was shaped, in part, by years of militar...
05/25/2026

Memorial Day carries real weight in our home because Glenn’s path into medicine was shaped, in part, by years of military service. Before he was treating chronic pain, PTSD, and complex illness in the clinic, he served for 10 years as an infantryman, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and later spent time supporting wounded soldiers as they transitioned back to civilian life. During his service, Glenn grieved the passing of many close friends. That kind of experience changes how a person sees service, sacrifice, and what it means to care for others.

Maybe that’s part of why his work as a practitioner feels so deeply grounded. Whether he’s helping someone with chronic pain, trauma, or a body that has been through more than most people can see, there’s a steadiness in the way he shows up that comes from having walked through hard things himself. Memorial Day reminds us that behind the holiday is real sacrifice, real grief, and real lives - and we honor that with the respect it deserves.

If your digestion tends to feel bloated or gassy, or even if you ate just a little too much at that barbecue, one of the...
05/21/2026

If your digestion tends to feel bloated or gassy, or even if you ate just a little too much at that barbecue, one of the simplest traditional tools in Chinese medicine is Chen Pi, or dried tangerine peel. Chen Pi is often used when food feels like it’s just sitting, when there’s nausea, belching, fullness after meals, or when digestion slows. In Chinese Medicine, we know that tangerine peel helps move stuck Qi, or energy, in the stomach, dries out dampness, and harmonizes the middle, which is the main reason why it's used in so many digestive health herbal formulas.

A simple home version is to save and dry organic tangerine peel, then simmer a small piece in hot water as a tea. You can also purchase it. It has a lightly bitter, aromatic quality that can help the digestive system “wake up” and move more smoothly. It’s simple, but surprisingly effective.

If your face, jaw, and teeth snap, crackle, and pop… you’re not alone. TMJ/TMD can show up as jaw clicking, tension, hea...
05/18/2026

If your face, jaw, and teeth snap, crackle, and pop… you’re not alone. TMJ/TMD can show up as jaw clicking, tension, headaches, tooth pain, ear pressure, and that sore “clenched” feeling that never fully goes away.

Chinese medicine acupuncture can help relax the muscles of the jaw, calm the nervous system, and get things moving more comfortably again. We treat the whole pattern - not just the jaw - because stress and tension have a way of showing up everywhere.

I am not immune to random daily aches, pains, stress or tension - after a jaw tension headache that wouldn't go away with over the counter meds, I took a half hour to sit with these acupuncture needles in. No joke, the headache dissolved within 20 minutes and I haven't had another tension headache since.

May always feels like the sweetest month. It carries that unmistakable late-spring energy - the spring showers grow shor...
05/15/2026

May always feels like the sweetest month. It carries that unmistakable late-spring energy - the spring showers grow shorter, everything is in bloom, and we begin to anticipate the often oppressive heat of summer. There’s something about this time of year that feels vibrant, alive - and yet, ephemeral.

My birthday in May always gives me a reason to pause, even briefly, and reflect. Not only on the passing of time or the year behind me, but on how much a life can change from one year to the next. We’re often taught to think of change as something dramatic or sudden, but more often it happens quietly - through small decisions, steady effort, better boundaries, deeper self-awareness, and the willingness to stop repeating what no longer works.

That’s something I see in my practice all the time. I have witnessed as patients moved on from poor relationships and towards ones that nourished them. I have seen patients quit jobs and find careers that motivate them. I have held space for those as they try, again and again, to simply accept where they are at in their difficult journey.

Healing is rarely about one perfect treatment or one big breakthrough. More often, it’s the result of choosing, again and again, to listen more closely, care for yourself differently, and make space for a new pattern to take hold. Year by year, those choices matter. They shape the body, the mind, and the life around you more than most people realize.

My birthday is a reminder to me that life is not something that is done to us. It is truly a gift, however shadowy and dark, that we reveal to ourselves like a series of nesting dolls. And within lies that smallest, most delicate gift: the inner compass for the way ahead.

Address

209 Keayes Avenue
East Peoria, IL
61611

Opening Hours

Monday 8:15am - 4pm
Tuesday 8:15am - 8:30pm
Wednesday 8:15am - 4pm
Thursday 8:15am - 4pm
Friday 8:15am - 4pm

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