Integrative Healing Arts Acupuncture, P.C.

Integrative Healing Arts Acupuncture, P.C. IHA offers holistic acupuncture & Chinese medicine in NYC for pain, fertility, and women’s health. Its ancient roots can be traced to China.

Acupuncture is a powerful form of healing and part of a system of healthcare practices dating back more than 5000 years. The foundation of this form of medicine is based on the ancient Taoist principles of Yin and Yang, the transformation of energies within the body as well as external environment to achieve balance. Acupuncture uses the application of needles to stimulate various points on meridi

ans on the body that facilitate the movement of Qi also known as “life force”. Stimulating these points helps bring the body into balance by activating and supporting the immune system thereby increasing the body’s ability to heal itself. This is also known as homeostasis.

Hormone balancing with food.It’s important to tune into our cycles.Eating certain foods according to the phases of your ...
05/30/2026

Hormone balancing with food.

It’s important to tune into our cycles.

Eating certain foods according to the phases of your menstrual cycle (Blood, Yin, Yang & Qi)can help balance and support your health goals.

During menstruation, it’s important to eat foods that move blood like turmeric, eggplant, seaweed, and other alkalizing foods such as apple cider vinegar.

In Pre-ovulation: eat fresh and in-season fruits and vegetables such as berries, green beans, and asparagus. Consume high protein and drink plenty of water. Cut back on processed foods. Restrict alcohol, coffee, excess sugar.

During ovulation and after, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat mildly spicy foods like garlic and ginger to move fluids in your body. Drink water but avoid cold drinks. Reduce sugar and dairy.

In Pre-menstruation; add movement into your body. Eat warm foods such as stews, broths, and soups. Cooking foods raises Qi. Reach for slowly cooked foods like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Steamed vegetables are also good, and try to reduce stress.

If this post is helpful to you, please save it and re-visit during each phase of your cycle! Even beyond this Month, it’s important to listen to our bodies!

According to social media…we are doing just about everything wrong!Somewhere along the way, taking care of ourselves has...
05/20/2026

According to social media…we are doing just about everything wrong!

Somewhere along the way, taking care of ourselves has become another project to manage.

Digital data tracking, following influencers that tell us we are doing everything wrong.

Sleep scores. Step counts. Cycle tracking. Heart rate variability. Stem Cells, Peptides. GLP-1. Genetic predisposition for disease.

All telling you… you should be doing better. While these smart tools can be useful, they are not smarter than us.

Constant monitoring doesn’t always create better health, It can create more pressure.

More comparing and disparaging and tapping into self judgement and shame.

Health is not another competition to win. It's about finding balance and what will work for you to make the transformation you want.

What is important no matter what choices you make, is to have a strong mind-body connection and relationship with yourself that is kind.

That’s the part no one talks about.

So when self-care starts to feel like a chore, it’s often because we are adding to resistance that is already there, such as not feeling like we are good enough. Self-care isn’t beating your body into a cookie cutter ideal and it is not selfish either.

Consistency and quality are what makes a difference not quantity.

Starting where you are with kindness and compassion first.

The same way you would care for someone you love.
If self-care feels heavy right now, ask yourself: What would self care look like if it came from compassion instead of pressure?

If you’re feeling off with self-care, reach out and we can put something together for you.

What Mothers Actually Need (Hint: It’s Not Brunch)We’ve all heard the term "Mental Load," or cognitive work, but do we ...
05/08/2026

What Mothers Actually Need (Hint: It’s Not Brunch)

We’ve all heard the term "Mental Load," or cognitive work, but do we actually understand what it is?Sociologist Arlene Kaplan Daniels coined the term Invisible Labor In the early 1980s. It is the unpaid, undervalued work required to keep a home, a family, or an office running.

What is invisible work? Invisible work is also cognitive labor, that is the mental work most women do in relationships, within their families and offices.

The endless to-do lists, reminders and anticipated needs that families rely on such as , “Hey don’t forget we have a parent teacher conference this week”.

Mom: The Original "Search Engine"
"Where are my keys?" or a child asks, "Where are my socks?" These questions are tapping into the mother’s Reticular Activating System (RAS). This part of the brain acts as an internal search engine, filtering information and maintaining a state of constant alertness.

Whether it's biological predisposition or cultural conditioning, the RAS of many mothers operate on multiple "platforms" at once:
- The Manager: Tracking parent-teacher conferences and doctor visits.
- The Researcher: Finding the best enrichment programs or summer camps.
- The Social Secretary: Managing the family calendar and gift-buying.
- The Logistics Chief: Packing the bags, stopping the mail, and sorting the outgrown clothes.

Participation vs. Management
There is a massive difference between participating in a task and the one managing the household.

"Checking an item off a list is helpful. But making the list is the actual work."

Expecting to be told what to do still places the responsibility on the mother to organize, she is still the one "at work." She is the one ensuring everything works out, aren't just there physically—they are prepared.

Instead of a Mother’s Day brunch that requires Mom to get the kids dressed, perform for the "perfect" photo, and manage everyone’s mood, we gave her something else?

What mothers really need is: A full weekend away from the house, kids, partners, with nothing to do.

“You guys can figure it out for 36 hours."

The goal shouldn't be to make Mom feel celebrated for one day while she manages her own celebration. The goal should be to let her take time for herself.

Perimenopause is the flutterings of physical and biological transition before menopause, the stopping of periods. Sympto...
04/30/2026

Perimenopause is the flutterings of physical and biological transition before menopause, the stopping of periods.

Symptoms of perimenopause can appear to be symptoms that are temporary and easily dismissed.
This is why symptoms can feel unpredictable.
When we look at the arc of the reproductive window, ages 14-45 perimenopause may begin as early as 35 years old. Chronological and biological are not the same and how a woman will experience perimenopause then menopause is tied to her overall health.

No two women are exactly the same, they can have completely different experiences at the same chronological age or stage.

Sleep, hormones, and the nervous system are interconnected.

And why a more integrative approach is often needed.

Perimenopause is a label for a set of symptoms.It is the flutterings of a transition or metamorphosis of biological, phy...
04/27/2026

Perimenopause is a label for a set of symptoms.
It is the flutterings of a transition or metamorphosis of biological, physiological and self.

This is why two women can have completely different experiences at the same stage.
Often I see symptoms that might be dismissed as temporary stress induced experiences, but then persist for months and even years. When we look at the arc of the reproductive window, ages 14-45 perimenopause may begin as early as 35 years old.

This is revealed subtly in:
Sleep changes.
Mental focus.
Skin changes.
Smell sensitivity.
Body odor.
Digestion.
Sprains and muscle injury
Libido.
Mood shifts.
Changes in period (shorter, longer, lighter, heavier or skipped)

These are not random.
They reflect changes happening across the body.

What does your period say about your health? (from a Chinese medicine perspective)For thousands of years, Chinese medici...
04/23/2026

What does your period say about your health? (from a Chinese medicine perspective)

For thousands of years, Chinese medicine has observed these cycles within the body, the ebb and flow of Yin and Yang. The 4 phases of Blood, Yin, Yang and Qi in 28 days. The 7 year developmental cycle for females and 8 year cycle for males.

These are the same rhythms we see in nature.
In Western reproductive medicine there are 4 phases as well: bleed, follicular, ovulation and luteal phase. So long as there is a monthly bleed not much information is taken into consideration.
Your menstrual cycle is a reflection of your overall health. It reflects patterns of health in the body if you know where to look.

Sleep quality.
Recovery.
Stress response and reset.
Inflammation and pain.
Mental sharpness and focus.
Digestion

The cycle reflects what is happening across the body, not just within the reproductive system.
If you’re curious what your cycle may be reflecting,
you can take the quiz here:
“What Your Period Says About Your Health”: https://integrativehealingarts.involve.me/period-chinese-medicine

Women’s biology and physiology have a 24 hour cycle of Yin and Yang and a 28 day reproductive cycle that reflects 4 phas...
04/21/2026

Women’s biology and physiology have a 24 hour cycle of Yin and Yang and a 28 day reproductive cycle that reflects 4 phases of Blood, Yin , Yang and Qi. These phases also coincide with western biology of bleed, follicular, ovulation and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Chinese medicine also looks at a 7 year cycle for females and an 8 year cycle for males.

Your menstrual cycle is a reflection of your overall health

It reflects patterns of health in the body.

Sleep quality.
Recovery.
Stress response and reset.
Inflammation and pain.
Mental sharpness and focus.
Digestion
Energy changes through the 4 phases.
Symptoms before or after.

These are indicators of how your body responds and maintains dynamic balance “homeostasis”.

I look at what the cycle is reflecting and support the whole health.

Curious about your cycle? Click here to take the quiz “What Your Period Says About Your Health”: https://integrativehealingarts.involve.me/period-chinese-medicine

Egg freezing is often approached as a deadline.But in practice, it’s not just about when.It’s about the state of the bod...
04/17/2026

Egg freezing is often approached as a deadline.
But in practice, it’s not just about when.

It’s about the state of the body at the time the decision is made.

Without that context, the decision can feel urgent without being informed.

Is there really an expiration date on your eggs?Most of the women I see come to the decision to freeze their eggs becaus...
04/15/2026

Is there really an expiration date on your eggs?
Most of the women I see come to the decision to freeze their eggs because of timing.

Career.
Relationships.
Uncertainty about when — or if — the right moment will come.

Twenty years ago, egg freezing was primarily recommended for medical reasons —
such as cancer — when fertility was at risk.
Today, the conversation has shifted.
There is a growing sense of urgency around age —
the idea of a “fertility cliff” after 35.
And with that comes pressure.

Pressure to act.
Pressure to preserve.
Pressure to make a decision now to protect a future that hasn’t happened yet.

But this is where the conversation becomes oversimplified.
Age is part of the picture —
but it is not the whole story.

Egg quality is not determined by age alone.
What often gets left out of the conversation is:
your overall health
your menstrual cycle patterns
your sleep
your stress levels
inflammation and how your body is functioning as a whole

These are not small details.
They are part of the environment your eggs develop in.

And yet, they are rarely discussed with the same urgency.

This doesn’t mean egg freezing isn’t an option.
It can be a powerful one —
for women navigating timing, non-traditional paths to parenthood, or medical necessity.

But decisions made from fear-based urgency
are very different from decisions made with clarity.

The better question may not be:
“When should I freeze my eggs?”
But rather:
What is the current state of my health?
What can I improve now to support egg quality?
Am I making this decision from pressure — or from understanding?

Because what you are freezing
is not just your age.
It’s the current state of your body.

More here:
https://www.integrativehealingarts.com/blog/when-should-i-freeze-my-eggs-beyond-age-and-timing

Burnout and exhaustion are not the same.The women I see are not showing burn out in the way people expect.They’re still ...
04/09/2026

Burnout and exhaustion are not the same.

The women I see are not showing burn out in the way people expect.

They’re still showing up, still producing, still performing.

Their burnout is hiding in plain sight.

What’s changed is their recovery—
the system stays activated longer than it should instead of bouncing back or fully resetting.

Over time, this leaves them running on less and less reserve, which is why the fatigue feels constant.

If this feels familiar, it may be time to look more closely at how your body is actually responding—rather than continuing to push through it.

Address

32 Union Square East
New York, NY
10003

Opening Hours

Monday 1pm - 7pm
Tuesday 9am - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 7pm
Saturday 9am - 3pm

Telephone

+19172943805

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Integrative Healing Arts Acupuncture, P.C. posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Integrative Healing Arts Acupuncture, P.C.:

Shortcuts

Share