Natural Medicine in Goleta

When a year of physical therapy failed to heal the neck injury Jonathan Mates sustained during a rugby match, he turned to acupuncture. Like 2,500 years worth of patients before him, Mates found that acupuncture swiftly relieved his symptoms.

Inspired, he enrolled at Five Branches University, an academy of Chinese medicine where he specialized in pain management and sports medicine. Even after graduating at the top of his class, however, Mates didn’t feel his education was complete. So he built a raft out of acupuncture needles and sailed to China, where he studied with acupuncturists and physicians. Upon returning to the United States, Mates spent more than 300 hours in orthopedics training at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Today, Mates' specialties also include rotator-cuff injuries, neck injuries, and sciatica pain. These are part of a wide breadth of clinic services, including holistic-healing treatments such as cupping, herbal medicine, and massage.

Jacquelyn L. Sugich L.Ac. began her career with the single goal of healing people without resorting to drugs. She enrolled in Santa Barbara College Of Oriental Medicine and studied ancient modalities in China as she worked toward a master's of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. After graduating in 2006, she started her practice and went straight to work.

Today, she follows the guiding principle of Chinese medical theory, the cornerstone of which is prevention. She fights off stress and eases muscular tension with her signature massages, and uses hair-thin acupuncture needles to unleash endorphins and reduce anxiety, abdominal pain, and balloon-animal populations. Though these acupuncture sessions are her specialty, they generally make up just one spoke in the wheel of customized, holistic treatment plans that incorporate multiple approaches, including diet and Chinese herbal remedies.

When Taylor J. Winn isn't helping patients to drop pounds at The Biggest Loser’s resort, where she holds the position of official acupuncturist, she can be found at Taylored Acupuncture, her peaceful practice in downtown Santa Barbara. There, she delicately inserts tiny acupuncture needles into the skin, promoting weight loss or treating issues that range from anxiety to cerebral palsy. She also prescribes chinese herbs to patients, providing natural relief.

Alki Art & Wellness Institute galvanizes overall well-being through holistic techniques designed to promote relaxation, weight loss, pain management, and lifestyle change. In this one-hour session, licensed acupuncturists Traver H. Boehm or Alexandra Carmel will first talk over patients’ needs and concerns to identify the potential sources of discomfort, anxiety, or chronic trapeze-artist inversion. Acupuncture stimulates the release of pain-reducing neurotransmitters and helps balance hormone levels. The ancient Chinese treatment’s fine needles, slipped into the skin near the surface, are nearly imperceptible, but will send a polite thank-you for the invitation to enter and improve the body’s flow of vital energy, or qi.

Self improvement can be a tough process, whether someone is trying to lose weight, quit smoking, or simply relax. But the therapists at Home of Hypnotherapy can provide a much-needed boost. They can help clients tap into their unconscious minds and install positive reinforcements to spur a lasting transformation. It’s a process of empowerment, giving people the chance to move past their fears, phobias, and destructive habits. Home of Hypnotherapy can help with a long list of problems, from common dilemmas like job interviews and wedding stress, to more obscure fears. And the healing doesn’t end after your session is over, as Home of Hypnotherapy offers a digital hypnosis service with personalized sets of recordings for home listening.

Inside the heady offices of Santa Barbara Brain Fitness, Dan Staso, PhD, engages brains in a variety of cerebral calisthenics. On a given day, business executives, college students, athletes, and those seeking self-improvement tap into all-natural neurotherapies to tone brains to top condition. Board-certified in neurofeedback, Staso focuses on five core areas: sleep improvement, anxiety and stress, brain brightening, meditative enhancement, and academic/executive enhancement. Clients who have completed the program may feel calmer, maintain greater focus, sleep more soundly through the night, and feel more effective in achieving their goals.