That familiar heaviness behind the eyes. The stuffed-up feeling that makes it difficult to breathe. If you've noticed your sinuses making themselves known lately, you're not alone — spring has a way of reminding us they're there.

I had a patient the other day who came in with some classic sinus congestion: a little uncomfortable, breathing through the mouth, pressing fingers between the eyebrows to manually release the pressure. Sound familiar?

We got to work, and one of the first things I reached for was an acupuncture point called Yintang. It sits right between the eyebrows on the forehead, in the space you might know as the third eye. In Chinese medicine, Yintang is a powerful point for calming the mind (the Shen), relieving stress and anxiety, and clearing the head of headaches, vertigo, and sinus congestion. It has this wonderful quality of feeling immediately soothing the moment the needle goes in — patients often visibly soften as soon as it's placed.

Alongside Yintang, I added two local points on either side — flanking the nose where the sinuses sit closest to the surface. Within minutes, my patient took a breath in and said "oh — I can feel that opening up." That moment never gets old.

This is one of the things I love most about acupuncture for seasonal complaints: it's not just about managing symptoms, it's about encouraging your body to do what it already knows how to do. Reduce inflammation. Drain what's stagnant, and breathe easy.

— Dalton

Breathe Easy: How Acupuncture Can Relieve Sinus Pressure This Season

3/22/26

If you've ever had a migraine or recurring headaches, the impact on daily life can be profound. Sometimes days of throbbing pain, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and the kind of exhaustion that lingers even after the pain fades. For many people, migraines or headaches are a recurring part of life.

My aim is to identify root causes and work with your body to help bring it into balance — regulating things like circulation, muscle tension, hormones, and stress within the nervous system.

A Real-World Example

One patient came in experiencing migraines four times a month. She'd been dealing with them since she was eleven — pressure behind the eyes, tension at the temples, sensitivity to light, and nausea. Over the years, she'd tried medications and various treatments, but the migraines kept coming back.

At her first visit, I palpated her joints and tissues to identify where the body was most "stuck" or out of balance. We talked through her full health history — not just the headaches, covering sleep, digestion, stress levels, and lifestyle. This kind of thorough intake helps me understand what's driving the pattern, not just the symptoms. I also looked at her tongue and felt her pulse, which in East Asian Medicine offers a window into what's happening beneath the surface.

Treatment involved acupuncture needles placed at specific points on the head, neck, arms, and legs, along with some gentle cranial work to release tension in the tissues of the skull. Within two treatments, her migraine frequency dropped significantly. She also noticed she felt calmer, less caught up in her thoughts, and more attuned to her body's signals. That kind of whole-person shift is common — and it's one of the things I find most meaningful about this work.

What to Expect

Every treatment is tailored to you. Depending on what's going on, I might use acupuncture, cranial techniques, trigger point therapy, cupping, or gua sha — sometimes a combination. The goal is always to get to the underlying cause, and sustain positive changes long term.

Is Acupuncture Right for You?

If you're managing migraines with medication alone, or if your headaches are frequent, getting worse, or tied to hormonal cycles, stress, or weather changes — acupuncture may be worth exploring. It works well alongside conventional western medical care and can help reduce both the frequency and intensity over time.

If migraines are affecting your quality of life, I'd love to talk about how I might be able to help.

— Dalton

Getting to the Root of Your Headaches

3/06/26