Living Well

Come Alive Health

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and The Art of Medicine

By Erin Hayes Burt • Photography By Jennifer Polixenni Brankin

When Tess Richardson opened Come Alive Health she envisioned a practice that was a whole lot more than just a place to get acupuncture — rather she saw it as a holistic education center where people can come to find out about their bodies and how to get healthy. “Western medicine is about fixing things, but holistic medicine is about learning all about yourself, learning how to be well,” explains Richardson. She wants her clients to focus on their whole self and not just a particular issue, to come away from their treatment with a “shining new sense of being.” To achieve this state, Richardson employs the ancient Chinese therapy of auricular medicine, which uses the ear as a way of treating the whole body.

Thousands of years ago, the Chinese observed a correlation between the shape of a fetus and that of the external part of the ear, called the auricle. There are also physiological similarities in that the ear is home to many nerve endings that serve as the gateway to all parts of the body. Much like reflexology, in which massage and manipulation of the feet and hands is used to clear ailments elsewhere in the body, auricular medicine works on the ears using acupressure. Benefits can often be realized in one to six sessions of 30 to 60 minutes each.

Auricular medicine also takes advantage of the fact that many body pathologies often show up in the ear as a discoloration or lump. Richardson uses these cues to diagnose more than 100 ailments ranging from memory problems and depression to head and tooth aches.

“Recently I treated a woman who had a migraine headache for three years,” she recalls. “I noticed a depressed area near the lung point in her right ear. In Chinese medicine, the lung energy is responsible for the emotions of grief and loss, so I asked if she was grieving. Her tears welled up and she blurted out that she felt guilty over her son’s death and that she wasn’t there for him.” Needless to say, the migraines vanished after the treatment.

In addition to auricular medicine, Richardson performs traditional acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, Qui Gong and Chinese bodywork. But Richardson is most excited about auricular therapy, which is gaining in popularity in the U.S., as it unites the physical body with both the mental and emotional states. As Richardson puts it, “The ear shows it all.”

Come Alive Health will be hosting a lecture series on auricular medicine. RSVP by the day of the lecture to 520.877.7910. CAH is located at 8339 N. Oracle Rd. Suite 101 and online at ComeAliveHealth.com.

Sept. 8, 9-10 pm, Headaches, Tooth & gum and sinus problems

Sept 10, 3-4 am, Digestive issues

Sept. 15, 7-8 pm, Pain & emotional issues

Sept 17, 3-4 pm, Insomnia & Neuropathy

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