About Dr. Chen
Doctor of Oriental Medicine & Licensed Acupuncturist
Dr. Yangyi Chen is dedicated to helping clients find relief from chronic pain and restore balance to their lives.
With extensive training in traditional Chinese medicine techniques, Dr. Chen specializes in identifying and releasing long-held blockages in the body that contribute to pain, discomfort, and illness.
Dr. Chen has gained a well-rounded understanding of chronic pain from a personal experience in back injury and a successful recovery.
Graduating from Maryland University of Integrative Medicine, formerly Tai Sophia, Dr. Chen has been practicing as a licensed acupuncturist since 2018.
His skilled approach to acupuncture has helped numerous clients experience significant improvement from chronic conditions, often from their very first visit.
My Philosophy
I believe that true healing comes from addressing the root cause of imbalance, not just managing symptoms. It's an Yes-And approach. Through careful assessment and skilled acupuncture technique, I work to identify and release the blockages that are preventing you from functioning at your best.
Areas of Expertise
Get to Know Dr. Chen
What brought you to Chinese Medicine?
As an intensely curious person, I came into a career in Chinese Medicine after spending years in biology research. It became clear through sterile laboratory work, and also through a personal healing journey with Lyme and a back injury, that there is just no way around the fact that people are complex, that there is a limit to the conventional models of research and health care. I believe healing is a deeply creative process involving the whole person plus the community.
What is your approach to treatment?
I treat each client as a dynamic being connected to the larger society and ecosystem. I'm all about tending to a person's 'spark' to thrive – practicing individually customized care for pains, sleep, stress, and trauma resiliency. Recently I have been incorporating touch based treatment developed from polyvagal theory to help people get unstuck and more like themselves again.
What keeps you motivated?
Being a nature lover, I believe that taking care of our Earth begins by directly taking care of each other. I believe that by restoring the balance within, so do we find the power to restore the balance with each other and the natural world.
What do you enjoy outside of practice?
I enjoy exploring the outdoors with my wife and child, making art, and reading sci-fi novels.
Wait wait wait, "spark to thrive?" "Healing is a deeply creative process?" Where in the world are these coming from?
I experienced a deep, transformational healing that helped me come out of a deep sadness and eventually inspired me to study acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. It happened when I was leading a group to setup a camp at Burning Man in the 2010's.
Ok so this is a Burning Man story now?
Yes... this one may be the most wholesome one you've heard in a while – so there I was, just finished leading a construction of a 20-person tent compound. Not the one to get carried away by woo-woo of it all, I was skeptic about a neighboring camp named, "Shaman Dome," and their walk-in healing services. After a fellow camper reported that they actually received a really helpful, practical life advice, I also went there to seek advice. I wanted to ask why my hands were starting to crack and bleed, why I was so exhausted when the event was just starting, and most importantly, how could I maintain the joyous wonder I feel at Burning Man and bring them back home and to the default world? See, in other words, I was seeking a way to stoke the spark to thrive.
What happened after that? Your story is not finished!
The healer explained that the default world culture values the intellect – at the expense of the heart and the body. In other words, we are encouraged to use thinking to do everything. This means we have fewer opportunities to use heart and body. We may neglect or even forget that we have heart and body. The healer continued to say, without using your heart, you can't bring the joyous wonder with you into the world. Without connecting with your body, your hands bleed from neglect and you can't even recognize when you are pushing past exhaustion. Her recommendation was for me to take time each week connecting with my body, like Qigong and long water baths. Also at least once a week, to let my intellect take a seat and have my heart lead in making a decision. With these words, the healer asked me to lay down and look up into the sky through the dome structure. She shook a rattle over me, and I burst into tears.
Ready to Start Your Healing Journey?
Your healing journey is unique. Dr. Chen meets you where you are and guides the way toward lasting relief.
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