New clinic offers ancient healing art in Sun Prairie.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
With something as small as a pin prick, Dr. Jonathan Song hopes to
cure all that ails his patients.
Song, who has been practicing the ancient Eastern medical practice of acupuncture alongside his wife, Leaf, for more than a decade, has brought his clinic, Beijing Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine, to Sun Prairie.
Though their company originated in Middleton roughly 15 years ago, the Songs opened a practice in Sun Prairie last year as part of a wellness center at Prairie Athletic Club before moving into their own space this May.
They opened their second office because, in addition to the recent growth of Sun Prairie, Song said a fair number of their patients were traveling to their west side location from areas north of Madison.
Dr. Leaf Song Featured in Nature’s Pathways magazine
Friday, October 15, 2010
Dr. Leaf Song was recently featured in Nature’s Pathways magazine. The article titled East Meets West: Middleton acupuncturist makes it a point to help people in pain by Jen Walla & Yifei Liu. The full article can be seen here: East Meets West: Middleton acupuncturist makes it a point to help people in pain
Are debilitating headaches affecting your quality of life? Do you have a backache that never seems to go away? What about annoying allergies that arrive like clockwork each spring and don’t seem to respond to over-the-counter medicines?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you could benefit from acupuncture, a thousands-year-old oriental therapeutic technique that involves inserting thin needles into various points on the body to relieve these symptoms. While sticking oneself with needles seems completely antithetical to pain or symptom relief, acupuncture is an increasingly popular treatment alternative for many health-minded consumers in our area. It is even being used to treat infertility, spur weight loss and a host of many other issues.
In 1997, acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner Leaf Song opened The Beijing Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine Clinic in Middleton. She says ridding themselves of pain is what spurs the majority of her clients to seek out her services.
“The most popular problem among our clients is pain,” Song says. “Whether it’s for the back, neck, shoulder or migraines, it’s the number one reason people come here. They try everything else, including pain pills, before they try acupuncture. But then they are surprised at how quickly they get relief.”
Eastern medicine gains in popularity
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Dane County is brimming with western medical clinics, but eastern practices have found a home here as well.
Without ever leaving Middleton, residents can visit a business that in some ways is much like those that have existed in China for millennia, where whole herbs and plants are ground on site to make capsules and tea. A place where acupuncture is practiced by people who have intimately known the technique for most of their lives.
Beijing Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine on University Avenue combines the rigors of diverse medical training with a grass roots understanding of health.
The clinic ended up in Midd1eton almost by chance in 1997, but the ensuing decade saw the business quickly grow as Americans became increasingly open to different types of health management.
The clinic is run by the husband and wife team of Jonathan and Leaf Song, both of whom bring formal training and a homegrown knowledge of eastern Medicine from their roots in Mainland China.
Dr. Leaf Song is a graduate of the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing and started her clinic at Longyou Hospital in 1982. Dr. Jonathan Song received his Chinese Medicine degree in1983 from Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and a western medical degree in 1988 from Peking Union Medical College.
The couple came to Wisconsin so Jonathan could work in the University of Wisconsin system. When Leaf was looking for possible locations near the school where she could open a private practice, one jumped out at her.
“It was on University Avenue, so I thought it looked like a good place since he was working at the University,” she recalled.
While both Leaf and Jonathan’s professional experience is extensive, their understanding of how to care for the human body and mind stretch back to early childhood. As a young girl, Leaf used to massage her grandmother. Conventions called for a piece of elephant tusk and special oil, but as a child, Leaf used the more economical combination of a spoon and regular cooking oil. Such experiences gave her a head start in the field.
“I was in medical school and many of the things [they were teaching us] I had already learned from my grandmother,” she recalled.
“In China, it is a family thing — here people think [eastern medicine] — is mysterious,” she continued. “The thing I compare it to here in America is chicken noodle soup; even when people don’t know exactly how it works, they still learn it from their family.” She added that both acupuncture and herbal medicine strive toward the same goal, and are often used in combination to attain optimal results.
“Acupuncture works from the outside, and herbal medicine works from the inside,” Leaf said. “They work together.”
The needles used for acupuncture range from half an inch to three inches in length, but they are minute in girth and are placed in the body in a way that results in little or no discomfort. People use acupuncture and herbal medicine to treat an array of ailments, ranging from muscle and joint pain, neurological and physiological illness, reproductive disorders and respiratory issues to gastro-intestinal malfunctions.
The basic principle behind acupuncture is that experts can free up the flow of energy within the body. Sometimes it is simple — sometimes someone [says] their wrist hurt[s] and it can be fixed right away, with one needle,” Leaf explained. “Sometimes it is more complicated.” Acupuncturists work to adjust the needles and find the crucial points that help alleviate pain.
“If energy is blocked, it can open you up,” Leaf said.
The clinic includes a wide array of herbal supplements and teas ‘in addition to acupuncture facilities. “Herbal medicines are very good at making you balanced. If you are too hot, they release heat, if you are too cold, they heat you up. If your kidney energy is weak, they strengthen it,” Leaf said While acupuncture and herbal medicine are intended to help cure ailments, they are also part of a well-rounded approach to overall health, she said.”We always learned that herbal medicine isn’t medication; it is just part of food, and it can prevent a lot of problems, from colds to cancer,” Leaf said.
She added that Americans seem, in her experience, to encounter more pain than their eastern counterparts. Part of it is a result of diet, and part is attributable to the ability to handle stress, she said.
“Here, people usually go to the doctor and take a bunch of medication, but you also need to do as much as you can to actually be healthy,” Leaf said. “People forget that if you get better, you won’t need all that medication.”
“Chinese medicine is like a puzzle; you have to see what fits best,” she continued. “In America, the doctor says you have a lung infection and this is the thing you take, but with herbal medicine, 10 people will never have the same formula.”
Dr. Jonathan Song Dines At Great Wall
Thursday, April 26, 2007
This past fall, Dr. Jonathan Song was the invited speaker to speak on the Nature Sunshine 2006 TAC China Tour Meeting. Pictured here, is Jonathan having lunch with the group at the Great Wall of China.
To view Dr. Jonathan Song’s slide presentation he conducted for the event in China, please use the links below.
Herbal Medicine Presentation #1
New Location
Friday, September 15, 2006
We’ve moved to a new location, just down the road. The new address is 6255 University Ave., Suite 202, Middleton, WI 53562. Our phone number has not changed and is still 608.238.3333. Make a note of it for your next appointment, or just stop in and see our new space.
New Website
Friday, September 01, 2006
As you may have noticed, we have just launched our new website design. As we continue to work on building a great website for our patients and newcomers alike, please feel free to contact us about any appointments, questions, or concerns you may have. We hope our clinic can help you or a loved one’s journey to great health, well being and happiness.
Dr. Leaf Song Featured in anew magazine
Friday, August 04, 2006
Dr. Leaf Song was recently featured in anew magazine. The article titled A day in the life of an Acupuncturist by By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach. The full article can be downloaded below.
After the Chinese-born Dr. Leaf realized that “Americans’ bodies tend to be more sensitive to needles,” she developed techniques she was certain would be acceptable to the most needle-shy among us.
“She practiced at home to learn how to maneuver needles so that they would be painless. That’s what makes her different from other acupuncturists,” says her spouse. “She practiced on her own body. And on me and our daughter,” he adds with a laugh.
Dr. Leaf says that in recent years, awareness and acceptance of TCM has come a long way. Still, “there’s a lot we can do. The American diet, stress … people don’t know how much these things affect your health. They never make any connection with their chronic pain or allergies,” she says. “Diet and herbs, properly chosen for the proper effect,” can be powerful tools for health. “You can revive your body and move your energy,” she explains.
Download the full article (PDF format - 248k)
