Getting to the Point

As a child, ALEXA FERGUSON experienced a variety of chronic health issues, many of which she believes were kickstarted by an almost deadly exposure to insecticide.

In her 20s, Ferguson’s symptoms worsened after being prescribed birth control and antidepressants. Desperate for answers, she decided to look beyond Western medicine and explore the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) approach instead. She connected with an herbalist and was prescribed an herbal remedy, which alleviated a number of her symptoms.

“I knew that I wanted to heal and not just manage my symptoms the rest of my life,” she says. “I felt my body go back more into balance. My cycle became regular again, depression lifted. Not all my chronic health issues were resolved, I continued that journey throughout my 20s, but I felt a lot of relief from that first herbal formula prescription. So much that it really jumpstarted this love for Chinese medicine.”

After seeing how much TCM helped her, Ferguson decided to open her own practice. She completed her master’s degree in acupuncture with a specialization in Chinese herbal medicine from AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine in Austin, Texas.

Currently, Ferguson operates out of a home office, practicing under the name Anointed Heart Acupuncture, and focuses on the interconnection of emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness. Her specialty is women’s health, which she chose specifically to treat illnesses instead of just help manage their symptoms.

In addition to acupuncture, Ferguson offers herbal medicine, medical qigong, cupping, and the emotional freedom technique. These modalities are commonly used to treat fertility issues, pain management, hormonal imbalances, gut dysfunction, addiction, emotional imbalance, reproductive trauma, and sleep irregularities.

Ferguson typically prescribes a variety of modalities to the women that come to her for treatments, but one aspect is identical among all visits: acupuncture.

“I always give people an acupuncture treatment to help get energy flowing, the needles have specific energetics, so I choose a specific set of points that is tailored for each person, depending on what their body is communicating,” she says.

Herbal medicine is often used to treat the root cause of a variety of diseases, including period pain, digestive issues, and the common cold. Medical qigong implements gentle movements, sounds, and meditation that have been found to promote health and vitality. It’s also used to bring patients “into balance.” She also offers red light therapy, which helps treat a variety of skin conditions and is good for overall health.

Another healing technique that Ferguson offers is the emotional freedom technique, which “combines [the] wisdom of TCM and concepts of cognitive behavioral therapy,” according to Ferguson. “EFT works like emotional acupressure to quickly and gently release self-defeating emotional patterns from the body.”

For Ferguson, fertility is a particular passion of hers to treat, and she cites Chinese medicine as an ideal treatment plan because it treats the whole person.

“When you’re treating something like fertility, that’s very important because there’s so many women who are taxed and bombarded with emotional, physical, environmental stressors,” she says. “I really feel strongly that a holistic approach is the best approach for treating fertility, along with other health issues that women experience today.”

Info: anointedheart-acupuncture.com

To view more of photographer Daria Amato’s work, go to dariaphoto.com.

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