Jeremy Speiser (Photos by Jean Bartlett)

Five years back an executive of Celebrity Cruises sought treatment through acupuncture. The results were so profound that the premium cruise operator became the world's first line to offer "Acupuncture at Sea." Licensed acupuncturist Jeremy Speiser, new owner and operator of Persimmon Acupuncture and Herbal Center here in Pacifica (former owner, Ruth Schlesinger) was on that Cruise Line's first ship that offered acupuncture.

"We took a conference room and put dividers and curtains in, brought in some beds and we had a low budget clinic," said Speiser. "We weren't sure how it was going to go, but it was very successful." So much so that acupuncture is now the norm on all Celebrity Cruise ships.

Originally from L.A,. Speiser received

his master's degree in Chinese Medicine from Five Branches Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Santa Cruz. He also studied in China with some of the world's greatest masters to learn one of the oldest continuously practiced healing systems.

"I spent about three years in China," said Speiser whose journey took him to Shanghai, Tianjin and Xiamen. "I learned Mandarin and was able to study in the herbal medicine and the acupuncture departments in China without a translator."

"If you know the language, it makes it a little easier to understand the way of thinking behind Eastern medicine. It is a different way of looking at healing. In Western medicine you want to find the one thing to get to; whereas in Chinese medicine you want to get as much information as you can and come up with a pattern; a labyrinth."

"For instance, a headache," Speiser continued. "Western medicine would treat the headache. For me, the headache is a symptom of something else. It can be caused by an imbalance in the organ or what we call 'chi' stuck in the channel. For the complaint of a headache I might also look at the tongue and take the pulses. These are diagnostic tools, which when used together, discover the pattern."

At age 19, while attending UC Santa Cruz, Speiser became interested in herbal medicine. "Any time I got sick I would take herbs rather than pharmaceutical drugs. I had a deep appreciation for ancient Chinese philosophy and Eastern thought. What I wanted to use was an ancient medicine that was all natural. This led me to study herbs and acupuncture."

"The ancient people, the Chinese, were very observant of nature; they saw how the seasons flow. In fall the energy starts to contract. In winter it's fully contracted. The energy begins to expand in spring and it is at full expansion in summer. The ancients saw these cycles and thought, if this exists in the world, this exists in the body. Health, according to the ancient Chinese was being in harmony with these natural cycles wherein the heart is like the summer, the kidneys are the winter, the fall is the lungs and springtime is the liver. It is a medicine that is based on what is."

All of Speiser's patients do acupuncture and nearly half do acupuncture and herbs. "Acupuncture is best for regulating the flow of 'chi' in the body; however for strengthening, the patient is going to have to take something and herbs strengthen."

Working with an individual patient's specific needs, along with creating an acupuncture 'point' prescription, Speiser creates an herbal prescription. He uses the granules of individual herbs and puts various powders together using 10 to 15 herbs. All pre-cooked, the patient merely has to mix a teaspoon of his or her herb in hot water and drink it. It's as easy as that. "You treat the patient not the disease," said Speiser.

Speiser agrees that Western medicine is very valid. "If you have a broken leg, don't see me," the acupuncturist laughed. "If you have chest pains, trouble breathing and pain coming down your left arm, Western medicine is for you. See me after you've taken care of your immediate need."

"Western medicine doesn't create long-term healing," Speiser continued. "It gets rid of what's bothering you but a lot of times it comes back in a different problem. If you want to get to the source of the problem, acupuncture and herbs are the best ways to have long-term deep healing results."

Speiser does not think of Chinese medicine as alternative medicine, he thinks of it as complimentary medicine.

"Over the past 60 years in China, Chinese medicine has changed. During this time period acupuncture was taken out of the Chinese villages and put into the hospitals. In China now they have enormous hospitals with all the things that we have here except they additionally have acupuncture and herbal departments. A doctor might prescribe herbs, an herbalist might prescribe drugs. The Western medicine treats the branch but the ancient Chinese medicine treats the root."

Speiser admits that he daily sees the benefits of acupuncture and herbs. Stress, anxiety, infertility, migraines, fibromyalgia, insomnia, chronic pain — these are just a few of the disorders that Speiser's clinic can help a patient with.

"When the needles go into the body the patient usually feels a shift in their body and the shift is a feeling of balance and well being. The patient relaxes for twenty to thirty minutes. These needles are as thin as a hair. They are not hypodermic needles," said Speiser. "You do not feel like you are getting a shot."

What you might feel as the needle is manipulated is an electric feeling for a split second; something the Chinese call 'De qi' which is the connection between the acupuncture needles and the energy pathways of the body.

Patients do feel an immediate improvement though several more treatments will most likely be needed to have long-term healing results. "You don't eat broccoli one time and say okay, I'm done with vegetables," laughed Speiser. "It's the same with Chinese medicine; it is a process."

"I am taking part in an ancient ritual based on thousands of years of empirical evidence and it's one hundred percent natural," said Speiser. "There are no side effects other than you feel better. I am affecting people on a very deep, energetic level and it's really amazing to take part in this. I love my job."

Persimmon Acupuncture and Herbal Center, 310 Eureka Drive, http://www.persimmonhealing.com.