Nina Saraceno, L.Ac. MSTCM
My path toward becoming an acupuncturist is as non linear as they come. I was raised in Boston, started dancing at age 4, had an affinity toward the natural sciences and always felt at home in the role of caretaker or healer. Fast forward, I’m in my early 20s, dancing in a contemporary/modern company, having mysterious health issues and find myself on the table of Chinese medicine master Tom Tam. We exchanged few words but he would scan me with his eyes, reading something that I could only classify as “energy.” Then he would douse me in needles and tell me to sleep. Within 90 days my health was back on track, how did he do this? The memory held its place within me. After 15 years of living in Boston, New York City then San Francisco and dancing semi-professionally, working as a trauma informed pediatric movement specialist, serving and managing in fine dining restaurants and dipping my toes in western medical and bodywork education, I finally decided to pursue a masters degree in Chinese medicine. It was a calling of sorts, but I had no idea how well it would fit. As a dancer, movement is the way I engage with the world. As an acupuncturist, I get to engage with the energetic flow of other bodies, help identify the blockages that cause pain and disease and increase quality of life by reinstalling the natural momentum
of the internal body as it engages with the environment. Motion is medicine!
For formality sake, I am a Nationally Certified Diplomate in Oriental Medicine & Acupuncture (NCCAOM), and board certified in California. I received my masters degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences in Oakland where I am also currently instructing in the western medical department. I have completed advanced studies in acupuncture, pulse diagnosis, and Tuina medical massage. I am currently pursuing a clinical doctorate at my alma matter with focuses in Orthopedics/Pain management and classical Chinese herbalism.
