Ask An Acupuncturist

We ask health and wellness professionals the same six questions we always ask. This week, TWO DOULAS talks to acupuncturist Manda Sherman.

Manda Sherman R.Ac, MTOM, BHK, CSCS is a registered acupuncturist and Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She began working in the field in 2005 and has been serving clients in Montreal for the past five years. Manda has clinics in Outremont and Pointe-St-Charles. When she’s not at work, she loves to tending to the plants she grows from seed – her house is currently overrun with coffee and plumeria trees.

How would you describe your job in just one sentence?

I fuse Eastern and Western philosophies and protocols to help people balance and maintain their health.

What made you want to be an acupuncturist?

A friend I worked with while I was in University was a Tuina (Chinese-style massage) practitioner. I realized through talking with him that Chinese medicine was very strong where Western medicine was weak. Looking at our bodies as a whole unit instead of breaking it into pieces made a lot of sense to me … so … I closed my eyes, jumped, and have never looked back.

How can new or expectant parents benefit from your services?

In acupuncture, we look at how the body is functioning as a whole, take into account the current temporary situation, i.e., pregnancy/postpartum and help new and expectant parents reestablish a balance by dealing with nausea or insomnia, breech presentation, cramps, depression, even mommy/daddy brain, etc.

What happens at your first meeting with a new or expectant parent?

At the first meeting we do a lot of talking. I take a health history, get a general idea of what is going on at the current time and what their main concerns are , take their pulse and look at their tongue and then we talk about treatment options. We will usually do a short treatment to see how the body reacts. The second treatment will be adjusted accordingly depending on how the first treatment was received.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about your field?

Wow, well, firstly people don’t know what Traditional Chinese Medicine is; acupuncture is just one part of it, there is also an entire pharmacopeia of herbs and formulas, as well as many modalities; the more common ones include Tuina, Cupping, Moxibustion and Qi Gong exercises. So … Even If you don’t like needles, we have lots of options.

What do you love most about working with new and expectant parents?

It is very exciting and new for everyone involved. It is the perfect opportunity to have a fresh outlook on health and life. For me to be able to help people find that path and find the tools they need to stay on it is very rewarding.