My practice
My acupuncture practice incorporates pre-classical and contemporary approaches to acupuncture, as well as other methods from the Daoist and shamanic traditions that are at the root of Chinese medicine. In addition to its ability to ease physical and emotional pain, to offer relief for many medical and psychological concerns, acupuncture can also help us to move forward into a greater sense of harmony with ourselves—to ‘course correct’ around whatever obstacles lie in our path, whether physical, emotional, behavioral, or relational.

I work with people with emotional, physical, spiritual, and mind-body concerns of all kinds, including anxiety, depression, personal and intergenerational trauma, chronic/recurrent pain, digestive issues, sleep / insomnia, degenerative and inflammatory concerns, fatigue and energy, women’s and men’s health issues, and many others.

I also appreciate working with people who are struggling with concerns related to identity, direction, and life path, who are feeling stuck, unwell, or generally unfulfilled, or who would like to deepen their spirituality, sense of embodiment, and connection to their own energy and sense of purpose.

In addition to my acupuncture practice, I am also a clinical psychologist, and offer psychotherapy and counseling services–please visit michaelaanavi.com for further information on my psychotherapy and coaching practice.

My background
I studied film and music in college, before shifting my focus to healing arts. My graduate degrees are in clinical/multicultural and community psychology (PhD, 1997) and in Chinese Medicine (MS, 2007).

I’ve served as a clinician and consultant in numerous psychiatric, primary care, and addiction treatment programs, as well as on the faculty of UCSF School of Medicine and the California School of Professional Psychology. My book, The Trusting Heart: Addiction, Recovery, and Intergenerational Trauma, was published in 2012.

I grew up on Moku o Keawe (the Big Island of Hawaii) in the town of Waimea, and subsequently spent many years in New York City and the Bay Area before becoming a devoted Alaskan. I enjoy taking time away from the office for fishing, hunting, foraging, and exploration of all kinds, and am dazzled on a daily basis by the play of light in the Alaskan skies and spirit.

By descent, tribe, and ancestry, I am an Ashkenazi Jew; my exploration of my own heritage, culture, spiritual tradition, and family lineage continues to inform my life, my work, and my understanding of historical trauma of which I write in my book.

My clinical practice is rooted in my own long-term recovery from heroin addiction and in my personal commitment to spiritual, psychological, and bodily transformation; most important for me have been the practice of taijiquan (t’ai chi ch’uan), qigong, and meditation in the Daoist and Buddhist traditions. I remain deeply grateful to my primary mentors, Dr. Benjamin Tong, Dr. Eduardo Duran, Dr. Joseph Ng, Liu Ming, and Dr. Eve Soldinger, and to my wife and son who are my greatest teachers.

I live and work on unceded Dena’ina land.