A session with Natalie Prashaw heals more than just the body. The traditional Chinese medicine doctor says she can help restore the mind, and spirit, too.
“(Traditional Chinese Medicine) heals on many levels,” she said.
Prashaw has been practising Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Sudbury for about six months, sharing her time between the ATRC Chronic Pain and Sports Clinic on Regent Street, and the Hanmer Massage Therapy Clinic.
After nine years of school and two trips to China, the Laurentian University alumni said she is happy to call Sudbury home.
Originally from Collingwood, Prashaw came to Sudbury to pursue her education. While working here during the summer as a tree planter and a forest fire fighter, she made a decision to eventually come back and bring alternative medicine to the people of Sudbury.
She said she knew she wanted to be a healer, but it was while Prashaw was studying human kinetics at Laurentian that she decided to pursue a career in alternative medicine.
“I was interested in healing, and in alternative medicine,” Prashaw said. “I came across Chinese medicine and loved that it used acupuncture, massage, herbs and diet therapy.”
After her time at Laurentian, Prashaw studied at the International College of TCM in Vancouver, B.C. and the Canadian College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in Victoria, B.C.
I came across Chinese medicine and loved that it used acupuncture, massage, herbs and diet therapy.
Natalie Prashaw,
traditional Chinese medicine doctor
Prashaw’s schooling required her to complete a six-month internship, which she and her classmates did in Chengdu, Sichaun, China, at a hospital that looked after nearly 4,000 outpatients a day.
At the hospital, she had the opportunity to learn from masters in her field, as she cared for patients suffering from various types and degrees of illness.
“There’s a lot to learn,” Prashaw said. Even though she has completed her formal education, she said she will continue to learn throughout her career.
Prashaw said TMC has a variety of uses in healing. It uses the body’s qi, or the energy that flows through the body’s meridians, to restore health.
“(Qi is) the vital force, or life force, in the body,” she said.
Prashaw said when it flows harmoniously, it makes for a happy body and a healthy mind.
When illness, disease or pain arises in her patients, it is Prashaw’s job to use TCM to stimulate qi in her patient’s body, to “work in its natural manner.”
She said each of her patients require a specific, individualized treatment plan, and tracking down the root of the problem can be a challenge, since there are so many variables.
“You’re a bit of a detective,” she said. “I spend a lot of time trying to understand their case.”
Sometimes solving a patient’s primary problem also helps alleviate secondary issues.
“(TMC) looks at the root cause of a problem, as well as the branch.”
Instead of prescribing pharmaceuticals, Prashaw creates herbal concoctions for her patients.
She said there are thousands of different herbs that can be combined to make teas that patients can consume daily.
The herbal drinks aid in creating balance and harmony within the body, she explained.
Outside of her treatments, Prashaw said it is important for patients to keep peace of mind, practise deep breathing, eat mindfully, plan for adequate sleep and be physically active daily to reach optimal health. Now that Prashaw is established in Sudbury, she said she is “really happy to be practising,” and “it feels natural to do this.”
For more information, visit www.acupunctureinsudbury.com
