About Amelia
As a woman in her 50s, and after more than 20 years practicing Chinese medicine and yoga, I became frustrated by the way women are processed through our traditional allopathic medical system. Increasingly, the women I treat have been told that their physical symptoms, emotional shifts, and life experiences are signs of illness or worse all in their head. The medicalization of women’s natural cycles and aging processes creates confusion, frustration and disempowerment. I constantly remind my patients that aging is a beautiful, natural process to be honored and supported -- not a disease to be treated.
We are often told that our natural cycles, whether monthly, seasonally or over our lifetime are pathologies that need to be medicated, suppressed, and dismissed. Consider that women are prescribed 70% of all medications and one in four women is on an antidepressant. Women typically have four times more medical appointments than men do and the top-down nature of our medical system often leaves women feeling disempowered, ignored, and devalued.
As a practitioner of Chinese Medicine and Therapeutic Yoga and as a woman, here’s what I know: The menstrual cycle is not a disease. Pregnancy, nursing, and post-partum life are not diseases. Peri-menopause is not a disease. Menopause is not a disease. Aging is not a disease. All stages of life should be celebrated and when appropriate, symptoms should be eased. And ultimately, we should remember how to connect with and listen to the wisdom of our bodies, to hear that quiet internal voice that is often drowned out by cultural and societal pressures and expectations.
The impacts of daily living call for holistic support. In a culture that demands women do it all, all the time, no matter what, there is little room for self-care and, in fact, the term self-care is considered self-indulgent or induces eye rolls and visions of expensive spa days or extravagant trips. The fact is, chronic stress impacts every system in our bodies and is at the root of most chronic disease, yet we are encouraged to wear stress as a badge of honor, to ignore the voice of our body, even when it is pleading with us through pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia, fatigue. The truth is, getting a handle on stress is crucial, but it’s also something each of us can achieve with small, simple changes and techniques that we can easily integrate into our daily routines.
My goal, through Ground and Sky, is to remind women how to listen to their internal voice and to honor their bodies and their lives, to take charge of their health and feel empowered to trust their own inner wisdom. I hope to foster small communities of women who can support each other as they find balance and wellness, to change the paradigm of women’s health one community at a time.
“I wasn’t feeling well for months— physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally. My PCP kept telling me it was normal. But I knew, feeling crummy wasn’t normal. Working with Amy has validated the symptoms I’ve felt and provided me with scientific answers and real solutions to get me back on my path to wellness.”
To do this I use a combination of the principles of Chinese medicine, Therapeutic Yoga, intensive listening, intuitive processes, and collaboration to create wellness plans and provide support.
I will guide you on your journey with some combination of:
Acupuncture
Yoga practices
Dietary and nutritional advice
Breathwork and meditation practices
Chinese herbs
Nutritional supplements
Divination
Guidance and Support
Areas which often prompt a woman to ask for my guidance and treatment include:
General wellness and longevity
Pain conditions, including migraines, fibromyalgia, arthritis
Menstrual issues, including PMS, painful periods, irregular periods, endometriosis
Hormonal imbalances with symptoms including low energy, low libido, PCOS, fertility, post birth-control adjustments, peri-menopause
Menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, insomnia, low libido, weight gain
Digestive concerns, including bloating, indigestion, heartburn, diarrhea, constipation, IBS
Immune support, including seasonal allergies, cold and flu prevention, skin issues
Anxiety, Depression, and stress management
At the Core
Amelia began her journey into the healing arts more than 20 years ago when she became immersed in the medical scene as her parents journeyed through the end of their lives. During this difficult time, she advocated for her parents as they navigated a healthcare system filled with obstacles.
Inspired by the holistic, nature-based approach to health found in Chinese Medicine, she ventured to New Mexico to begin her study at the Southwest Acupuncture College and met her first yoga teacher. She returned home to Wallowa County to open a Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture practice and began teaching.
During the last five years she has been part of an integrative medical clinic, working with doctors and bodyworkers to provide care that balances traditional allopathic medicine with the ancient principles of Chinese Medicine. Deeply familiar with the chasm between the current medical model and the humanity of healing, Amy strives to empower her patients to become active participants, self-advocates, and knowledgeable contributors in their own healthcare.
Amy’s recent doctoral degree provided her with advanced training in women’s health, functional medicine, and chronic disease management. This training, combined with years of teaching and advanced education in therapeutic yoga, breath work and meditation give her a wealth of resources to offer. Recent developments in the field of telehealth make expanding services beyond Wallowa County possible, which led to her new practice, Ground and Sky.
She continues to live in Joseph, Oregon in a cabin surrounded by timbered slopes and tucked at the foot of Mt. Joseph, a snow-capped peak in the Wallowa Mountains. She spends her free time riding horses, hiking and skiing with her dogs, and reading from a never-ending pile of books. The life of nurturing and observation fuels her other passion, writing.
This beautiful land (now Wallowa County) was originally home to the Niimiipuu (Nez Perce) people, who were forced to leave in 1877. In sharing her connection to land and place, Amy feels the importance of honoring those who originally inhabited and stewarded the mountains, valleys and canyons where she resides. To learn more about the Nez Perce Homeland, visit wallowanezperce.org.
EXPERIENCE
Amelia is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. She is a nationally certified Diplomat of Acupuncture and Diplomat of Chinese Herbology and a Licensed Acupuncturist in the state of Oregon. She has been teaching yoga for more than 15 years and is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance. With extensive training in anatomy and kinesiology and therapeutic yoga techniques, she also provides instruction and ongoing support for those living with chronic pain. She coaches her patients to manage physical, mental and emotional conditions through movement, breathwork, meditation, and relaxation.
Education & Training
Doctor of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine
Oregon College of Oriental Medicine
2019
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Eastern Oregon University
LaGrande, OR, 2016
Master of Science in Oriental Medicine
Southwest Acupuncture College
Albuquerque, NM, 2004
Licenses and Certifications
Certificate in Women’s Functional and Integrative Medicine
June 2019
Diplomat of Acupuncture
NCCAOM, August, 2004
Diplomat of Chinese Herbology
NCCAOM, August, 2004
Licensed Acupuncturist
State of Oregon, August, 2004
Certified Yoga Therapist - 1000-hour
International Association of Yoga Therapists
March 2023
Registered Yoga Teacher - RYT 500
Yoga Alliance
2021
200-hour Teacher Training
Temple of Kriya Yoga
Chicago, Illinois, 2005
300-hour Jaya Yoga Advanced Teacher Training
Flow Hood River
Hood River, Oregon 2021
Sustainable Asana Yoga Foundation Certified
October 2019
About the Name
Ground and Sky was born from the belief that as we connect ourselves firmly to the supportive, nurturing nature of the earth, we grow toward the expansive nature of the heavens. The name also reflects the simple concept Chinese medicine is based on: the fundamental balance of yin and yang. Humans represent the bridge between heaven (ultimate yang) and earth (ultimate yin).
Yin represents everything that is cool, dark, solid, still, and yang represents everything that is hot, light, insubstantial, active. Yin and Yang are interdependent, constantly interacting and transforming, and their balance shifts as we move through our day, our monthly cycles, the seasons and our lives. Understanding how to support this delicate dance within the human body is the heart of a practitioner’s work.
Contact
Email: info@groundandskyhealth.com
Snail Mail: PO Box 16, Enterprise, OR 97828
Phone/Text: (541) 398-0992
Local Office: 401 NE First Street, Enterprise, OR 97828
“Tao (the Way) produced the One.
The One produced the two.
The two produced the three.
And the three produced the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things carry the Yin and
Embrace the Yang and through the blending
of the Qi they achieve harmony”