Siân Marguerite Sheppard, L. Ac, M. Ac.
(she/her/ella)
Siân is an acupuncturist who was a patient, first. She still isn’t quite sure how she found her first acupuncturist all those years ago (hi, Sally!). She was skeptical. Going to get acupuncture was almost like crossing some other random modality off the list. That is, until it happened. She was needled in a spot on her wrist and felt an electric shock. “What was that?” she asked, bewildered. Her acupuncturist looked into her eyes and said, “That’s the qi”.
Siân had never felt anything like that before. She wasn’t going to go back for another treatment, though. Except…she was breathing more freely. And, actually, colors are more vibrant. After a few sessions, her neck and back felt better. Not just better, but that dull perma-ache back pain from driving and sitting too much? Gone.
When is an appropriate time to seek acupuncture? When you are dealing with transitional stress, when you are having trouble seeing your own beauty, when you are feeling overwhleming fear &/or unrelenting grief. When your head hurts, when you can’t eat or sleep or move way you want to.
Siân specializes in helping people bridge the gap.
Siân’s previous career as a domestic violence survivor advocate and child sexual abuse prevention counselor informs her ethos on the role of holistic medicine in our community—-from the micro to the macro. Her experience as a child actor, and now as a circus artist, provide eclectic context within which she grounds East Asian medical teachings.
Her professional training is in Five Element acupuncture. In addition to Five Element techniques she uses aspects of Shen-Hammer pulse diagnosis, face reading, cosmetic acupuncture, ear acupuncture, and facial gua sha to address concerns occurring on all levels: body, mind, and spirit.
curriculum vitae
Formal Education
Bachelor of Arts, Comparative Literature and Gender Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Masters of Acupuncture, Diploma in Herbal Medicine, & Bachelor of Health Science, Academy for Five Element Acupuncture
Licensed Acupuncturist, National Certification Commission, Credential # 091.0134118
Additional Courses and Training
2024: 21 Day Facial Gua Sha BootCamp, with Sandra Lanshin Chiu, L. Ac.
2023: Reiki Level II attunement, Usui Lineage, with Winifred Tannetta Costello
2021-2022: Shen Hammer Pulse Diagnosis ongoing study, with Laisha Canner-Ward, AP, MAOM
2021: Qi Gong and Eagle Claw Fire-Earth Term, with Brea Fisher
2021: Prescribing Poisons for Healing? A Lesson from Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, with Yan Liu PhD
2021: Facial Gua Sha as a Cultural Practice, with Dr. Paige Yang and Ivy Lee, MSTCM, L. Ac.
2021: The Ben Cao Gang Mu by Li Shizhen, with Prof. Paul Unschuld
2021: Clean Needle Technique Certified, Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
2021: Self, Community, Nation: Harm Reduction for East Asian Communites. For East Asian Medicine Practitioners and Students with Dr. Paige Yang, Dr. Emily Siy, and Dr. Tamsin Lee
2020-2021: Clinical Days, The Unseen Hand: Medicine from Antiquity, with Laura Clarke Stelmok, L. Ac.
2020: Yoga Teacher Training, RYT-200, with Molly Kitchen
2020: Facial Gua Sha workshop with Dr. Emily Siy
2019: Reiki Level I attunement, Usui Lineage, with Winifred Tannetta Costello
2017: Shamanic Journey workshop, with Dr. Michael Verrilli
2015: Image Theater and Approaches to Consensus-Building, Theatre of the Oppressed, with Marie-Claire Picher
2015: Healing Racism Seminar: Healing Racism Institute Pioneer Valley
2015: The Art of Mindful Living: Insight Meditation Retreat, led by Matthew Daniell, Winnie Nazarko, & Pat Coffey
2015: Mindful of the Body: Insight Meditation Retreat, led by Lila Kate Wheeler & Anushka Fernandopulle
2014: Doulas of North America (DONA) Birth Doula Certification Course
Experience
2023-present: Ongoing training in Aerial Hoop, New England Center for Circus Arts
2018 & 2020: Double Edge Theatre Open Training
2018: Multiple Exposure, life drawing master class, with Gabriela Handal
2018: Entrainment, contemporary dance workshop, with Riley Watts
2018: Uncertain Distances, contemporary dance workshop, with Lailye Weidman & Meredith Bove
2018: Grotowski: The Cat, Corporelles, and Plastiques, with Martha Cuomo
2018-present: Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Counselor, Stop It Now!, Northampton, MA
2015-2017: Ongoing studies in Studio Art, Greenfield Community College
2015: COFFEE Parenting in the Pioneer Valley Un-Conference, Amherst, MA
2014-2020: Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP) Advocate, Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, Greenfield, MA
2014-2021: Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Counselor, State of Massachusetts