John Shade
Licensed Acupuncturist
Shade became an Acupuncturist because of a lifelong search to understand how the disparate parts of a human being are connected. After many years and thousands of miles of travel, Shade settled in Portland. In seeking to become an Acupuncturist and an Herbalist, he graduated from NUNM in 2015 with a Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine. Prior to enrolling at NUNM, he completed his undergraduate degree in classical Chinese literature from Portland State University, gaining firsthand knowledge of the basic tenets of Chinese Medicine. He has found that a clear understanding of these works can provide a holistic map of the relationships between the different organs of the body and the mind, allowing emotional suffering and chronic disease to be treated as efficiently and effectively as physical injuries or common illnesses.
He believes that disease and suffering may only be diagnosed by looking at a person in the context of the life and the world that person occupies, and therefore every person must be treated as a unique individual with their own specific set of circumstances. Each treatment is founded on the idea of bringing that person back into balance with themselves, not some idealized normal. In addition to nutritional and herbal consultations, he incorporates a spectrum of techniques, both ancient and modern, in order to address the multiple layers of the emotional and physical person during treatment.
Shade believes the experience of feeling whole and healthy is the pinnacle of the human experience, and being able to support others in their quest is his passion.