Anna Master

My great love of medicine comes from taking a truly holistic approach to supporting patients. My practice is guided by constantly asking the question, "Why?". This holistic and curious approach continues to inspire and empower me both as practitioner and as person moving through life while managing my own autoimmune disease.  In practice, I start care by really getting to know each person and the diverse stresses that are impacting their life. These stresses can be everything from an autoimmune diagnosis to a surgery or accident to gas and bloating and headaches or stress around parenting and work life balance. I work with patients to take a look at different lifestyle factors like exercise, diet, sleep, breathing and daily routine. I use this information to identify important places where health is being compromised. For example, I might find structural instability, inflammation of the digestive tract with dysbiosis of the gut microbiome, chronic dehydration, blood sugar imbalances or pathological breathing habits as root causes of symptoms a patient is having. I work with each patient to help them understand the symptoms they are experiencing. This step is key, because symptoms are the language the body uses to communicate with us and we each need to learn how to decode the unique language our body is using to tell us what it needs. I then utilize a diverse clinical tool kit to help patients find relief from symptoms ASAP. This tool kit includes acupuncture, biodynamic massage and cranial sacral work, somatic release work, East Asian body work, therapeutic movement and joint mobilization, neuromuscular reprograming, Vagus nerve balancing, mindfulness practices from the traditions of Yoga and positive psychology, breath work, diet change (including individualized elimination diets and the Autoimmune  Protocol), herbal medicine and nutritional supplementation. I also work to provide all my patients with referrals that will support them in developing a robust and supportive health care team and work with them on medical advocacy and how to have their voices heard in the medical system.  This holistic approach reflects my diverse training that includes a background in dance, neuroscience and education as well as my master’s degree in East Asian medicine, clinical training in functional medicine, lifestyle medicine and positive psychology and my credentialing as a certified yoga instructor and Autoimmune Protocol coach. My goal as a practitioner is to not only help patients feel better but to empower them to understand themselves more fully and to live more healthy and joyful lives that are attuned to their individual gifts and passions.