What if the most powerful medicine starts with warmth, rhythm, and trust in your own body? Today we sit down  down with licensed acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, and yoga teacher Tara Tonini to trace how trauma-informed Chinese medicine can steady the nervous system, smooth cycles, and support conception, pregnancy, birth prep, and postpartum in a way that fits into real life. From liver qi and kidney jing to the heart-mind connection, Tara translates complex ideas into simple choices you can make today.

We dig into why many people are “acu-curious” yet needle-averse, and how energy work, qigong, and gentle touch can move qi without needles. Tara breaks down yin and yang as a practical parenting tool—intensity peaks, ease returns—and shows how seasonal eating, warm foods, and cozy rituals rebuild blood, improve sleep, and calm anxiety. She shares why chronic heat practices can dry you out, how cold plunges may impact kidney qi, and how warmth is medicine for conception and early postpartum recovery. You’ll hear concrete tips like herbal foot soaks for insomnia, body tapping along meridians to relieve pain, and using familiar yoga postures as targeted meridian stretches for better flow.

We also explore postpartum care through the lens of “sitting the moon,” with nourishing herbs, digestible meals, and home scents that signal safety. Tara’s trauma-informed clinical approach centers consent, pacing, and patient agency. If you’re navigating fertility, preparing for birth, or rebuilding after, this conversation offers grounded tools and a kinder way to meet your body where it is.

If this resonates, follow and share the episode, leave a review on your favorite app, and tell us the practice you’ll try today. Your story might spark someone else’s healing.

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