GREENFIELD — Orange native Joshua Warren has left behind the fast-paced lifestyle of Washington D.C. to start his own acupuncture and herbal medicine practice in Franklin County.

The 36-year-old Turners Falls resident opened Connecticut River Acupuncture at 14 Miles St. on May 6 and has been steadily building a new clientele after six years in the nation’s capital.

“Working in D.C. was actually kind of difficult, in different ways, but mostly because people, they’re so stressed out and they’re working so much that they don’t really have time to kind of slow down and center [themselves], and take the necessary steps to take care of themselves,” he said in the 575-square-foot space he leases. “And then that’s complicated by the, kind of, identities that they’re kind of financing through their work.

While those he encountered in the capital had a hard time letting go of these strong identities in the wake of health issues, he said western Massachusetts residents “have a lot more openness to change” when they have a health issue, even if it’s chronic.

Warren said his fellow native New Englanders, who are used to cold winters and humid summers, are accustomed to having to adapt to change, and that goes hand in hand with the medicine he practices. Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine in which thin needles are inserted into the body to alleviate pain and other health problems.

“The foundational concept of Chinese medicine is that life is yang. It’s warmth, it’s movement, and we receive that, essentially, from a solar energy,” Warren explained. “And the concept of Chinese medicine is that our bodies mirror those seasons, that seasonality. The first half of the year, the yang of our body is moving up and out toward the surface of the body. So in the middle of summer, that’s when our yang is at the surface of the body, and then the interior of the body gets relatively cooler. And then during the second half of the year — fall and winter — essentially the yang starts to move back into the body and moves more toward storage.”

Warren said acupuncture originated alongside moxibustion, the burning of a plant called Chinese mugwort, which is used to warm particular areas of the body. This would often create blisters that would be lanced, or punctured, with needles. Warren also specializes in herbal medicine and can craft treatment plans for clients, with some lifestyle suggestions and nutrition recommendations. His practice consists of two treatment rooms.

Warren, 36, grew up in Orange and in 2010 graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he designed a bachelor’s degree in ethnosonicology, the study of culture through sound. He moved to North Carolina a couple years later to attend the Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts in Asheville, North Carolina, where he earned a master’s degree in acupuncture and herbal medicine in 2017. His education focused on the classical roots of Chinese medicine.

Warren then moved to Washington D.C. to take over a colleague’s practice. He said he has mixed emotions about his time there, as he developed a great community of friends but disliked aspects of the cultural landscape.

“I would tell people I was an acupuncturist,” he recalled. “They didn’t know what to do with that.”

Acupuncture can treat everything from pain and scar tissue to anxiety, digestive issues and infertility, Warren said. He understands some may be skeptical, but he encourages people to try it.

“Chinese medicine has had thousands of years of its own observation and its own diagnostic techniques and tradition,” he said. “To me, skepticism relates to something deeper but has nothing to do with medicine. It has to do with authority. It has to do with, often, in my observation, a distrust that people have developed of their own body.”

More information about Connecticut River Acupuncture, and how to book appointments, is available at connecticutriveracupuncture.com or on its Facebook page. There is also a QR code on the door at 14 Miles St. Warren does not currently accept insurance.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.

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