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| Laura
Vasallo introduce cuidadosamente la fina aguja de
acupuntrura a Bruce Tessier, quien considera a
Vasallo como una de las mejores acupunturistas que
haya conocido por ayudario con su dolor de espalda
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MELBOURNE – Laura Vasallo Vasallo holds the
needle in her right hand.
The long steel tip is
whisper thin, about the size of four strands of hair
woven together.
With nimble fingers and the
lightest touch, she gently glides the needle into Bruce
Tessler’s bare, lower back.
Within seconds, she
eases in three more. Tessler, stretched out and face
down on a treatment bed, doesn’t seem to
notice.
“Most people are afraid of acupuncture,
but you barely feel the needles at all,” said Tessler,
52, of Palm Bay, who has been coming to Vasallo for a
little more than a year to treat a reoccurring back
problem.
He said that acupuncture – the ancient
Chinese art of using sterile, non-toxic needles to
promote bodily healing, ease pain and to curb cravings
from smoking to overeating – has helped alleviate his
back pain.
Tessler also lauds Vasallo as one of the
best acupuncturists he’s ever seen.
“I’ve been
going to acupuncturists for five years. I’ve been
treated by a woman from San Francisco with over 30 years
of experience from the Chinese mainland. Laura is just
as good,” he said.
Tessler is just one of many
Brevard County residents who are finding out just how
good Vasallo’s passion and expertise for eastern healing
therapies can be for health.
“My goal is to help
people to have a better quality of life,” said Vasallo, a
board-certified acupuncture physician, licensed massage
therapist and owner of Natural Approach Acupuncture and
Massage Center.
The center opened in 2004 in the
office plaza at the southwest corner of Dairy Road and
Hibiscus Boulevard. It offers acupuncture, acupressure,
Korean hand massages, Bach flower essence remedies,
therapeutic massage and deep tissue massage for clients.
Additionally, Natural Approach boasts a wide
selection of holistic products for sale, all designed to
promote healthy living.
Vasallo was born in Cuba and her
family came to the U.S. when she was 8 years old,
settling in Miami. She got her work ethic and compassion
from her parents, her father worked delivering auto
parts while her mother worked in a sewing
factory.
She and her twin brother, Miguel, were
the first in the family to go to college. More than
seven years ago, she received a masters-level degree in
acupuncture and Oriental medicine from the Acupuncture
and Massage College. The college, located in Miami, is
the oldest acupuncture school in Florida.
Now
Vasallo provides healing for people of all ages.
More than 70 patients, including some that come
once a year from New York and California, regularly
visit Natural Approach for relief from a variety of
issues ailments, including addiction, anxiety, asthma,
depression, fatigue, emotional problems, incontinence,
reproductive problems and other physical problems.
The center offers clients the relaxing calm of
clean, visually pleasing treatment rooms.
Here,
the lights are dim, while soul-soothing music ranging
from Native American tones to the harmony of a string
quartet playing Mozart n the background.
Each treatment bed is draped in soft, cottony
sheets.
“There are no paper sheets on our beds.
We use real sheets and all of our beds are heated so
it’s very relaxing. We like for our patients to feel at
home,” Vasallo said.
New patients get a brief
history in the healing powers of acupuncture and
Oriental medicine, with Vasallo explaining that every human
being has energy pathways, also known as meridians,
which cover every system in the body.
“The idea
is to have them flow free at all times. If the pathways
become blocked, that’s when the problems begin. The
problems could be mental, emotional or physical,” she
said.
The problem is the body’s way of telling a
person that something is wrong.
“People
typically mask their pain with medication but the
problem still exists. The goal of acupuncture is to
figure out which pathway is blocked. The needle helps to
open up the pathway so that you are removing the root of
the problem and the body regains the ability to heal
itself,” Vasallo said.
Acupuncture has been
practiced in the United States for over 200 years,
according to the National Institutes of Health. Over 8
million Americans have turned to acupuncture, attesting
to the FDA-approved treatment’s positive results in
aiding health and bolstering the immune system.
Amy Newcomer, an office manager, is one of
them.
Before meeting Vasallo, she suffered from
crippling migraines. It got to the point where the
former childcare teacher was suffering from the
headaches every week for four years.
Traditional
doctors failed to help.
“I loved teaching but the
migraines got to the point where I wasn’t feeling like
myself anymore. (Laura) convinced me that acupuncture
would help with my migraines. I didn’t believe her at
first, but after being migraine-free for a couple of
weeks, I became a believer,” she said.
Newcomer’s
been migraine-free for two years and is currently
studying to become a licensed massage
therapist.
“Laura has
enlightened me so much on natural healing and natural
medicine,” she said.
Vasallo said Amy’s treatment
included acupuncture, some diet changes and Chinese
herbs.
“Every patient receives individualized
care,” she said.
“Some people respond quickly or
a little slower but you will see results if you stick
with the treatment.”
