Our Values
We aspire to center our values & vision for the world we
are co-creating in our practice and our lives.
In accordance with that, we have made use of
this space to state those values & vision plainly.
Land Acknowledgement
Great Embrace Acupuncture is located in the area known as “Kingston, NY” which is the land of Esopus (meaning “small river” or “creek”) peoples of Lenapehoking, a sub-tribe of the Lenni-Lenape (Delaware) Nation. These tribes were sacred stewards of the lands of the so-called Hudson Valley for thousands of years before colonization. While the Esopus approached the settlers peacefully, they were eventually compelled through violent means to sign a “peace” treaty in which they were forced to cede the greater majority of their ancestral lands.
Though their numbers are decimated, descendants of the Esopus people now reside throughout North America and are represented in the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians of Wisconsin; the Munsee Delaware of Ontario, Canada; the Schaghticoke First Nations of New York & Connecticut, and the Ramapough Lenape Nation of New York & New Jersey.
The harms of colonial genocide cannot be overstated & still go unanswered for today.
We honor the sovereignty of Turtle Island and of all Indigenous peoples.
We venerate our living relatives of the Lenape: the native plants, animals, waters, and lands that make up Lenapehoking.
Learn about more ways to support our indigenous neighbors through:
Kingston Land Trust & the Land in Black Hands (LIBH) land-based program restoring Black and Indigenous relationships with land through cultural reclamation, ecological stewardship, and community empowerment.
The book Braiding Sweetgrass by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer
Supporting the work of one of the most inspiring Indigenous language revitalization schools in North America: the Akwesasne Freedom School.
https://akwesasnefreedomschool.org/
Sliding Scale & Financial Barriers
We believe in a world where free universal healthcare is a human right. In our practice we aspire to do what we can to be part of bringing this world into being, as systemic inequities too often prohibit those who most need it from receiving care.
Your care is our highest priority.
To address these inequities we offer all services on a sliding scale. While the prices listed reflect the cost of treatment, please ask us about sliding scale options if finances are a barrier to meeting your need for caring & consistent healthcare.
LGBTQIA+
We delight in being members of the LGBTQIA+ community and stand alongside our siblings be they Transgender, Lesbian, Queer, Gay, Intersex, Bisexual, or those fabulous beings who evade description by mere words. We specialize in providing care to folks who receive any and all gender affirming medical care. While neither of us currently or historically have been on HRT, we are fierce supporters and advocates for all forms of life affirming care.
Edea is a being who TRANscends categorization :) They dance within the spectrum of being intersex, transgender, & non-binary/genderqueer.
Kyng identifies as nonbinary and exclusively uses they/them pronouns.
We strive to create safety, celebration and affirmation, as we wade together upstream to turn the tides of ignorance, hate & violence.
Honoring the Cultures of our Practice
We acknowledge the complications of practicing a medical tradition that was cultivated in East Asia in which neither of us have any known ancestral roots. With tremendous gratitude & respect for the peoples, herbs & landscapes who have persisted through time, hardship & colonization to keep these traditions alive, we honor the origins of the practice and understand acupuncture as an evolving, living, & transcultural practice.
Illness Prevention & Preparedness
2020 was the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and this potentially disabling virus is still among us. Your care is important to us & we ask that you work with us to limit exposure risks for us, our community, & all the rest of our patients, many of whom are considered high risk.
If you feel sick or know you were recently around someone with a contagious illness or who tested positive for Covid, please stay home.
We will reschedule free of charge and find a time once you feel better.
We make use of Covid-19 rapid tests at our Community Clinics to better ensure your & our collective safety. If you need assistance accessing Covid-19 tests, we can help connect you with free or low cost options.
All of our treatment rooms are outfitted with HEPA air purifiers (Allen SmartFlex).
We are more than happy to wear an N95 mask during your appointments, and you are welcome to wear one yourself as well to provide an extra layer of security.
Masks are celebrated here, but not required.
If you need any specific accommodations to support your receiving care from us, please reach out to start a conversation.
AI & Cybersecurity
We are not the greatest fans of technology at the best of times.
HIPAA compliance ensures that we are holding your privacy, and we have opted to take additional steps to ensure that you are protected from exploitative technologies.
In this time of unregulated AI, data & security leaks are common which makes confidential information harder to safeguard. Due to this we have resolved to go full analogue. All of our notes are taken on hard copy and are kept in a locked filing cabinet.
Sovereignty & Solidarity
We’d like to make clear our how we relate to the baffling state of our current political systems and how they’re built on systemic racist, colonial, oppressive foundations.
We firmly resist all institutions, governments and/or religions that produce prejudice and compromise the safety and happiness of any being.
We consistently observe how oppressive systems including prisons, detention centers, and militarization creates irreparable harm to all those involved with them, at every level.
If you work for these institutions & you would like our professional opinion on any/all health concerns, we strongly recommend the lifestyle change called “quit your job”.
We welcome you to join us in enthusiastically affirming the following:
Having the profoundest pride in the courage of Migrants.
Believing that Black lives have the right to thrive.
Honoring sovereign bodily autonomy at all ages, including reproductive rights and life saving gender affirmative care.
Seeing all diversities of minds & bodies as deserving of equality, accessibility, and celebration. Working towards a world that will stop the continued devastating harm of genocide, war, and exploitation.