ABOUT
FOUNDER STORY
Oddly enough, my journey to Traditional Chinese Medicine started with my job in finance.
It was toxic, to say the least. The hours were cruel (9 to 5 am) and I was tired, overworked, and in constant pain. Fed up, I went to see a Chinese shaman who specialized in qi-gong massage. After just one session—I felt no pain. So I kept going back until one day, my colleagues started to notice. They were curious why I seemed…happy. That was my wake-up call.
I didn’t know it at the time, but the chronic pain I was experiencing was my body’s way of telling me I had been deeply depressed. So I decided to commit to my own happiness and leave my dependable, secure job behind to unlock my new obsession, something I had unknowingly grown up with: Traditional Chinese Medicine.
After earning my Masters degree in TCM from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in 2005, I continued my post-graduate studies in Beijing with the late TCM doctor, acupuncturist, and author of Applied Channel Theory—Dr. Wang Ju-Yi—and later, completed a course of specialized study with Mazin Al-Khafaji, a world-renowned leader in TCM dermatology.
It was toxic, to say the least. The hours were cruel (9 to 5 am) and I was tired, overworked, and in constant pain. Fed up, I went to see a Chinese shaman who specialized in qi-gong massage. After just one session—I felt no pain. So I kept going back until one day, my colleagues started to notice. They were curious why I seemed…happy. That was my wake-up call.
I didn’t know it at the time, but the chronic pain I was experiencing was my body’s way of telling me I had been deeply depressed. So I decided to commit to my own happiness and leave my dependable, secure job behind to unlock my new obsession, something I had unknowingly grown up with: Traditional Chinese Medicine.
After earning my Masters degree in TCM from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in 2005, I continued my post-graduate studies in Beijing with the late TCM doctor, acupuncturist, and author of Applied Channel Theory—Dr. Wang Ju-Yi—and later, completed a course of specialized study with Mazin Al-Khafaji, a world-renowned leader in TCM dermatology.
Today, even almost 20 years of clinical work and pioneering the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine Dermatology, I still feel the same excitement I did after leaving that shaman’s office. The name of my practice, Lanshin, symbolizes a return to my roots. Not only is it a reclamation of my family name but also the Chinese heritage that I, like many Asian Americans of my generation, had once felt ashamed of.
Through sharing what I’ve learned, I believe that you’ll not only view beauty in a completely new light, but that you’ll also feel re-connected to something that feels familiar and natural. My goal is to return you to your Original Face. To feeling beautiful in a way that’s completely unchained from weight, youth, or trends. To the way you were always meant to feel—healthy, balanced, and alive from the inside out.
Through sharing what I’ve learned, I believe that you’ll not only view beauty in a completely new light, but that you’ll also feel re-connected to something that feels familiar and natural. My goal is to return you to your Original Face. To feeling beautiful in a way that’s completely unchained from weight, youth, or trends. To the way you were always meant to feel—healthy, balanced, and alive from the inside out.
-Sandra Lanshin Chiu, L.Ac.
