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About Me

Hi! I’m Melissa. I’m a mom of two kids, an acupuncturist, an herbalist, and a medicine maker. I practice Tai Chi and Qi Gong every day to help me stay grounded and rooted in nature and all things good.

I believe there's a Little Sage in all of us, that indomitable spirit of the human soul, an inner knowing, a well of energy and power to heal our bodies. You have the ability to tap into it.

My journey to becoming an acupuncturist and herbalist started before I was born. My umbilical cord was tightly wrapped around my body causing a condition of cord entrapment and fetal hypoxia. I was only five pounds when I was born and I had serious breathing problems early in infancy. My family took me to many Western medical doctors seeking relief for my breathing problems, but none of them were able to help me. The Western doctors concluded that I’ll have breathing problems the rest of my life. An elder in the family suggested that my parents take me to a local herbalist, who then treated me with massage and gave me herbs to drink. After only a few months of being treated, my wheezing was gone and I never had breathing problems again.

My early memories of childhood include my grandmother preparing and applying herbal poultices to me and my sibling’s bumps and bruises. She was a pediatrician by profession but an herbalist at heart. My great-grandfather, Eduardo Quisumbing, was a botanist and a leading authority of medicinal plants in the Philippines. He is the author of the seminal book on the subject, Medicinal Plants of the Philippines.

Now that I’m practicing plant medicine, I’m honored and humbled to continue in this tradition of healing and herbology.

In my adulthood, I experienced severe psychological and physical trauma. It was the healing power of alternative medicine that helped me. I needed surgery after the incident but I was able to fully recover faster and with no pain medication because of acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Through therapy, meditation and the energy practice of Qi gong and Tai Chi, I’m also able to heal the psychological and spiritual wounds of that trauma.

This experience of trauma and healing has taught me the powerful, indomitable spirit of the human soul and the incredible ability of our bodies to heal. What I discovered is the Little Sage in all of us.

After I graduated from East Asian Medical School, I founded Little Sage Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine with the mission to help as many people as I can with this wonderful medicine.

I created these online courses to help you find the transformation you’re looking for,
unlock your highest potential to heal the body, and empower you to nourish your Little Sage from within. 

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