Exploring Acupuncture at RituaLuna Wellness

A key pillar of acupuncture, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practice dating back 3,000 years, is the idea that each person has four bodies rooted in their nervous system: the physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional. 

Acupuncture’s potency comes from its ability to address all four bodies at once, says Dr. Wilder Rose, L.Ac., DSOM. “The somatic and emotional and mental are interwoven with the physical,” they explain. “The nerves have routes through the body – and there’s a way to approach the whole being from a single point.” 

Wilder has been practicing since 2020, and brought acupuncture to RituaLuna Wellness in 2025. This fall, they will be joined by Roxanne O’Hara, and the two will offer a range of TCM services together. All practitioners at RituaLuna emphasize open and honest communication during sessions. This transparency does more than help build rapport: it equips providers to develop an effective treatment plan. 

Wilder’s work centers on translating the information our nervous systems are constantly communicating on subtle levels. “Say you have an allergy and chronic inflammation,” they explain. “It’s so suppressed, there’s no awareness of a catalyst. But the symptoms are getting louder and louder. Acupuncture can identify what’s not working for us, reroute some inflammation pathways, and break patterns to reduce sensitivities.”   

Their approach to this ancient medicine is rooted in a commitment to candor and curiosity. “Being in our authentic energy and whole self – that is part of the therapy itself,” they say. “I want to know: what are you processing right now and what would feel supportive? Building trust is most important, but I’m also getting data to select acupuncture points and develop a session. I value precision.” 

This precision has helped facilitate healing for patients facing all kinds of challenges: intense pain, poor circulation, chronic stress, and much more. Rather than chasing symptoms or focusing solely on pain management, Wilder seeks to help patients uncover a closer alignment with themselves, creating a rhythm of wellness and cultivating an understanding that symptoms are our body’s way of communicating to us. What will we hear if we take time to listen?  

Before inserting the first needle, Wilder carefully checks the client’s pulse on each wrist. In TCM, the pulse offers a window into a world of information: not only heart rate, but also energetics and the health of major organ systems. “The tool of pulse taking is for coming into resonance with that person,” they note. “It’s coming into resonance with the way their brain has been carved as a creative expression of the universe.”   

The next several minutes is a gentle dance of care and communication. Wilder lets the patient know where each needle is going, and invites a deep breath before every insertion. On the exhale, the needle (about the size of a single hair) goes a few centimeters into the skin. “Some needles may feel tingly, numb, or spicy when they go in, or you may not feel them go in at all,” they explain. “After a few seconds, you usually don’t notice they’re there anymore.”      

Then it’s time for the needles to work their magic: left in the body for a while, they stimulate the nerves, muscles and connective tissue. The intention, Wilder says, is uniting each patient with their physical and emotional truths. “This is the invitation of my work,” they say: “How do we find more joy and peace? How do we find balance and express who we really are? It’s rewilding the body.”  

Dr. Wilder Rose is available for acupuncture appointments every Tuesday at RituaLuna. We welcome a diversity of backgrounds, genders, neurodiversities, and body shapes and sizes. To learn more about Wilder, read their bio here or reach out to them at wilder@ritualunawellness.com.