National Holistic Institute
http://www.nhi.edu/
1665 Market Street
415-861-2045

At the end of the Castro and beginning of the Tenderloin, next to Caffe Trieste on Market Street, is a barren-looking building with big glass windows. However, once entering through the street doors and passing through a locked door, a pleasant waiting room for the National Holistic Institute with sharply-dressed employees prepares patients for a quiet and soothing experience.

After filling out paperwork in the obviously remodeled building with simple furniture and a clock ticking on the wall, a student masseuse greets her client for a one-hour massage. A quick walk to a big room divided into separate spaces by curtains with calming zen-like music, and soft massage tables in dim lighting, the masseuse prepares the client for a relaxing hour. The student asks where the client would like to be massaged and where pain is located in order to make sure she offers a good massage. A one-hour massage on the back and shoulders dispels all pent up anger and stress that the weekend had created.

The massage is perfect. The pressure is discussed, and the ambiance is relaxing. Having only had a full body massage before, a concentrated massage is just what is needed to de-stress and calm down. The only oddity is that the curtains, although thick at eye level and sealed shut with snaps when a client is inside, were mesh at the very top. Granted, a person would have to be over seven feet tall to see through them, but it was still a little awkward.

After the amazing massages that I suggest everyone try, on the way home, there isn't a problem in the world that could bring back the stress that had found shelter in the neck. The best part is the massage, which costs a mere $35 and is tip-free. That's right--tips are not allowed! Yet another reason to go after a stressful and wild spring break.

American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
http://www.actcm.edu/html/clinics.html
450 Connecticut Street
415-282-9037

Nestled in quiet Potrero Hill, the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine is a serene building with outside seating and umbrellas located on a calm, quiet, and tranquil street. Inside, there is a welcoming staff in a meditative-like trance. They are calm and respectful in their environment. Go to their website to fill out the new patient application to save yourself some time.The twelve-page application, asks every question imaginable when going to a doctor's office.

Finally, after a short wait in a nice-sized room with a massage table on one side and desk with chairs on the other, a teaching doctor and four training doctors sit down for the long consultation. Feeling like a patient in Grey's Anatomy with five doctor's asking questions and examining is a little surreal, but easy enough to overcome. Again, they go over the paperwork and feel the pulse (although not counting the beats, but feeling its strength) and take the blood pressure. After, the doctors decide that insomnia and a little ankle pain are what will be cured today. The weirdest thing ever is the intense examining of the tongue. Every one of the five doctors looks at it, slightly red in the center, at least three times. It's very odd to stick my tongue out for a good couple of minutes every time to make sure each student saw what the teacher was talking about.

Finally, lying on the table, the needles are inserted into the skin. Within less than five minutes, needles in the head, arms, hands, legs, ankles, and toes are put in place, and the room got dark and the doctors left. So there we are, lying, waiting. What time is it? How long will this take? Can I have my iPod, a TV on a ceiling? A billion thoughts running through, (perhaps this is why I have insomnia) including, "How on earth can a few needles fix a few of the billion things wrong with me?"

Well, the insomnia is here to stay, thank God for prescriptions, earplugs, and eye masks, but the ankle pain magically disappeared. The doctor recommends coming in twice a week, but at $50 a pop (which is based on a sliding scale), $100 per week is a little expensive. However, it is relaxing, and the fact that the ankle pain was cured is enough to make me go back for more. However, next time I will make sure to keep my iPod with me, and not safely tucked away in my purse.