Holistic Potters
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Wellness Program
for Potters & Ceramic Artists
Stay well and make art!
We talk about overworking the clay, but what happens when the clay over works you?
Back, hip, shoulder, forearm, wrist, and neck pain are signals that your body is out of balance. If you’re feeling pain, stiffness, or soreness after hours of working with clay, chances are you need a new way to stay well and continue making art pain-free.
Or you might be too “in the zone” with your work to remember to eat, feel neck tension after being hunched over while doing detailed surface design, or hold your breath as you pull up a wall of clay. These habits take a toll on your body over time.
Or maybe you have frequent stomachaches where you need to rush to the bathroom in the middle of your studio sessions. Or you’re too wired and tired to get good quality sleep, because you’re wondering how your new pieces are doing in the kiln and whether you’d have to remake something all over again. Or your headaches and migraines have flared up, thus cancelling your plans to make art or teach that day.
Enter the healing arts for the artist.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which includes herbal medicine, acupuncture, and lifestyle recommendations such as food therapy, movement, meditation, and more, is a healing arts tradition that has helped many heal naturally from ailments big and small.
Traditional Chinese Medicine addresses symptoms systemically, increasing circulation to relieve pain and discomfort internally and externally. It is a personalized approach to medicine that addresses your specific patterns and constitution, while also emphasizing lifestyle and preventative care so that your symptoms don’t recur.
Bring wellness to your pottery.
Become a Holistic Potter who receives personalized care, is empowered to create healthy habits, and makes art for all to enjoy while enjoying the process.
The Holistic Potters Wellness Program is for you if:
You’re a potter, ceramicist, or artist who works with clay
You’re experiencing musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, stress, headaches, insomnia, or digestive issues, and it’s getting in the way of your art and daily life
You want to address your symptoms holistically and naturally
You want to learn healing practices that help you thrive physically and mentally as a lifelong artist
You seek support with maintaining healthy habits, so that your symptoms do not persist
You’re ready to create the life you want as a Holistic Potter that centers health and sustainability as a key part of creative practice
Your Holistic Potters Program Includes:
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Holistic care is tailored to each artist and their needs, because we are not “one size fits all” and neither is your medicine.
During your initial exam, we will do a comprehensive review of your symptoms and medical history, and do a physical evaluation including your tongue and pulse. Based on your health concerns, you will be recommended either an acupuncture and/or herbal medicine treatment plan.
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Formulated and hand crafted by Dr. Vivian Mac, Willow’s Touch is her brand of herbal product essentials for mind, body, and spirit. Your program includes the Holistic Potters Collection, a curated line of topical herbal remedies to support the daily needs of a busy potter or ceramicist, whether you’re at the studio or at home.
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Learn Traditional Chinese Medicine and other holistic wellness lifestyle resources personalized for you to support symptom relief, prevention, and maintenance, so you get well and stay well after the program. Receive accountability and support along the way as you solidify healthy habits.
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Get included access to the Pain Free Pottery Online Course, which brings wellness to your creative practice. Learn the tips and tricks of proper body mechanics and pottery ergonomics, acupressure, massage, meditation, and herbal recipes that help you move and breathe better as a lifelong potter.
How to Get Started
Fill out a brief form below to book your initial exam.
During your initial exam, we discuss your symptoms and medical history, and do a physical evaluation including your tongue and pulse.
Step 1Receive a personalized program that includes acupuncture and/or herbs tailored to your needs.
Step 2Implement holistic lifestyle recommendations and receive ongoing herbal and/or acupuncture support.
We will discuss maintenance and preventative care that continues to address the root causes of your health concerns and minimize recurrence of symptoms.
Step 3Start Your Holistic Potters Wellness Journey:
Book Your Initial Exam
Frequently Asked Questions
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Book your initial exam here. Your initial exam is 30-45 minutes. We will do a comprehensive intake and examination, and you will receive a recommended treatment plan of acupuncture and/or herbal medicine based on our medical evaluation of what would best support your condition. Treatment is not included in this session.
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Acupuncture involves the insertion of thin, sterile, single-use needles into points on the body to produce a therapeutic effect.
Your treatment includes acupuncture as well as appropriate adjunctive therapies (i.e. moxibustion, cupping, gua sha, ear seeds, tui na, etc.) and lifestyle recommendations (i.e. qigong exercises, meditation, food therapy) to help you reach your health goals.
New patients
Your initial exam is 30-45 minutes. We will do a comprehensive intake and examination, and you will receive a recommended treatment plan of acupuncture and/or herbal medicine based on our medical evaluation of what would best support your condition. Treatment is not included in this session.
Returning patients
Your acupuncture session is 60 minutes, which includes acupuncture treatment as well as appropriate adjunctive therapies and lifestyle recommendations.
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Chinese herbal medicine involves working with plants and other natural ingredients that are prepared for herbal consumption.
Your treatment plan includes herbal consultations, herbal medicine, and lifestyle recommendations to help you reach your health goals.
New patients
Your initial exam is 30-45 minutes. We will do a comprehensive intake and examination, and you will receive a recommended treatment plan of acupuncture and/or herbal medicine based on our medical evaluation of what would best support your condition. Treatment is not included in this session.
Returning patients
Your sessions are 30 minutes during the course of your treatment plan. This allows us to check in together and assess if your herbal formula needs any adjustments as your symptoms improve. Your herbal formula is to be taken daily and will be mailed to you each week following your visit.
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To learn whether acupuncture and/or herbal medicine are a good fit for your health goals, book an initial exam. After a comprehensive intake and examination, you will receive a recommended treatment plan of acupuncture and/or herbal medicine based on our professional evaluation of what would best support your condition.
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We will share your personalized treatment plan based on an assessment of your condition during the initial exam.
Chronic conditions typically require regularly scheduled treatments. You may need more frequent acupuncture treatments in the beginning to alleviate your symptoms. Typically, coming in 2x/week within the first 2-3 weeks helps create a cumulative effect for improvements to build upon itself treatment by treatment. As you reach the stages of maintenance and preventative care, the frequency and amount of visits decreases.
If you are looking for treatment for a minor acute condition or temporary illness, it may only require a few visits.
If you do not have any pressing symptoms and are looking for routine preventative care, you might come 1x/month or on an as needed basis.
For herbal medicine, your treatment plan depends on the chronicity of your condition. The consistency of daily herbs has a cumulative effect on your body to alleviate symptoms, improve quality of life, and prevent recurrence.
To know what treatment plan is best suited for you, click here to schedule an initial exam.
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It depends on whether you need acupuncture and/or herbal medicine, as well as the length of your treatment plan, which is based on the chronicity of your symptoms.
Your initial exam is $53, and it does not include the cost of the program (acupuncture/herbal treatments, Willow’s Touch herbal products, online course). The initial exam fee is comped if you proceed with the Holistic Potters program.
About Dr. Vivian Mac
Licensed Herbalist & Acupuncturist
“We get well to create. And we create to get well.”
— Dr. Vivian
Dr. Vivian Mac (she/her) is passionate about sharing healing practices that empower you to improve your wellbeing, so that you can do what matters to you. Trained in acupuncture as well as Chinese and Western herbal medicine, she has both witnessed and experienced the improvements that these modalities have on the mind, body, and spirit as an integrated whole.
Vivian sees how Chinese medicine offers powerful tools for taking charge of our health in modern times, especially as we move through collective uncertainty and live in a society that promotes disconnection from our bodies, our environment, and the cycles of nature.
Her clinic is based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where she offers herbal medicine and acupuncture to holistic-minded artists and creatives.
In her free time, she enjoys learning, creating, and experimenting with pottery (which are also featured in the photos above!). Check out her pottery creations here.