Unlike most people, Paul Marks’ first experience with Acupuncture was through his dog.  Paul grew up in Westchester, NY with a Great Dane named Lola who was incapacitated with hip dysplasia by the time she was 7.  Having exhausted all other options his family found an animal acupuncturist and brought the dog in as a last result.  Just like in human acupuncture thin needles were inserted and stimulated and left in for approximately 15-20 minutes.  Every week Paul would stay in the treatment room with Lola to keep her calm and every week the Acupuncturist would show Paul what he was doing, explaining the differences between different needles and even showing him how to stimulate them. 

 

“After her first treatment she must have run for an hour straight, that left her pretty sore but you could see how happy she was.  We were all happy.”  At first Lola’s treatments would last two or three days but quickly she was active up until her next treatment. Within two months she was active and pain free all the time.  “That experience left such a strong impression on me.  I was 13 years old - somewhat brooding, very questioning very skeptical and I loved that dog.  I watched and participated in every stage of Lola’s recovery.  I knew exactly how much she had improved and I was confident placebo could be ruled out.  It was something I never forgot.” 

 

Years later, after Paul had been through college and was working in the not-for-profit sector, he remembered his childhood experience and felt a calling.  “I had become disenchanted with not-for-profits but still wanted a career where I could help people.  I remembered my experience with Lola and had had some Acupuncture myself by this time.  Acupuncture appealed to me as a career because it is about helping people, it’s also about creating alternatives and public education.   As a business owner Acupuncture would give me independence and that was important to me as well.”

 

While in graduate school at Pacific College earning his Masters of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine Paul met his wife Crystal.  Together they sought out advanced training with amazing Masters from NY and China and eventually opened Eastgate Acupuncture together. He holds certificates of study from the Institute of Classical Asian Studies in both Medical Qi Gong and Kyo Jung (a form of Korean physical therapy).

 

“Acupuncture has given me so much.  It saved my dog, saved my dreams, gave me independence, love and family.   I can’t promise it will do all of this for you, but it’ll definitely fix your knee pain.”