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Luke Matsuda, known as Tera (Tayra) to friends, was born in Price and raised in Helper, Utah as well as Longmont, Colorado. Tera has deeply cared about people for as long as he can remember and has always sought out ways to serve them.

He began studying and practicing yoga seventeen years ago which lead him to an ashram in New Mexico. It was there that his chronic back pain was healed through acupuncture. After that profound experience he felt it was his calling to become a practitioner of Oriental Medicine.

Being deeply connected to his roots, this path was very fitting for him.  After all, his family had been using aspects of oriental medicine at home in Carbon County for four generations!

Tera, decided to first become a certified yoga teacher, where he studied, traveled, and volunteered in India for four months.  Then he continued his education receiving an Associate Degree from USU- Eastern.  After that he moved back to New Mexico for three more years of education and clinical practice to become a licensed acupuncturist.

Along the way he married his wife Malarie Matsuda and together they have one son.  He has had many different positions that have allowed him to help people.  He has a worked as a surgical technician at Castleview Hospital, as a wilderness field guide for an adult drug rehabilitation program, and as a Yoga teacher at USU-Eastern.

Tera, graduated from Southwest Acupuncture College in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he earned a Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine. Tera is happy to be home and is eager to help the people of Carbon and Emery counties feel better by providing them with a local, affordable, quality acupuncture and herbal medicine clinic.

    Malarie is the office manager for Matsuda Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine. She is the wife of Tera Matsuda, mother to Sage as well as a former second grade teacher at Pinnacle Canyon Academy and Sally Mauro Elementary.

    Malarie has over ten years of yoga practice and training. After her life was greatly transformed from yoga she decided to become an IKYTA and Yoga Alliance certified Kundalini Yoga teacher so she could share the teachings with others. In alignment with the Kundalini Yoga tradition she has learned how to play a symphonic gong for meditation and sound healing.

Malarie is passionate about pregnancy and birth and joined forces with the Sacred Living Movement and is now a certified Sacred Pregnancy instructor.

    She is interested in sustainable systems and holds certification in Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

    Please check our Facebook page and Blog for information on yoga workshops and gong meditations with Malarie and special guests.

Here are some helpful tips to get a better nights rest!

Acupuncture can help: Acupuncture has shown to help achieve a relaxing and sound sleep. Two powerful points in the ear can send you off to dreamland.

Take a moment: Make some time in your schedule for a pre-sleep relaxation ritual. Taking a hot bath just before bed has been shown to promote a deep, restful sleep. You can also add lavender oil to the bathwater or place a small amount of dried lavender wrapped in a cloth inside your pillow case.

Aromatherapy: Put a few drops of chamomile essential oil on your pillow just before bed. You can also use an aromatherapy diffuser or add a few drops to water in a spray bottle to disperse the scent around your bedroom.

Relax your soles: Tap the soles and both sides of the feet gently with a hairbrush for five minutes, paying special attention to the point below the ball of the foot in the center, about one-third the distance between the toes and heel.

Evening snack tips: If you choose to eat before bed, a light snack should consist of mostly carbohydrates with a small amount of protein. This combination increases the availability of tryptophan to the brain. Try eating a small bowl of low sugar oatmeal along with low fat milk. A sliced apple with a few slices of cheese can also do the trick. Avoid large amounts of protein before bed, it may keep you from falling into a sound sleep.

What does it mean to be healthy?  Health is a state of optimum physical functioning, spiritual enlightenment, social well-being, and mental aptitude.  True health is so much more than settling for mediocrity.  It’s not about living life just barely above the doldrums, or hoping against hope that you won’t get sick or that you’ll finally feel better.

Understand that your body was designed to be healthy and in balance.  This is your natural state.  If you are struggling with your health, you have most likely, throughout the course of living, allowed your body to get out of balance. Taking medicine to treat a symptom will never create balance within the body.  Acupuncture works with the body to return it to its natural state of balance so that it can heal from the inside out.  Don’t divert the smoke, put out the fire!

Do you have a hard time sleeping, concentrating, or get irritable with your loved ones? No matter what you’re being treated for with acupuncture relaxation is almost always a side effect! #AcupunctureForRelaxation

This picture shows a .25 acupuncture needle.  Which is on the larger end of the spectrum. We often use .14 needles.

Oriental Medicine can create change in any aspect of your life, from emotional balance to fertility. Five Element theory shows us how to right the imbalances that get us spinning off kilter. #Acupuncture

During the long days of summer, abundant sunshine and warm temperatures nurture the luxuriant growth and full maturation of plants. All around us gardens blossom and bear fruit. One of the ancient writings of Chinese medicine, the Inner Classic, suggests that this time of the year expresses the Yang principles—expansion, growth, outward activity, lightness and creativity.

The flowers and fruits of our gardens are bursting in abundance. Everything is maturing and at the high point of growth. This is also the time of year for us to be at a high point of our outdoor activities and recreation. It is important to understand that as the seasons flow within the natural world, they also flow within us.

During this time of year you may have more physical energy and feel the desire to garden, play sports, go hiking in the woods, or take long walks. Let the sun’s energy nourish and reinvigorate you. Rise early, stretch and reach toward the sun. Like the plants in your garden, let the bounty and warmth of the outside world enter and enliven you.

Whether we are aware of it or not, each season can have a profound influence upon our health and well-being. According to the ancient principles of Chinese medicine, our heart and small intestine are most active, alive and accessible to health, healing and development at this time of year. If we do not learn to flow with the changes, as nature does, illness can occur.