Traditional Chinese Medicine
Acupuncture
Acupuncture at Selph spans traditional Chinese body acupuncture, gentle needle-free Toyohari, and cosmetic facial acupuncture. Our practitioners treat some of the most diverse health issues, from injury and structural pain to fertility, pregnancy, stress, sleep and skin.
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Holistic Approach To Treatment
Restoring the flow of qi.
Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese holistic treatment of pain and illness, where the practitioner diagnoses and addresses imbalances in a person’s internal energy tracks or acu-points, as a result of stresses or injury.
The discipline is based on the traditional Chinese philosophy that there are energetic channels that exist within the body. These channels run through internal organs and when blocked or distorted from injury or emotional stress the energy, or qi, cannot flow smoothly.
Think of a disruption to this energy as a tree that falls across a river. The tree must be removed for the river to flow smoothly again, just like the energy to all organs.
Directly Addressing Pain, Discomfort & Emotional Stresses
Acupuncture can assist with:
The Selph Acupuncturist addresses pain or discomfort by rebalancing the body’s energy, inserting sterilised needles into the meridian points to restore its internal channels. As those pathways clear, the energy calms and flows freely again.
Muscle & structural pain and injuryInsomniaHeadaches
Fertility / InfertilityPregnancyStress
Weight lossGut & nutritional issuesAnxiety
DepressionMenopause
Your acupuncturist begins with an in-depth consultation into your medical history and health concerns, then builds a personalised plan. Alongside treatment, this may include nutritional advice, lifestyle adjustments, exercises, herbal supplements and mindfulness techniques.
Acupuncture Modalities At Selph
Three lineages, one intention.
We offer several forms of Acupuncture, each grounded in the unique focus area, approach and lineage of the practitioner, so you can match the approach that feels right for your body and your goals.
01
Traditional Chinese Body Acupuncture
For structural pain, internal health and emotional balance. The classical approach, restoring the smooth flow of energy through the body’s meridians.
02
Toyohari Japanese Acupuncture
For highly sensitive, needle-light or needle-free support. A refined, gentle style that listens to the body’s response rather than strong physical sensation.
03
Cosmetic & Body Acupuncture
For skin health, hormonal balance and whole-body rejuvenation. Facial and full-body work in one integrated treatment.
Toyohari Japanese Acupuncture
A soft, spacious treatment.
Toyohari is a refined Japanese style of acupuncture that works with subtle, highly sensitive techniques to regulate the body’s energy. Often using non-insertive or very shallow needling with ultra-fine tools, Toyohari focuses on precision and listening to the body’s response. For many people it feels like a soft, spacious treatment that gradually settles the nervous system.
Particularly supportive for:
- Women’s health, menstrual pain, endometriosis, PCOS, fertility and menopause
- Pregnancy care, birth preparation and postnatal recovery
- Babies and children who need gentle, non-invasive treatment
- Needle-sensitive clients
- Fatigue, immune issues, allergies, eczema and asthma
- Stress-related tension, headaches or digestive complaints
Cosmetic & Combined Body Acupuncture
Skin and system, treated as one.
For those wanting to support both their skin and their overall health in one session, Cosmetic & Body Acupuncture offers a comprehensive 90 minute treatment with Hanh, combining facial acupuncture to stimulate collagen and support a lifted, radiant complexion, gentle facial gua sha, cupping and massage, and a full body acupuncture treatment tailored to your health concerns.
The focus is on treating the face as part of the whole system. While it targets fine lines, dullness and loss of tone, it also works on deeper drivers such as hormonal shifts, digestive health, stress, sleep and mood. If you’d like more detail, explore our Cosmetic Facial Acupuncture page.
Book A Consult With Hanh
Acupuncture For Pregnancy & Labour Induction
Targeted support, week by week.
We use acupuncture to target specific goals at each week during the final stages of pregnancy. Our acupuncturist Yu (Joseph) Zhang, known informally as the Pregnancy Inducer, has helped hundreds of women on their journey. The key goal, regardless of week, is to facilitate relaxation and calm as you welcome labour and birth.
From
Week 36
Birth preparation ideally begins around week 36, as the baby typically starts to engage. We lay the groundwork here, calming the nervous system and gently encouraging the body to prepare for the weeks ahead.
Week
37
Our focus shifts to supporting the hormonal changes of late pregnancy and softening the tissues, easing the body towards readiness while keeping you calm and relaxed.
Week
38
We use acupuncture to encourage cervical ripening, supporting the natural changes that prepare the cervix for birth, all while helping you stay settled and at ease.
Week
39
If the baby is still sitting high, we strongly promote engagement and tissue softening. If the baby is already engaged, we focus our attention on promoting cervical ripening.
Week
40
If the baby is engaged with a ripe cervix, we work to promote contractions. Otherwise we continue to strongly address cervical ripening, or the previous week’s targets, as needed.
Our key goal, regardless of week, is to facilitate relaxation and calm, as emotional wellbeing and preparedness is a big barrier to your body relaxing and welcoming labour and birth.
Book a Pregnancy Acupuncture Consult
Labour Induction
Allowing labour to progress naturally.
During those final moments of pregnancy, if the mother is close to or past her due date, and her contractions haven’t started, there’s often a reason why. Our Acupuncturists identify and address these reasons and then allow labour to progress naturally.
Acupuncture does not induce labour, it facilitates the body transitioning through stages if mother and baby are ready for birth. Acupuncture during this important time can support the body to relax enough for the mother and her body to be ready for the next step of birth. You can read more about our Labour Induction process and how Acupuncture can help in our Journal.
Acupuncture For Anxiety
A release valve for a stressed body.
Stress and anxiety show up in obvious and less obvious ways: poor focus, irritability, frustration, low energy, recurring pain, an inability to shift weight, and restless sleep. Left unreleased, it compounds. In each session we choose specific points to act as a release valve, decompressing and calming the body back to its baseline, the point where everything falls into flow.
Using the strategic meridian points, we stimulate the nervous system to release endorphins and serotonin, encouraging the body to self-heal and regulate its own imbalances. Acupuncture also improves circulation and takes the body out of fight-or-flight, where anxiety keeps the sympathetic nervous system switched on even when there is no real danger, and into the parasympathetic rest-and-relax state.
From there, easing tension and restoring inner balance becomes possible. The release of endorphins, your body’s natural painkiller, promotes relaxation and often brings other benefits like deeper sleep and steadier energy. Your practitioner treats the underlying cause as well as the symptoms, guiding better lifestyle choices along the way.
Collaborative Approach
Cohesive care across every discipline.
As with all treatments at Selph Health Studios, your Acupuncturist will be able to see and discuss your past and current treatments with any other of the Selph practitioners you are being treated by. This ensures that your treatments and wellness plan are both cohesive and collaborative across all disciplines.
Meet Selph Acupuncturists
Three practitioners, three lineages.
Yu Zhang (Joseph)
Acupuncturist / Herbalist / TCM
Joseph decided from a young age that he wanted to master the arts of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) after suffering a severe chronic illness at just 6 months of age. He was treated and cured of his illness by a TCM practitioner, which inspired his growth into the field in China and now in Australia.
Joseph obtained a bachelor degree of Health Science in TCM from Chengdu University TCM in 1994 and later became a nationally registered acupuncturist upon relocating to Australia in 2001. To compliment his treatments, Joseph went on to obtain a degree in Herbal dispensary.
With over 20 years of experience practicing in Sydney, he has developed a broad understanding of the treatment of illnesses and diseases from chronic coughs and insomnia, to menopause complications. Joseph believes in a holistic approach to treatment, and is accredited in massage which he is able to apply in consultations.
Louie Rachael
Acupuncturist / Herbalist / Toyohari / TCM
Louie is a gentle and intuitive Acupuncturist who practises Toyohari, a refined Japanese style of acupuncture that often uses non-insertive, needle-free techniques. This highly sensitive approach is particularly supportive for women during pregnancy, children, and anyone who is needle-sensitive, allowing treatments to be deeply effective while remaining comfortable.
She has a special focus on women’s and children’s health, treating menstrual and hormonal concerns such as endometriosis, PCOS, infertility and menopause, alongside pregnancy care, birth preparation and labour support. Louie also works closely with children and their families, helping with conditions including allergies, eczema, asthma, sleep and behavioural issues, with sessions that are gentle, playful and adapted to the child’s needs.
With a background as a dancer, Louie also enjoys supporting people with musculoskeletal injuries and pain, encouraging curiosity and movement as part of recovery and daily life. She holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences and a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Traditional Chinese Medicine from RMIT, with further postgraduate training in Toyohari in both Australia and Japan, and an internship at the Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China.
Hanh Le
Body & Cosmetic Acupuncturist / Herbalist / TCM
Hanh is a results focused practitioner who blends traditional Acupuncture with a modern, evidence-based approach. She works holistically, treating both the symptoms and underlying causes of illness by supporting the body’s natural ability to heal. She has a direct, attentive style with an ability to tailor treatments that balance the emotional, physical, and internal systems of the body.
Hanh has completed a Bachelor of Health Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the University of Technology Sydney, encompassing both Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. Her clinical approach is shaped by extensive hands-on experience, including internships at hospitals in Chengdu, China and Vietnam, where she learnt integrative models of care at the source of the traditional medicine.
Hanh specialises in cosmetic acupuncture, with the ability to offer natural, non-invasive anti-aging treatments that support both internal and external health. She has a further interest in treating digestive and metabolic health, fertility and hormonal support, stress, sleep (insomnia) and mood disorders, neurological issues, immune conditions, musculoskeletal and TMJ pain, and addiction and detox support. She is registered under the national Chinese Medicine registration scheme (AHPRA) and is a member of AACMA.
