AcuDetox with Herbal Support
AcuDetox is a five-point auricular acupuncture protocol that gently invites the nervous system into balance. It supports detoxification, eases cravings, and offers a stilling sense of presence. It is a simple yet deeply effective offering of regulation and rest that meets the body, mind, and spirit where they are.
The protocol is designed with safety in mind, using points in the ear where blood vessels are minimal, and with inclusivity at heart, carrying very few contraindications.
A Lineage of Quiet Medicine
The roots of Acudetox trace back to 1973, when Hong Kong neurosurgeon Dr. H.L. Wen discovered that acupuncture used for post-operative pain relief also significantly reduced opiate withdrawal symptoms in his patients. From this accidental discovery, much research was carried out and a profoundly effective protocol was slowly shaped and deepened.
In the 1980s, Dr. Michael Smith of the Lincoln Recovery Center in New York developed the five-point protocol as it is practiced today and founded the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) to train community workers and recovery advocates in its use.
The story carried across the ocean to Ireland through Jim Byrne, a Dubliner who had spent time with Native American communities and felt the call to bring this work home. He introduced it to the inner city of Dublin, where communities were ravaged by addiction. Until his passing in 2002, Jim trained countless practitioners across the country, leaving behind a legacy rooted in compassion, access, and healing. Jim trained others quietly, devotedly, and continued the work until his passing in 2002. His legacy lives on in the hands and hearts of those he trained.
Though originally rooted in addiction recovery, the protocol is now widely used to support those navigating:
• Chronic stress and anxiety
• Grief, trauma, and PTSD
• Sleep disorders and fatigue
• Hormonal and immune imbalances
• Pain, tension, and recovery from illness
The ears, intimately connected with the vagus nerve, offer a potent gateway to the nervous system. The work is subtle, but deeply regulating.
Chi & Tea
As part of the original NADA approach, Dr. Smith introduced a simple herbal tea, “Sleepy Mix”, blended to ease withdrawal symptoms, soothe digestion, and encourage rest. So quietly medicinal is the brew, one recovery centre noted an increase in seizures when they ran out.
At AYP, I blend this tea by hand: six organic herbs, mixed in small batches and placed with healing intention into organic teabags. Every time I sit down to spend hours doing this, I smile at how non-sensical it seems in terms of business models and profit. I smile because I know it works. It’s a medicine-making ritual. It is as much medicinal for me as those who sip the warm, sensuous, earthy potion. The comfort these little bags bring never ceases to humble and amaze me. Indeed, everything is energy.
In these sessions or circles, the acupuncture is the Chi (or Qi), supporting the free flow of life force through the body, and the tea is, well… the Tea, an earth-offering, warm in the hands, grounding to the belly.
Chi & Tea is a space to soften,
to be met with presence,
to rest back into ourselves without needing to explain or perform,
to be ourselves together.
All your parts are welcome here.