It is with much hesitation that I write this review. That is because I am not willing to share the great Dr. Mao. Truly what a healer! Sometimes the husband and I joke about how doctor Mao will recommend juicing and needles. But that would be simplifying it too much.
If you have a chronic issue, if you are fed up of going for repeat treatments: either allopathic or complimentary or alternative, if you cannot lose weight, if you are trying to conceive, if you need a healing friend who truly cares, please go to Dr. Mao.
And don't let the lack of English speaking skills of Dr. Mao fool you. In his own words, "my Chinese is better than your English". I laughed out loud then. But with that comment, I take him more seriously as a true-blue TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner and not just someone who has spent a few months learning acupuncture and opened shop. He is truly a wizard. Here is my story.
I suffered from heel spurs, (I call them hell-spurs) for a couple of years before I found doctor Mao. Because of the acute pain and its onset from various physical activities, my fitness regimen dwindled down and I put on nearly 15 lbs of weight during that time. Between my visits to other acupuncturists, Chinese massage places, steriod shots (that left me utterly limp for two months), heel support slings, yoga therapy, supplements like Acid-A-Cal, NO ONE, and NOTHING was able to help me with this. In the four months or so of starting a treatment plan with Dr. Mao I am so relieved of that pain, that I have been able to claim back activities like running/jogging, back from the forbidden closet!
What most people are unaware of is that Dr. Mao is also a great Chiropractor. He feels your body with swift feather touches and before you can blink, he's cracked something. What follows the momentary shock of crack and pain is a wave of relief and enlightenment: 'Oh! So THAT was the problem!!' Magic!
He teams with the sweet compassionate Dr. Ling Chi, and among her other skills is her focus on women's health. Then there is their masseuse the nimble angel Angela. With 12+ years of experience, she walks-all-over you - literally! And don't let that scare you, she is taller and heavier than me but I have not busted a single thing in my body in the 10+ sessions I have had with her. It is not pleasant but it heals and to me anyway - that is what counts. I can no longer imagine going to a fancy spa for a massage and deriving any satisfaction from it.
Dr. Mao has a long history of healing behind him. The clinic does not indulge in Western marketing gimmicks and maybe that is its drawback? I simply cannot imagine a better place. My sister has taken her 11 month infant to him and is now considering moving to the Bay Area simply for Dr. Mao. The little guy had flat head because of vaccum suction birthing and a severely pulled neck muscle. We just thought he was border-line colic, but one trip to Dr. Mao and gosh how that changed. He slept like an angel after we brought him home.
As far as pricing goes, I just do not understand some people. How can it be overcharge, when for around a $100, I get needles, adjustments, massage and sometimes even moxi and cupping?!
There is no other doctor in the world who'd say, 'why don't you and your family come over the weekend and we will all go for a walk over the hills?' Dr. Mao did this just so that I felt supported in an activity I was not familiar with!!! On a weekend!!! Any one else have a doctor that can hold a candle to him?!!!
Usually for nearly double the price, what one usually one gets is an uninterested, usually tardy, anti-biotic pushing, smirking and condescending doctor at traditional hospitals. Where is the comparison? Maybe some people just like to wait in the large waiting area, just to be taken to another smaller waiting area, only to see a clueless haughty MD (with capitals) who solves nothing in the 10 minutes they see you, for nearly $250!!! Hey, each one to their own, right?
As far as his personality goes, I find hard not to cackle at his jokes whenever I meet him. He is goofy, unassuming and kindly, with the austerity of a Zen monk, go figure! read more