The Studio

One of the central tenets of the Poke Acupuncture project is that acupuncture is and has always been a form of political resistance.

From its revival by the Communist Party in China the 1950s, to the Black Panthers using it to treat heroin addiction in the Bronx in the 70s, to practitioners in the 90s using it to keep HIV patients out of the hospitals, acupuncture has always been a tool for marginalized populations to reclaim power and push back on dominant power structures.

As “popular wellness” has become increasingly white-washed and apolitically dim, wrapped in billowy yoga pants and “good vibes,” we envision acupuncture and its practitioners within a history of immigrants and social activists who faced generations of intense violence, stigmatization and legislative discrimination.

Our job is to hold the line. We are unwilling to overlook the racism and anti-empathy disgust at the heart of the current political administration’s doctrine, which panders to white supremacy at every opportunity, including co-signing the Proud Boys and the KKK. There is no “alternative medicine” without the people, traditions and wisdom of other cultures.

As a queer-owned and operated business, there is no version of the work we do that isn’t political for us.

To be well in a sick world is political. To offer softness and fragility in a world that prefers that you always be hard is political. To make space to slow down in a world that demands perpetually-increasing speed, volume and productivity is political.

People always want to know how acupuncture works. Maybe the point is to not know. To surrender to wonder and unknowingness in a culture that expects you to sleep with a pocket computer so you never break from digesting and concretizing information is political.

At Poke, acupuncture is how we fight back, and honor those who fought for us to do so.