From Hockey to Healing: NESA Alum Brings an Athlete’s Perspective to Acupuncture Practice

However, being an athlete—particularly playing a contact sport at a competitive level—comes with risks. In high school, Moore suffered back-to-back concussions, taking her out of sports and school for six months. In college, she tore her meniscus and played on it for an entire season before getting it surgically repaired.

“I wish I knew more about acupuncture at the time because now I know it could’ve helped with the pain and helped me heal,” she said.

Today, Moore, MAOM ’22, is a licensed acupuncturist and owns Balancing Harmony Within, a private acupuncture practice she opened shortly after graduating from the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). She describes herself as a generalist, treating patients of all ages and medical concerns.

“It’s intimidating to open your own business, and I remember a time when I was really excited if I treated two patients in one day,” she said. “Now, I’ve treated as many as 15 people in a day. It’s fun to look back on the growth and see the progression of my practice.”

A Life-Changing Treatment

Acupuncture wasn’t originally part of Moore’s plan. She studied health science at Sacred Heart and planned to attend physician assistant school. After graduation, she worked as an EMT to gain experience but quickly realized this path wasn’t for her.

“It felt like a midlife crisis because it just wasn’t what I wanted to be doing,” she said. “I knew I had a more holistic approach to medicine. I wanted to treat the whole body, addressing emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being.”

While grappling with this revelation, Moore remembered an experience when she was 15 years old. She had shingles, and she needed relief from her symptoms. Her mom took her to acupuncture.

“I remember feeling better immediately after my first treatment,” Moore said. “After the second treatment, I was completely back to my normal activities. That stuck with me.”

Then, she found NESA. “I’m a homebody, so NESA was closest to home,” she said. “I immediately loved it and could just see myself being a student there.”

When classes started, Moore felt even more at home. “The first week of school, I met Dr. Stephen Cina, who was an acupuncturist for the Bruins. Not only am I a huge fan, but it was also a moment of realization that I could treat athletes. I could do whatever I wanted.”

Moore said techniques she learned in Dr. Cina’s courses, like orthopedic acupuncture, are the most influential in her current practice. “I look back at my notes from his classes, and I get great results using the points he taught us.”

From Athlete to Entrepreneur

Moore began her job search soon after graduating and came across a post on social media from a NESA alum who was looking for a practitioner to share office space with. It was in Middleton, close to her family and childhood home.

“I was living in Boston at the time, but I knew I wanted to move back north eventually,” she said. “If I was going to start a practice and set down roots, that’s where it was going to be.”

That alum, Heidi Hughett, made it clear to Moore that she wouldn’t be an employee; rather, she would need to start and operate her own business. For Moore, it was an ideal situation. She got to work immediately and opened Balancing Harmony Within in January 2023.

Being a business owner comes with its own responsibilities and time commitment, but Moore makes it a priority to spend most of her week seeing patients. She never aligned with the notion of specializing.

“I really enjoy treating a wide range of symptoms,” she said. “I could start my day seeing a fertility patient, then someone with lower back pain, then a kid, then treat someone with insomnia. The variety keeps my brain sharp.”

No matter how old they are or what concerns they have, Moore brings every patient into the healing process. “I love explaining to patients how acupuncture treats the whole body,” she said. “I want to know what’s happening in their body that’s preventing them from healing properly. Owning my own business, I have the autonomy to spend quality time with my patients. I think that plays a huge role in their recovery.”

Moore recently moved into a larger space just down the hall from where she started her practice. She also hired her first employee, another acupuncturist and fellow NESA alum. While owning a business has its challenges, Moore has used the skills that she learned playing competitive sports—leadership, dedication, and resilience—to make the life she always pictured for herself a reality.

“I can honestly say I love going to work, taking care of people, and seeing my patients get better.”