“Peace, compassion, and well-being begin with ourselves. When we can reconcile with ourselves and embrace and transform our suffering, we are also taking care of the world.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Our team
Practitioner and Founder
Timothy (Teo) Potts, L.Ac
My journey towards health, both personally and professionally, began at a very young age. My great aunt was a curandera who passed on to her descendants some of her knowledge and wisdom to help keep the family healthy and whole. When I was twelve, my mother became a massage therapist. As she learned, she taught my sister and I how to listen to a body’s pain and guide it back towards wellness. Many times in my life, she has told me that in order to treat pain one must “touch the pain” instead of ignoring or avoiding it. These experiences laid the foundation that all the medical training to come would be laid upon.
As I followed my life’s path, I have been guided by a desire to feel whole, complete, happy and at peace. When I studied massage at the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, my mother’s teachings were deepened and integrated with the new things I learned. Years of intense study at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) equipped me with tools that allow me to see the depths of the human body, to see more clearly how imbalance deep within the body manifests and guides practitioner and patient toward wholeness, balance and health.
Since graduating from ACTCM in 2005, I had worked as an Herb Consultant for Mayway Corp, a family run business that has been importing and distributing Chinese herbs and herbal products for over 40 years. At Mayway, I had helped hundreds of practitioners around the country choose the right formula from among hundreds of formulas for their patients. Working in such close constant contact with herbs has developed my skills as an herbalist. It has shown me that I am part of a tradition of medicine that has been honed, polished and improved upon for thousands of years. When I practice acupuncture and herbal medicine, I rely not only on my skills, but the skill and experience of thousands of masters who have passed their wisdom and knowledge on to the practitioners of today.
The everyday process of keeping my children healthy and happy helps me to see very keenly that the balance of health and wholeness is most easily kept when it is an everyday practice. The sooner “dis”-ease is noticed and attended to, the less there is to be done to return the body to health. My experience as a father has taught me that close attention to the wellbeing of others is at the root of what it means to be a family. In Chinese, the word for family also means home. It is my deepest hope that my clinic will feel like a second home for my patients, a calm space where I will pay close attention to their wellbeing, empower them to find healing and peace within themselves, and help them to feel more whole than when they arrived.
Degrees/Education
Clinical Integration with Lonny Jarrett, L.Ac.
2 year post-graduate courseAmerican College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, San Francisco
Master of Science in Traditional Chinese MedicineThai Massage School Shivagakomarpag at the Old Medicine Hospital, Chang Mai, Thailand
– Certificate in Thai MassageAcupressure Institute, Berkeley
Certificate in Asian BodyworkUniversity of California Los Angeles, School of The Arts
Bachelor of Arts Degree
Clinical Experience
Private Practice since 2006
Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences since 2014
– Clinical Supervisor and InstructorHaight Asbury Free Clinic
-Community Acupuncture ClinicCalifornia Pacific Medical Center
-Integrative Stroke Rehabilitation FloorAmerican College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Community Clinic
Support Staff
Celine Barrica, L.Ac, CMT
Celine greets you at the door. She keeps the clinic running smoothly and is here to help you with scheduling, payment, and herb preparations, which allows Teo to be more focused on you and your visit!
She is also a licensed acupuncturist and certified massage therapist. She has been practicing medical massage with a focus in women’s health, elder care, and pain management for over 7 years. Celine has been mentored by Teo both in acupuncture school and through his clinic since 2016. She has recently received her license and began a practice of her own. She is offering acupuncture, massage, and combo treatment sessions outside of Teo’s normal office hours.