Blog by Melissa and David Sokulski, L.Acs.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Birch Center 2017 Review

It was so nice seeing you at the Birch Center in 2017!

Birch Center acupuncturist David Sokulski continued seeing acupuncture clients both at our South Side office and in his new location in Gibsonia, at St. Barnabas Health Center (open to the public.)

It's fun to sit down together and review our year, highlighting some of the top moments. I hope you take the time to do it for your year as well! Here are some of this year's highlights we came up with:

fermented liquid

1. At the beginning of 2017, Dave and I went to Pittsburgh's Fermentation Festival at Spirit in Lawrenceville, where we took a workshop on making no knead sourdough bread, and hung out with friend Jenneta from Prescription Foods. We were inspired to bake delicious sourdough bread, make our own sauerkraut and kimchi, and brew bubbly kombucha throughout the year. Yum...and so good for you!

2. Spring arrived and Frick Park's Earth Day Celebration moved back to Beechwood Blvd for the unveiling of the NEW Environmental Center! It was an exciting day, and we found lots and lots of wild edibles, including dandelion, clover, burdock, chickweed, cleavers, violet, and so many more!
LOTUS temple

3. Birch Center acupuncturist Melissa Sokulski spent a weekend in June at the Satchidananda Ashram - Yogaville - meditating, writing, doing yoga, and nourishing herself with healthy, delicious, vegetarian food.

4. Birch Center acupuncturist David Sokulski continued providing acupuncture at Three Rivers Free Clinic for the People, which was mostly held at the Union Project the first Wednesday of each month, though sometimes the location moved around a bit.

5. David also had lots of speaking appearances and offered acupuncture demonstrations this year to people as diverse as Fed Ex employees to Duquesne nursing students.
prickly pear cactus

6. In September we traveled west, and we harvested and enjoyed fresh prickly pear fruit for the first time in Sedona, AZ! Yum!

7. We tried lots of vegan restaurants all around the country, from Maryland to Ohio to Nevada to Arizona! Some of the highlights were:


vegan foodAnd in Pittsburgh we tried some new vegan restaurants as well:

And our tried and true favorite brunch spot:




8. We were written about in newsletters and websites around Pittsburgh including St. Barnabas's Health Network and South Side Slopes summer newsletter (scroll to page 5 to find us!)

That's about it! We have big plans for 2018, including a YouTube channel promoting health and wellness. We hope you'll stay tuned.

Stay healthy this winter! 

Happy Holidays!

~ David and Melissa Sokulski
acupuncturists


photo credits: 
kombucha - pexels.com (free stock photos)
LOTUS (Light Of The Universal Shrine) Temple in Yogaville - Sokulski, 2017
prickly pear - Sokulski, 2017
vegan breakfast at Glory Doughnuts - Sokulski, 2017