Chase Hartley, a Licensed Acupuncturist and Herbalist, joined the Olo Acupuncture team earlier this month. We were lucky enough to be looking for a practitioner as he was preparing to move back to New York City, and he is now working a Community Acupuncture shift every Monday, as well as our Access Hours shift on Saturdays. 

Chase is a rare breed in the New York City acupuncture world, having been educated at the Daoist Traditions College Acupuncture Clinic in Asheville, North Carolina. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that this is a unique program that includes material many Licensed Acupuncturists seek out after they graduate. Having it built into one’s foundation as a practitioner is special. Below is a condensed version of a conversation we recently had to help introduce him at Olo. 

‍Hi Chase. Could you start by telling us how you were introduced to acupuncture?

So I got a Groupon for free acupuncture through a job that I had, and I actually didn't use it for five months. Eventually, I was like, I should get this. I'd love to get a massage, and if I'm lying on a table, it's gotta be similar. So I had acupuncture, and when it was over, I truly felt like a version of myself that I had never felt before, and it was like my stress was gone, and I had no more shoulder tension. It was a very typical magical first treatment. 

At the time, I was teaching Pilates, and I thought it would be kind of similar or within the lines of what I was already doing for work, and it encouraged me to investigate what the timeline would look like to go to school and do this as a job. And then COVID happened, and I was laid off.  And instead of being something that was going to be five to seven years down the line, I decided, why not do it now?

And you were in New York City at the time. How did you decide to go to school in North Carolina?

I grew up in North Carolina, so I thought, ' Let me investigate schools in the state,' and that snowballed into me attending. 


‍The education at the Daoist Traditions College in Asheville, North Carolina, is based on the teachings of Jeffrey Yuen, a renowned 88th Generation Daoist Priest. As someone who has looked at a lot of resumes and is also a fan of Jeffrey Yuen, I know that we do not get many applicants from your program in New York City, and I’m curious how you think of your training and how you think it differs from other programs.

I was really interested in more of an emotional centered approach, and the school’s focus is on a more esoteric approach to acupuncture and keeps the idea that most–if not all–disease comes from the heart. As a cerebral person, this standpoint really spoke to me, and I wanted to gain as much insight into treating others from that idea as I could. 

I would say my education gives a little more context and insight into additional layers of treatment strategies from a more emotions-related perspective. It was a little less “here’s how you treat back pain” and a little more “what type of emotional landscape is present ALONGSIDE the back pain.”

‍And how does this approach change your treatment or the patient's results?

I like to consider the patient's emotional landscape at the time of treatment, even if they haven't vocalized it. This includes addressing the chief complaint, but being super cognizant of what the patient doesn't know they necessarily need. Balancing the emotions has a positive impact on any other more acute sense of pain, anxiety, stress, etc, so this approach does half the work just by emotional regulation.

‍After your schooling, you moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, before returning to New York City, right?

My partner was born and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts, and we knew that once I finished school, we would move back to the northeast. We were on the fence about returning to New York immediately, so we took some time in Northampton, and it worked out well. I got a job teaching pilates and two jobs as an acupuncturist, so it was the right place and time, and it made sense. 

‍And now you are back in New York! 

Yes, we felt like ultimately our time in New York ended without us making a choice on our own. It felt like it kind of all happened so fast, and then all of a sudden we were gone. 

We both, over the course of the time that we haven't lived here, really missed the pace, the work ethic, the fire that's lit underneath people to get things done or attain their goals and go after what they want. In places like Asheville or Northampton, they are super beautiful, very relaxed environments, but not as much evident motivation, if that makes sense. 

So we wanted to come back and continue our more adult version. We both went to undergrad in the city, and so we had our formative years here. So it just feels like a 2.0, with this new work-related mindset as opposed to the “who am I as a person” mindset from the previous round. 

‍Are there certain patients or conditions that tend to find you more than others?

I have a special spot in my heart for those navigating menopause and perimenopausal transitions, as well as those dealing with anxiety and depression. However, no human condition is off-limits for me! Also, a lot of tinnitus has come my way as well, which is often learned as an elusive and somewhat mysterious condition, that I feel like I have a good grasp on treating now. 

‍What about joining the Olo team appealed to you?

At my previous Community Acupuncture job, it was a sliding scale from $35 to $70. So, that allowed a lot of different types of people to come in and receive treatment who couldn’t afford $200 an appointment, like at a private practice. 

Having that experience really lent itself, I would say, to my interest in that shift. We learn in school that this is the people's medicine, and that there shouldn't be this big barrier to entry, or there wasn't historically.

Community acupuncture, to me, is the personification of the saying “it takes a village.” When you’re in a like-minded community, you’re able to feel at ease and can more deeply relax. The accessibility that community acupuncture offers is unparalleled. And Olo not only has an aesthetically pleasing space, but the environment is one that exhibits an acceptance for whoever walks through the door without judgment. It’s palpable and powerful.

I just think it's so much nicer to be able to give to people that in other environments are unable to have access to it.
Having already had that experience, I really wanted to make sure that where I landed in New York, there was an opportunity for me to be in a clinic that was more accessible to a range of people. 

‍Thank you, Chase. We're so happy to have you on board.