Acupuncture Center

Dr. David Yoo has been involved in TCM for the past 10 years. He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Pre-Medicine Biology. Dr.Yoo received his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from Cleveland Chiropractic College in Kansas City, Missouri in 1996, where he also completed a certification in Acupuncture / Meridian Therapy in 1995. He continued his advanced acupuncture training with the American Society of Acupuncture (ASA) and is also afellow and Diplomat status in Acupuncture (Dipl.Ac.) with the International Academy of Medical Acupuncture (IAMA). Dr. Yoo attended Traditional Chinese Medical School at the Kansas College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Wichita, KS and also served a two-year apprenticeship under Dr. Han Xiong, Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Dr. Yoo studies Traditional Chinese Medicine daily and considers it not just his work, but his hobby and passion. Dr. Yoo lectures and holds seminars on all aspects of TCM to students and doctors across the Midwest. Dr. Yoo is in the Kansas City clinic on Monday, Thursday and Friday and in the Omaha clinic on Tuesday, Wednesday and every other Saturday.

Dr. Kim Yoo is a graduate of Cleveland Chiropractic College in Overland park, KS where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in human biology and a doctorate degree in chiropractic. She studied Traditional Chinese Medicine for 7 years under Dr. David Yoo and specializes in women’s health and wellness, peri-menopause, facial rejuvenation and pediatric TCM. Dr. “Kim” also holds informational lectures and seminars across the Midwest to fellow doctors and patients as well. Dr. Kim is in the Kansas City clinic on Monday, Thursday and Friday and in the Omaha clinic every other Tuesday and Wednesday.

In our Overland Park clinic, massage therapists John Polakovic, Susann Thompson and Rejane Davis bring expertise and continued healing to our family of patients. John is a 1997 graduate of the National Institute of Massotherapy in Akron, OH, and utilizes a variety of bodywork procedures specific for each patient’s condition. In addition to general massage, John incorporates the use of Neuromuscular/Myofascial, Fascial, Positional, Post-Isometric Muscular and Energy Release procedures. Certified in Travell/Simmons Timberlake Method of Somatic Release, Touch-Pro Institute Chair Massage, Upledger Cranial-Sacral, and Myoskeletal-Alignment Technique, he is able to address any condition with skill and wisdom which comes with treating over 2000 clients since 1997. In addition he is a Karuna Reiki Master and an instructor at the Massage Therapy training Institute in Kansas City, MO.

Susann Thompson is a graduate of MTTI, in Kansas City, MO. She specializes in Basic Swedish massage, Advanced Massage Techniques, Eastern Bodywork Techniques, Touch, Integrative Massage, Specialty Massage, Sports Massage, Wellness & Nutrition and is Certified First Degree Reiki.

MJ is both an esthetician and a massage therapist. She does deep tissue massage and cupping therapy as well as facials and waxing. Her massages are rough and tough so no sissy’s allowed. You might be sore during and/or after a massage from MJ but she will give your knots a run for their money. She treats by Newton’s 2nd law of physics - force equals mass times acceleration.

At the Overland Park Clinic Trish Elting teaches a style of yoga called Viniyoga. Viniyoga is known for its individualized approach. It’s safe and effective practices focus on the use of breath to guide movement, enliven the body, mind and spirit, and to build strength, flexibility and vitality. By approaching yoga as a unique journey for each individual, Trish will help you discover how yoga can be just right for you. Call for class dates and times.

Master Ichiba” has been practicing and instructing Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong for nearly 40 years. He teaches Martial Arts as well and instructed US army troops of special operations command and was a staff officer, UMSA in West Point, NY. A.O. Ichiba is a traditional martial arts instructor who has studied Japanese Shotokan karate, Kobudo “weapons,” and Yang styleTaichichuan. He is a member of the San Ten Karate Association(ISKA) and the Hana-Dai Ichi Karate Association. He represented the 1975 World Karate-Do Championship-U.S. Elimination at Los Angeles, California.

He is the founder of the Ichiba Taichichuan Association of the United States of America. In February 1997 he started training Yang style Taichichuan under the supervision of Dr. Linda Leng, a Traditional Chinese Medical Doctor. Dr. Leng studied Yang style Taichichuan while attending Chinese Medical School in Jiangxi Providence Medical Institute, China under her professor Chen Le. Ichiba, Sifu instructs at Kansas City Kansas Community College and Park University, Parkville, Missouri. He also instructed US Army Troops of Special Operations Command, members of the Kansas City Police force, YMCA’s in the greater Kansas City and The Center For Women’s Health, Shawnee Mission Medical Center, in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. He is currently in demand of instructing group seminars to various local organization and providing private lessons in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.

Robyn is from Nelson, New Zealand where she took her first yoga classes in 1975 as a way to escape the confines of boarding school! Since then yoga has been a part of her, providing a link to herself and to the spirit of her homeland, all land-where ever she is. Robyn completed her yoga teacher training with Susi Amendola of the Omaha Yoga and Bodywork Center, in 1994. She has taught yoga as “stress management” to heart patients in the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease at Immanuel Hospital. In 2002 she spent a year at home in New Zealand, where she was privileged to study Iyengar Yoga with Rosie Holland. She is Yoga Alliance Certified at the 200-hour level. Yoga has given her the freedom to hear the voice of the divine… She loves to share this path with others, using asana, breathwork, guided relaxation and meditation. Robin combines traditional Hatha yoga with Iyengar alignment principles and Vinyasa style flow-and specializes in adapting the practice to each individual’s needs and capabilities. She gives thanks to her teachers: Susi Amendola, Rosie Holland, Theresa Murphy, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Angela Farmer, her three teen children, her husband John and her students. (To register or for more info contact Robyn at 402.884.4767 or robnzsun@hotmail.com)

Marla received her Hatha Yoga Level 1-RYTT certification at the Shambhava School of Yoga, located in Rollinsville, Colorado. She is also certified with Yoga Alliance. Marla has practiced yoga for over fifteen years, with six years teaching experience. All levels of yoga students, from beginner to advanced, will find her class refreshing and restoring.

Cary began her journey as a Hatha Yoga instructor three years ago. She loves teaching this gentle Hatha style and thinks Yoga is the best way to stay young and healthy. She’s found that everyone can do Yoga and people do it because they love it.

Her goal is to help people enjoy and practice Yoga with enthusiasm, dedication and grace, and have a great time at it. Practice is always fun and casual, geared to the students’ needs and abilities. Observations, comments and questions are welcome during classes. Stress reduction and breath control feature largely in the learning process in which her students engage.

She’s very often told that her most solid strenth as a teacher lies in being able to guide people to a state of delicious relaxation.

When Heather’s husband was offered a job in Omaha she said she would move anywhere-as long as she could find a good acupuncturist. Starting as a patient she eventually came to work at the Acupuncture Center as that bright smiling face that greets all of our patients and that friendly helpful voice answering the telephone. Next to her wonderful husband Anthony, her shining star is her baby boy, Andrew. Her darling son Andrew was born in December 2007, and both Dr. David and Dr. Kim helped with all aspects of her pregnancy. Heather was delighted to have access to acupuncture during the whole process of becoming a mother-from prescribing an herb when she mentioned she wanted to conceive, to helping with back pain and fatigue during her pregnancy, and eventually helping to assist the post-partum hormone balance. As an advocate for holistic health, Heather is delighted to work in an atmosphere where health and happiness are the primary focus. Heather is also a freelance writer for Omaha Publications (The Encounter, Omaha Magazine, Her, B2B) and the Omaha World-Herald. Before moving to Omaha, Heather worked in marketing as a graphic designer for a theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Kelly Paxton is our evening receptionist/physician assistant at the Omaha Clinic. She is a Doula by profession and has assisted in more than 70 pregnancies and births in the past 5 years. A Doula is a professional labor assistant, offering physical, emotional and informed choice in the birthing process, preparing new parents for pre-delivery, delivery, and post-delivery and also assisting with personal adjustments and breastfeeding. For more information or to contact Kelly please e-mail her at doulakp2@cox.net. Kelly also works part-time as the director of Fun at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch and as the Kid’s Club Director at I-80 Speedway.

In our Overland Park office Ruthi Turner is the cheerful face you see and the happy voice you hear. Ruthi is our office manager, patient associate and physician assistant. Mother of four (one of which is Dr. Kim Yoo), grandmother of 15 and great-grandmother of 2 she is an excellent manager and patient care advocate.