Katherine Murphy R.Ac
Hello!
I’m Katherine (she/her) a queer, compassionate and often whimsical acupuncturist who makes her home and works on the unceded traditional territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋín̓əŋ speaking and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.
Currently completely in love with the magic of community acupuncture, I practice at Hemma Community Acupuncture.
My primary inspiration in my clinical practice comes from what your body has to say on every given day. One of my favourite parts of being a practitioner is listening to the unspoken language of the body. I uses mind's eye images, the felt sense of resonances and internal dialogue with your different tissue layers as some of my initial diagnostic tools. I have a strong channel based acupuncture approach, with a focus on restoring the health of tissues and structures along your channels.
In addition to the deep intuitive work that I do, my practice is informed through Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), on-going study in Neijing Nature Based Medicine (NNBM) through the Apricot Grove, and multidisciplinary bodywork study with Malcolm Clark. My background includes a decade of customer service and management working in restaurants; many years training capoeira and running competitive track and field; a lifetime of dancing and endless delighted hours in the kitchen.
I was born on Southern Vancouver Island on the unceded lands of the Lək̓ʷəŋín̓əŋ speaking peoples (Victoria.) My ancestors come from Ireland, England, Germany and the Norse lands. I now humbly make my home on W̱SÁNEĆ lands at the base of ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱, in the very special Mount Newton Valley.
I raise my own chickens, grow medicinal herbs, tend a hive of honey bees, and generally delight in the small pleasures of life. I am most grounded when my bare feet are connected to the earth, whether in the soil of the garden, on a shady forest path or in the saltiness of the ocean. My primary work in this lifetime is to re-weave, re-root and re-learn ancient ways of being. I do this through on-going relationship with my ancestors, plant allies, the weather, my animal kin and land-spirits.
I have immense gratitude for the many teachers and mentors in my life. The ones who have had the greatest influence on my style of practice are Malcolm Clark, Kristin Schnurr, Edward Neal, Aditti Holden, DJ Steel, and Micheal Hall. Equally important to who I am as a practitioner are Hayley Rosenberg and Natasha Richardson, who guided, supported and challenged me as needed throughout my time in their respective organizations. I also acknowledges and give thanks to the many wise ancestors who have come before me in this
lineage of Chinese Medicine as well as my own lineages of blood and bone.