Elizabeth Branon, LAc

Liz is the most talented, compassionate, and intuitive person I have ever met.
To be honest, I’ve been a skeptic of acupuncture for most of my life. During a really tough time in my life, a good friend of mine convinced me to give it a shot. I tried out a couple of people and still wasn’t completely convinced. Then I tried Liz after she was very highly recommended.
I came in with terrible TMJ, digestion problems, and some pretty heavy emotional obstacles. I noticed a miraculous immediate difference with all of these. Shortly after seeing her, I had a hand surgery that didn’t go very well and added that into the mix. I have been seeing Liz on a weekly basis for all of these things and I really don’t know what I would do without her. It is absolutely amazing what a difference the acupuncture has had on my hand, which is finally mobile and much less swollen. She is also always surprisingly spot on with any changes that have recently occurred in my life. Every time I leave her office, no matter what I went in with, I feel incredibly calm, relaxed, and pain free.
I really can’t talk this woman up enough. I feel like she has saved my life in so many ways and I really don’t think there is any health or emotional issue that she can’t tackle. Seeing her was the best decision I have ever made.

I started seeing Liz when I was 5 weeks pregnant, mainly to help with pregnancy-​related insomnia. As any pregnant (or once pregnant) woman knows, how your body feels during pregnancy changes almost daily with new «ailments» popping up as your pregnancy progresses. Acupuncture is one of THE best self-​care modalities that a soon-​to-​be mama can use and Liz literally kept me going and feeling pretty great throughout my 40 weeks (well, 39 in my case).
I worked long and busy hours desk jockey style throughout my pregnancy – often having to endure half-​day or even full-​day meetings, stressful interactions and intense deadlines. And my regular sessions with Liz in large part allowed me to continue this schedule, helped me sleep better at night, alleviated low back pain, and provided a myriad of other benefits. At times, I thought her to be magical – she would read my pulse and know what was going on with me before I even told her.
I know that had I not regularly seen Liz during my pregnancy, I very well may have fallen apart. Or maybe I would have had a more difficult labor (can you say 3 hours and out came the baby?). I certainly wouldn’t have been in such good spirits because the emotional support that she showed me – and continues postpartum –was like having my own therapist/​girlfriend/​older sister all rolled into a stellar practitioner. The amount of crying that I did on her table is slightly embarrassing, but Liz always welcomes me back.
Now that our son is here, I’ve brought him to have sessions with Liz, too. Babies are born with undeveloped digestive tracts, and it can take a while for their digestion to get regular and easy. Such was the case with our little one, and so I brought him to Liz when he was 5 weeks old to hopefully speed up the process and get our little guy in a better mood. She was so good and gentle with him and helped get his digestion on track – which did put him in a better mood. Believe me, a happier newborn makes for a happier everything!

I’ve held off on writing a review for Liz because I feel like I’m at a loss for vocabulary that does her justice. I came to her on a slew of stomach meds that at the least of which threatened «Parkinson’s like side effects» and at the worst of which, were blocking my calcium absorption which later would inevitably lead to osteoporosis. During my first consultation she spent 2 hours with me just going over my entire medical history and pieced together a complete story of what was going on with my body, something even my general practitioner that I’ve been with for almost 7 years has never taken the time to do. The craziest part every time I see her is when she takes my pulses and tells me things about my body that sometimes I’m not even aware of, «omg, YES, I have been having pain in my back, right side… how did you know?» I am now off all western meds (but on herbs and a monthly acupuncture schedule), feeling 100x better, sleeping at night (after a decade of battling insomnia) and feel like she has helped me to better understand my body, my health and what I need to do to stay this way. This is such a different approach than my experience with doctors throwing pills at me/​bandaids at the problem.
As a Unilocaler, here are some things you’ll want to know about her:
–She checks in with me (via email, which is awesome) even when I don’t see her, to see how I’m doing and feeling
–She’s worked with me and my finances to find a realistic treatment plan that’s doable on my budget; this doesn’t translate to «cheap», but if you stick to it, your health is worth it
–She is completely nonjudgmental, you can tell her ANYTHING (the first time I saw her was immediately following my return from Burning Man…)
–What she does is truly her calling and she does it because she cares about you, the patient; I find this to be the biggest selling point
–And she uses baby needles on me because I’m a big chicken. 2^nd biggest selling point ;)
–There’s a parking lot on Jackson between Polk and Van Ness. It’s like $ 7 flat rate; I normally park in there and it gives me time after to run some errands on Polk
Liz is awesome, I owe her my health. Thanks Liz!

Liz gets me through my weeks. My time on her table is THE most thoroughly relaxed I feel, equal only to a tropical vacation. I rest in a way that is deeper than sleep. Who knew acupuncture could be such an effective reset button? (Liz did.:)
She checks in with me physically and mentally each time to give me treatments that keep me healthy and balanced on both fronts.
Her gentle, well-​directed treatments are strengthening my lungs (if I’m gonna get sick, that’s where it occurs), she’s healed temporary issues (ladies’ issues, ankle and neck injuries, colds) and she *always* sends me back to my busy days more productive AND calmer (yes, those two things can coexist!).
I’m so grateful for her wiser-​than-​her years grounded presence. She is so knowledgeable, a true healer. I look forward to seeing her for many more years, when we are both healthy old ladies!

I had never had acupuncture before and while I am a strong believer in Eastern medicine, was not sure if it could help me in the ways I desired. After my first consultation — which seems more like a therapy session at first — Elizabeth drew lines between incidents in my life over the past few years I had never connected. Then she helped me see the problem I was manifesting and thought I had was actually very different then what I was manifesting. Western doctors had no answers other than go off the pill (for the spots I was seeing all over my upper lip and cheeks), which did not work after over a year, and try hormones (for my irregular periods). I saw Elizabeth for the first time in August and immediately felt comfortable. SInce i have had my period like cock work (knock on wood it continues) and my friends can’t help but notice when they see me that my spots are almost completely gone. I honestly could not be happier with the results — I keep having to remind myself that I’m not going to jinx it — acupuncture works. My experiences with needles have been nothing but good. She is a great listener and it is easy to tell how intelligent and educated she is in her profession. She responds to emails if you have questions about pretty much anything health/​body related between sessions. She works with you and your budget, being very up front about your goals vs your time with her vs your own day-​to-​day decisions. I would recommend her to anyone with an open mind, ready to get healthy.

Life changes drag us down. Some of us turn to social situations, booze, or just plain avoidance to numb the pain. But finding a healthy, balanced approach is the real trick to healing. This is what you can expect from Liz. She is the most professional, wonderful healer. She knows exactly how to calm your fears of tiny (I mean seriously itsy-​bitsy-​teenie-​weenie) needles and helps heal your pain — whether physical or mental. I am currently seeing her for both. I just scheduled my next visit!

As someone who is a cynic, I was skeptical about Acupuncture. Honestly, it’s changed my whole outlook on health and Liz’s approach was comforting. Every time I’d gone to a doctor before for my sleep, it was like they didn’t really care about doing anything but giving me a pill. This felt like I was dealing with someone who really cared about what was bothering me. Her treatment was super specific, and I can’t thank her enough for what she’s done for my sleep. Wonders so far. I absolutely recommend a visit!

Liz is a top notch acupuncturist.
Living with chronic pain for years has been relieved with a series of treatments!
Liz has made this Unilocaler a true believer.
Thank You!

Liz is a wonderful acupuncturist. She’s very caring, and spends the time to listen and hear what issues/​pain your having. She has professional technique and helps to create an atmosphere of peace and relaxation that is sometimes missing from other medical offices. I’ve had acupuncture before, both in SF and LA, and I would consider Liz to my favorite.

Liz is super great. I’d never had acupuncture before and found the whole experience to be both relaxing and quite enjoyable. Liz was very clear with what she was going to do, how she was going to do it, and what the purpose of her treatment was. I came out afterward feeling great and will most definitely be back.