My name is Conner Kees. I am an acupuncturist, herbalist, intentional healer, blogger and podcaster in Western North Carolina. I own an acupuncture practice known to the community simply as Source.
My Journey
I obtained my Masters in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and Bachelors in Health Sciences from Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine, one of the highest ranking and most unique colleges for Chinese medicine in the country. In my training I learned the advanced system of pulse diagnosis known as Shen-Hammer Pulse Diagnosis, which is my primary tool for diagnosis in the clinic.
I obtained my B.S. in Psychology in 2013 from Columbus State University in my hometown of Columbus, GA. In 2014 I became a member of the American Herbalist Guild and in 2015 I became a Certified Western Medical Herbalist through Botanologos School of Herbal Studies in Clayton, GA.
I have been studying Western Herbalism and cultivating medicinal herbs since 2010. I have attended conferences on herbalism every year since 2014. That same year is also when I began my career in the healthfood industry, working with the public in achieving their wellness goals while navigating the often overwhelming variety of dietary supplements on the market. In 2011, I founded the Holistic Learning Community of Columbus, GA which is still an active part of the community in my hometown of Columbus. I am also a certified Permaculture Designer through Oregon State University as of 2014 and believe that getting dirt under your fingernails is an integral part of being truly healthy.
I have also worked as a freelance writer and writing tutor, and freelance graphic and web designer. I am also a musician, a meditator, and a cat dad.
My Approach
The more I work in the field of natural healing, the more I am reminded of one thing…
Good medicine is good medicine. – Thomas Easley
…But what makes good medicine?
Medicine is the art and science of striking a sustainable balance between an organism and the organism’s world when that balance is lost and when illness sets in.
Good medicine simply treats this balancing act as a priority, rather than forcing the body to the practitioner’s will. Natural medicine utilizes the seemingly forgotten notion that the body and mind will heal themselves if given the time, space, and proper materials. Our job as practitioners is simply to lead the way. Naturopaths call this the viz medicatrix naturae or “nature cure”.
My objective is to help my clients find the sweet spot that allows for optimal growth and for the body, mind, and spirit to rest, to heal, and to return to their true nature, which is wholeness. Finding this balance also means finding a balance between the finely-tuned complexities with which natural medicine is capable of looking at the body and with the innate trust in a practitioner’s healing intuition.
This also means finding balance between the seriousness required to work with clients at a deep level, while holding a space that is light, open, and fertile for the transformation we seek. This is the yin and yang of good medicine – the old and the new, the inner and the outer, the past and the future, and on and on.
This is the balance I seek to help my clients find in their lives. This balance is simultaneously simple and complex – but when we find it, we know. This balance is healing. Let us find this balance together at Source.
To see more of my writing that isn’t featured on this site, check out the blog.