Why Symptoms Come Last: How Acupuncture Reveals the Body's Innate Intelligence with Dr. Alan Chang

In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Sera sits down with Dr. Alan Chang to discuss how acupuncture really works.

Drawing from Chinese medicine, embryology, and decades of clinical experience, Dr. Alan shares how the body organizes itself long before symptoms appear. Together, they explore the meridian system as an energetic landscape, the five elements as living relationships within the body, and how modern metaphors like cellphones can help us understand invisible pathways of information and energy.

This conversation also moves into the emotional terrain of healing, unpacking how stress and unprocessed emotion can shape the body over time, why physical symptoms are often downstream of deeper patterns, and how practices like walking in morning light, visualization, and gentle awareness can help restore balance.

If you're curious about healing that feels grounded, human, and deeply respectful of the body's intelligence, this episode is for you.

BIO:

Dr. Alan Chang, L.Ac is a second generation acupuncturist, having taken over his father's practice 20 years ago in California.

Dr. Alan is gentle & intuitive; he quietly tunes in to what people need, picking up emotional causes behind what's causing physical symptoms. He can also identify daily lifestyle habits that greatly improve your vitality & wellbeing. Certified in the art of LOTUSWEI flower essences, Dr. Alan incorporates the bioenergetics of flowers into every single one of his treatments.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Dr. Alan shares what he learned from his father in practice. (2:06)

Dr. Alan explains acupuncture meridians by comparing the body to nature, where the five elements move like living systems rather than fixed parts. (4:41)

Using cellphones as a metaphor, Dr. Alan helps us understand how massive amounts of information can travel through pathways we can't see. (6:50)

The very first meridian to appear in the embryo, the Chong meridian, acts like a central organizing line for life as it begins to form. (9:30)

We explore what actually shapes the meridian system, from electromagnetic forces to the idea that the body has its own toroidal energy field. (10:42)

Our bodies are constantly exchanging energy with the world around us and health is really about learning how to stay in balance. (12:05)

Dr. Alan breaks down the five elements of Chinese medicine in a way that feels intuitive, grounded, and surprisingly practical. (13:44)

He explains how the earth element connects to the stomach and spleen. (14:34)

Worry and overthinking aren't just mental habits; they're deeply connected to the earth element and how the body processes stress. (16:25)

One of his most recommended practices for balance is refreshingly simple: go outside and take a walk, especially in the morning light. (18:47)

In Chinese medicine, the heart isn't just a pump, it's the center of an electromagnetic field that influences the entire body. (20:28)

Dr. Alan reflects on how unprocessed emotional stress, particularly in men, can quietly show up later as serious illness. (22:18)

Physical symptoms often come last; they're the body's way of signaling long-standing emotional or mental suppression. (24:36)

When people can't remember parts of their childhood, it can be a sign of how the nervous system learned to protect itself. (25:19)

He guides clients through a simple visualization, standing under a warm waterfall, to help the body feel safe enough to let go of stagnant energy. (26:34)

A gentle body scan becomes a way to notice what's being held, without forcing anything to change. (27:44)

Some of the most important information in healing never shows up on lab tests. (29:24)

Even a needle placed far from an organ can create change, because the body works as one connected system. (31:05)

Our energy fields are constantly overlapping with the people and environments around us; nothing about healing happens in isolation. (32:13)

Dr. Alan shares where to find him, his practice, and the community classes he offers. (33:17)

RESOURCES:

Work with Dr. Alan: https://sancenterphx.com/pages/alanchang

Learn more about Flower Essences: https://www.lotuswei.com/thevitalist (use code: thevitalist for 10% off)

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