(Editor’s Note: Henry Buck is much more than one of New York City’s very best acupuncturists and healers. Henry is a kind and wise soul with a great sense of humor who possesses the knowledge and skill of a classical violinist. My older and wiser sister Jane, who knows all the best doctors in Manhattan, sent me to Henry at his relaxing UWS office when I had a frozen shoulder and could not lift my arm over my head. Henry healed me when no one else could. Henry is not only an amazing acupuncturist, but he’s also one of the best people I know)
Acupuncture offers a model for health by taking into consideration the human body as a complete system. By looking beyond the presenting symptoms such as headaches, the acupuncturist tries to decipher how the energy/ chi is flowing. What is the pattern and how is the energy stuck? Chi in its very nature has a tendency to spiral upward, therefore, we often feel our heads are spinning. To oversimplify the acupuncturist can put needles on the head to disperse the excess energy in the head and using distal points to bring down the energy.
One of the reasons why acupuncture is so popular and effective is this form of treatment does not have side effects as with most medications.I was a concert violinist by training but became disillusioned by the business end of it. I needed to find another way of communicating with people. As a violinist, I only needed to express the music but didn’t need to understand my audience which could be in the hundreds. In acupuncture not only do I have to master my skills but I certainly have to understand my audience of one.
In 1982 I enrolled in the Swedish Institute of Massage then further my education by graduating from the Tri-State Institute of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in Stamford, Conn in 1987. Because I was a professional violinist my first clients were musicians with the specialty of treating hand injuries. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was training to compete in marathons and actually participated in two New York City marathons and this sounds insane but I did the Empire State Building Run-Up in 1991 with the time of 16 minutes then trained all year to improve my time to 15 minutes for 80 floors the next year. My musical and athletic training led me to be more experienced with these types of injuries and how to treat them.
Presently my clientele is musicians and stress-related professionals. In my 39 years of practice, I had the privilege to have treated some of the most famous musicians in the world. Always taking into account their presenting symptoms and since we are mostly “type A” New Yorkers much of the session is devoted to de- stressing. We are all energetically depleted, especially in these times of COVID, social and political uncertainty. The mind affecting the body and the body affecting the mind. This is the nature of how our energy flows in all of us. This is the perfect time to take charge of our own health.
Henry Buck, L. Ac.
Licensed Acupuncturist
Contact inf: mobile 347-563-1108
email: hbuck@nyc.rr.com
Photographer: Jonas Gustavsson
