 Photo by Jane Phillips - Danielle Hampton |
When
Danielle Hampton, 39, who is a doctor of Oriental medicine, practitioner of
the NeuroModulation Technique and the owner of the Eldorado Acupuncture and
Wellness, was a little girl, some of her earliest memories were spending
time in rehabilitation centers for the elderly. Her mother, Harriette Joffe,
who is an artist in Santa Fe, worked as a care giver and was one of the
forerunners of art therapy in the country. It is in this environment that
Hampton gained some very important insights about life.
"My first friends were 90 years old," Hampton said. "I remember the intense
emotions of gratitude these people would express with just the touch of my
hand in theirs. Often times that tiny gesture would bring tears to their
eyes."
One of her best friends was a man named Alec, who was 90 years old and a
diabetic. She would wheel him up and down the hallways and they'd share
stories.
"One day, I arrived in his room and he was missing a leg," Hampton said.
"When I asked him what had happened, he simply said, 'I didn't need that leg
anymore.'"
Later, Alec lost his other leg. His comment was the same, he didn't need
that leg anymore, either. Soon, Alec was gone.
"Although no one ever told me he died, I really missed him," Hampton said.
"My experiences with the elderly gave me a wider acceptance about what
normality means, a better understanding of humanness and afforded me a good
foundation in accepting all cycles of life," she said.
Life moved on for Hampton, who spent her summers in Montauk at the
easternmost tip of Long Island. Hampton enjoyed the calming effects of the
ocean at land's end, and the land itself was gentle rolling hills with steep
sand bluffs where the sound meets the sea.
The rest of the year, she and her family lived in New Jersey, where the pace
was a bit quicker.
She was accepted by Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art,
where she followed her mother's footsteps as an artist. The Cooper Union,
established in 1859, is the legacy of Peter Cooper and is the only private,
full-scholarship college in the United States dedicated exclusively to
preparing students for the professions of art, architecture and engineering.
About this time, Hampton began suffering from migraine headaches accompanied
by dizziness, blurred vision and vomiting. She went to several doctors and
took extensive tests, scans and medications with no luck. She then decided
to visit an acupuncturist in Montauk. After one treatment, Hampton never
suffered a migraine as severe again. This encounter with acupuncture would
remain in the back of Hampton's mind for many years.
After graduating from college, Hampton landed a graphic designer's dream
job, working as the director of a graphics company in New York City. The
life of attending the theater, eating in the most famous restaurants in the
world and visiting the vast array of museums, was countered by long and
tiring hours at the office.
With many awards of excellence and promotions under her belt, she was at the
top of her game. Then she began feeling unfulfilled.
She began pursuing the idea of changing careers into the health field. After
doing much research, she decided she would like to become a doctor of
Chinese Medicine and Santa Fe seemed to have one of the best colleges in the
country. Hampton put the International Institute of Chinese Medicine in the
back of her mind and continued working.
Shortly after making her decision to change jobs, she was reading a magazine
and the first page that she opened up to displayed an ad for the
International Institute of Chinese Medicine.
Fate began spinning its wheels and Hampton found herself in the middle of a
huge life change. She moved to Santa Fe in 1991, met her soulmate, Win, and
became a doctor of Oriental medicine.
"In my point of view, any organisms, including human beings, that are given
the proper choices will choose health over illness," Hampton said. "It is my
job to redirect the body to choose its birthright."
Today, Hampton helps her clients to choose their health lifestyles every day
through the use of traditional Chinese medicine and the NeuroModulation
Technique.
"Traditional Chinese medicine is the oldest continually practiced, literate
medicine in the world," she said. "Its written literature dates back 2,500
years, but the actual practice of this ancient holistic medicine is
undoubtedly much older."
Chinese medicine, she said, is not folk medicine "but an intricate and
precise system of health care, born from the efforts of China's brightest
minds to understand the secrets of the body."
Unlike Western medicine, which tends to treat solely on the basis of
physical symptoms, Chinese medicine considers the whole picture that
includes emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. She also looks at
mental outlook, sleep patterns, physical activities, digestion, cravings and
even a "sluggishness" of spirit.
In addition to finally feeling fulfilled, Hampton is grateful for her
7-year-old daughter, Sophia, and three stepsons. Today, spirituality and
meditation play an intricate part in her life. But one of her most cherished
lessons learned in this life is the knowledge that even if you are good at
something, it might not be your true calling.
"The bottom line is that I truly feel honored to do what I do," she said. "I
could have taken the easy route, but I listened to my soul and am far richer
in spirit than I could have ever known."
E-mail: danielledh@earthlink.net
