Training programs
Teaching community health workers acupuncture, meditation and somatic release
“Offering acupuncture is like planting a seed of peace.”
Msr Rene Blanco, Vicar, Diocese of Cd Juarez, Mexico
"I used to just be a housewife. But now I am a health promoter. Now I can learn other things to improve on myself.
– Cecy, Barefoot Health Promoter, Cd Juarez, Mexico
Join us in Guatemala
Feb 8-15 2026
Roots and Bridges
A Weeklong Immersion into Grassroots Healing, Acupuncture, and Cultural Solidarity in Guatemala
Why train Community Health Workers in Acupuncture?
50% of the world lacks access to basic healthcare, and depend on local community workers for their healthcare. Our proven, step-by step curriculum, and hands-on training puts best practices in the hands of these essential workers. We teach them to offer basic, simple, and safe protocols for the most underserved people in their community.
our vision
A world where people have the tools and capacity to care for themselves and for their own communities.
What we do
We leverage the simplicity, safety and cost-effectiveness of acupuncture into community-based education for people of all socio-economic backgrounds, and specialized training for front-line healthcare workers.
communities we Train
We empower community health workers how to use acupuncture, meditation, somatic release, and other wellness tools for social and intrapersonal change, both during an immediate crisis, and for long-term community recovery.
”Without solidarity, the noblest of achievements will be washed away.
Paul Farmer
Stories about our students
What happens when everyday people can use acupuncture to build resilience in underserved communities in response to addiction, traums, poverty and violence
Resilience Building at the grassroots level
Communities facing poverty and violence face a challenging future as global disparities increase. We walk with groups to understand their needs, the local context and their local health traditions and systems. We work to identify social strengths, to build on local capacities, and to support their initiatives to take control of healthcare for their own people.
Coaching & consultation
FOR COMMUNITY WORKERS DEALING WITH
Burnout & compassion fatigue
Fear and insecurity
Vicarious trauma
Negative thinking
Being in a rut in how to discover the best version of you as a healer
Creative blocks
Being too much in your head with the people you are helping, and struggling to
Barriers within your organization to improve, cultivate and expand new “out of box” ideas
Grief and letting go
Loneliness and isolation
Stress and tension
Codependency patterns and the “savior” complex
what we teach
FAQ’s about our trainings for professionals and program development
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Nurses, doctors, and health promoters
Counselors, social workers, therapists
Indigenous healers and programs
First responders and humanitarian aid teams
Churches and Catholic Charity groups
Acupuncturists and Acupuncture Educators
Health coaches
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Safe, simple, and effective acupuncture protocols like NADA Ear acu, acudetox, Barefoot Acupuncture, and Liberation Acupuncture
Somatic release techniques like Trauma and Tension Release Exercises (TRE)
Trauma-informed meditation protocols for public health and correction settings
Customized capacity building for health promoters and programs
Cost-effective and sustainable models for acupuncture and other adjunctive care for additions and mental health
Creative embodiment tools like self-acupressure, ear seeds, tapping, and meditation for addictions and mental health care
Simple, safe and creative ways for health workers to support people coping pain and chronic illness
Acupuncture-based disaster response mobilization
Simple ways for first aid responders and humanitarian aid teams to cope with vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout
Heroic Coaching leadership, team-building, and personal development tools to optimize the potential of community workers
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Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most common and dependable medical therapies used in the world. It is by nature simple, safe and effective health care. Providers use thin, sterile, disposable pins inserted superficially into specific areas of thebody in order to help the body’s ability to heal itself. Over the three decades or so in which acupuncture has developed in the U.S.,it has been proven to be not only exceptionally safe, but statistically effective in an increasing body of scientific studies. - Andrew Wegman
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Acupuncture as “Barefoot” means ``feet`` on the ground. It means that people on the ground in a given place are able to offer care for their own community. Our model strives to make acupuncture as a preferential option for the poor. The Barefoot Doctor movement in China trained community health workers in rural and underserved areas, who offered care for millions of people, in regions where urban-trained doctors would not work. Over the past 50 years, a variety of global health programs have cultivated this model of training the people within addictions recovery and humanitarian aid and development. The Barefoot Acupuncture Movement draws on these projects, putting acupuncture into the hands of people on the front lines of justice and healing.
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TRE® (Trauma and Tension Release Exercises) is an innovative series of exercises that assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of stress, tension and trauma. The exercises safely activate a natural reflex mechanism of shaking or vibrating that releases muscular tension, calming down the nervous system. Crossroads teaches individuals as well as health providers and first responders how to do this, so they can incorporate into their program.
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Our meditation workshops are trauma-informed and crafted specifically for community health and prison projects. We can train staff and patients in stress and anger management skills to use as part of their daily work and lives. Skills taught are meditation, self acu-pressure, mindfulness, breathing exercises, and calming techniques.
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The NADA ear acupuncture (AKA acudetox) model is a training and therapy approach involving a standardized ear (auricular) acupuncture protocol used for various health conditions. As a capacity-building tool, this Barefoot model is taught to lay health workers and local personnel, provided as a barrier-free component of any community service or activity, and offered in a group setting. The model has been well-integrated within a variety of behavioral health and disaster relief settings, including hospitals, refugee camps, prisons, churches, protests and as part of non-violent resistance.
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Doing acupuncture in a group setting allows people to share the healing experience with others. Similar to how acupuncture is traditionally practiced in Asia, patients do not require patients to disrobe. Our advanced training program for community health workers teaches basic protocols that are used mostly in the legs, arms and head, a style known as distal acupuncture. We also make sure our clinics are either free, by donation only, or offered on a sliding scale.
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Moxa (also known as Moxibustion) is a proven, safe, cost-effective therapy used in traditional medicine by health professionals and health promoters worldwide, easily applied in any location with few resources. The dried and aged leaves of the plant mugwort (artemisia principii) are rolled into small strips. Tiny pieces of moxa the size of a half a grain of rice are applied to acupuncture points. This stimulates the acumoxa point with direct, specific heat (vs. using a needle).
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As part of our NADA ear acupuncture courses, we teach health providers, community health workers, parents, and teachers how to apply ear acupressure techniques for stress relief, focus and concentration, as well as food and drug cravings. These techniques are great for kids, and can also be used on both adults and children.
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The Barefoot Acupuncture Movement uses the NADA ear acupuncture (acudetox) model, offering mobile care anywhere people can sit. Settings like shelters and community centers, open to the public, can offer an ideal, barrier-free environment for anyone seeking care. Unlike a private acupuncture session, where the practitioner spends a lot of one-on-one time with the patient, the NADA protocol is performed quickly, in a group setting, and non-verbally. First responders and survivors sit in silence while the practitioner inserts the same points into each person’s two ears. The focus is on creating safe space for people to rest.