YOUR ACUPUNCTURIST
Benjamin Hawes, DAcCHM, LAc, Dipl. OM
Dr. Benjamin Hawes, L.Ac
About
Dr. Hawes focuses his practice on aligning the body, soul, and mind to be greater than the sum of their parts. He works with clients through transformative work in multiple modalities including acupuncture, herbal medicine, craniosacral therapy, shamanism, and Zen meditation.
Dr. Hawes is the developer of the Backupuncture® system of distal acupuncture spinal realignment, which he has taught to other acupuncturists as an NCCAOM continuing education provider, and he has designed and taught courses in acupuncture at Colorado Chinese Medicine University.
Prior to studying traditional East Asian medicine, Dr. Hawes graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies with honors, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and winner of the Bishop McVickar Prize. He completed his master's degree at the New England School of Acupuncture and his Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine degree from the Pacific College of Health Sciences.
A long-time Zen meditator (and Dharma Teacher since 1998), Dr. Hawes has also apprenticed in shamanic medicine techniques with John Myerson, PhD. In addition, he completed an internship in Japanese acupuncture and has also studied orthopedic and sports medicine acupuncture, Kyojung Korean physical manipulation, Master Tung acupuncture, and Richard Tan’s Balance Method. He is currently enrolled in Naropa University’s Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies program.
In his spare time, Dr. Hawes is the host of The Liminauts podcast and writes about engaged Buddhism periodically on his Substack blog Dragging the Corpse. He enjoys writing, running, hiking, thinking, and having a great time with his wife and kids.
Dr. Hawes’ STORY
“I began my journey into the world of alternative medicine in college. I had chronic sinusitus and back pain and western biomedicine offered little but temporary relief. The antibiotics got stronger, the side-effects more unpleasant, and I couldn't believe that my body wasn't designed to get better.
So I sampled the world's healing traditions: Naturopathic, Ayurvedic, Tibetan, Homeopathic and more. But for me, in the end, it was Chinese medicine that gave me what I wanted — to feel better. I was impressed that it was based in a 2000 year-old written medical tradition, a body of meticulous scholarship longer than any in history. It impressed me so much, in fact, that I decided to make it my career.
Though I did my fair share of prescribing herbs when I opened my practice, I spent even more time doing acupuncture, and I became curious about what, exactly, was happening to the body to change it when I inserted needles. Since I was treating a lot of back and neck pain, I was most interested in what was changing in the spine. Through careful palpation of the spine, I realized that specific distal (non-local) points mapped to specific vertebrae; I found I could realign the spine through using these points to eliminate pain, improve range of motion, nerve function, and posture... and this became Backupuncture.
Finally, as a long-time Zen meditator and student of shamanic healing and energy work, I found myself able to perceive other more subtle sources of suffering in my patients. I found that Craniosacral Therapy offered me an avenue to address these old traumas, not only physical but psycho-emotional and even karmic hindrances. And in combination — acupuncture to clear the energy blockages and realign the structure, Craniosacral Therapy to dive deep into old patterns of holding and imbalance — I believe one can experience a revelatory recentering of the self in one's life and in the world.”
