About

Dr. Swingston, Ph.D, L.Ac is the owner and founder of Eastside Family Acupuncture and is licensed by the State of California, as well as being nationally certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. In addition to her private practice, Dr. Swingston has been a faculty member at Dongguk University, as well as at her alma mater, Samra University of Oriental Medicine. She began her academic pursuits by completing a Pre-Med curriculum at Loyola University Chicago where she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University Honors Program with a B.S in Psychology. After graduating, she worked as a Research Technologist at the University of Chicago in the Departments of Drug Abuse Research and Anesthesiology/Critical Care, as well as conducting collaborative research with the Departments of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.

After several unsuccessful operations on a knee injury, Dr. Swingston found amazing rehabilitative results from yoga, Pilates and acupuncture and began to study all of the modalities intensively. As she healed herself, many people came to her for advice on healing their injuries, and so began her teaching career.

Dr. Swingston attended Pilates Teacher Training with Romana Kryzanowska from NYC and studied with Rael Isacowitz and Moira Stott as well. She completed a one-year Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training with Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, and in doing so, traveled to India with Gurmukh and Yogi Bhajan. Melissa also completed Hatha Yoga Teacher Training with the wonderful Erich Schiffmann and has attended many workshops with other great teachers such as Rodney Yee, David Life and Sharon Gannon. She is also a certified Qigong Instructor, having completed Level One training with Jeff Primack of the Supreme Science Qigong Center.

A Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance, Melissa formed her own business in 1996 and taught while putting herself through Samra University, where she graduated with a 4.0 GPA and earned an Award for Academic Excellence. Among other groups and individuals, she teaches Pilates and yoga to the staff of Children’s Hospital (LA) and specializes in neuromuscular re-education and rehabilitation. In addition to the training Dr. Swingston received at Samra, she has completed several post-graduate training programs, including programs for the treatment of acute and chronic pain such as The Balance Method by Dr. Richard Tan, which utilizes points away from the injured area to help reduce inflammation and encourage muscle relaxation via distal reflex connections. She completed a one-year advanced Acupuncture Orthopedics course with Don Lee, L.Ac, making her AOA Board Certified in Acupuncture Orthopedics. She has also studied advanced herbal prescription construction and has completed several training programs in the treatment of women’s health issues, including fertility and reproductive health.

Dr. Swingston was also active in promoting her profession by serving on the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’s Student Organization Council as a Regional Director as well as Co-Chair of the Media and Publication Committee. In serving so, she has written several articles for the Association’s professional online journal. Dr. Swingston earned a Ph.D in Oriental Medicine in June 2009. Her dissertation explored “The Treatment of Female Infertility due to Disorders of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Ovarian Axis,” which is one of her specialties along with treatment of pain syndromes, neuromuscular re-education and rehabilitation, pediatrics, and stress-related illness, such as digestive problems, depression, anxiety and insomnia. Dr. Swingston’s diverse educational background ensures that every patient receives the highly individualized treatment that is necessary for optimal health and she firmly believes that empowerment and education of the patient towards prevention and self-care is of the foremost importance in the healing process.

Dr. Swingston maintains office hours at a conveniently located clinic in the Silverlake area at In and Up Pilates, where she also accepts Pilates, Qigong and yoga students.

Contact her for your appointment today.