navigate a life well-lived 

take control of your well-being; become the sovereign of your own body and life. develop true wealth by giving the gift of your own balanced offerings to the world.

i ca
n help you get there. as a healing guide, i developed a process to help you walk out of pain, whatever the sort: physical; emotional; vocational; spiritual; and into balance. i use a nature-based approach starting with a clear diagnosis of the issue you are struggling with, then guide you and equip you with a coordinated suite of taoist tools, including acupuncture therapies, herbal remedies, and qi-gong techniques.

yo
u can use this understanding and these tools to maintain energetic sovereignty and lead a life well-lived.

baylen sky

licensed acupuncturist; healing guide; herbal diplomat; tai chi instructor

 

a step on the path

this session gives you a chance to try out one of the many black turtle medicine modalities, such as full-body acupuncture, a custom herbal remedy, or qi gong exercises, all based on a personalized tongue and pulse assessment of your current energy state. this also includes preliminary guidance in the 8-ways model to help you adjust your energy back into balance and begin to take control of your own well-being.

$50


lay of the land

a thorough diagnostic and planning process is vital to the success of this journey. we will meet for 2 sessions, 2 hours each. in the first session we will take inventory of your current health landscape, your family history, prescription drugs, nutraceutical and herbal supplements, and your vision and goals for your body and life. i will also utilize taoist clinical medicine ‘lab-testing methods’ including pulse and tongue diagnosis. in the second session, you will receive a wholistic report of findings and together we will chart a course toward your own true center, balanced in your own energetic sovereignty, free from pain and full of well-being. you will be empowered with a suite of at-home tools and exercises that you can implement on your own, or you can move forward with one of the larger healing guide packages, in which case your lay of the land payment will be applied to the total cost.

$500


there are obstacles along the path in life’s journey. while it is often painful to face them, they lead to the true wealth of a life well-lived. what tools do you reach for when the going gets tough? and when we get serious about this living stuff, why would you not prepare for your life’s expedition as do the great explorers? i will partner with you as your healing guide, and be there to support you each step of the way. sessions will include what’s needed to address where you want to go, which may be acupuncture, custom herbal remedies, qi gong exercises, and other life practices.

 
 

healing sojourn

if you’d like a taste of healing guide sessions beyond your initial lay of the land diagnostic and planning process, this will include 3 weekly sessions, 2 hours each. this allows us to address any critical issues preventing you from getting back in the game, which might be all you need.

$1,500

the journey

let’s create true wealth: living your life masterfully, expressing your radiant energy balanced throughout all 8 domains of your life. i will walk the path with you as your healing guide, and you will gain not only the ‘fish’ of a balanced life free from pain, but also the pole, tackle, and knowledge of the best spots in the land to catch the big fish of well-being. we will meet for 9 weekly sessions, 2 hours each, after your initial lay of the land. you will graduate from this journey feeling confident in your ability to self-assess, with tools to course-correct, and prevent common wellness imbalances of modern life as they occur. you can use your newfound understanding and skillz to create and navigate a life well-lived. * most common package

$2,500

traveling companions

for ultimate longevity, this includes 1 full year of 4 walk the path journeys. each one will include a lay of the land to re-align and calibrate with where you’re at and where you want to go. your body, mind, and spirit will thank you for your persistent dedication to a life well-lived.

$7,500

 

navigate a life well-lived

schedule a 15-minute phone chat, let’s see if it’s a good fit for us to work together on your health

  • i heartily recommend baylen, he is a wonderful, thorough and caring provider who looks at peoples’ health issues through a holistic lens. he was really there for me through my own health emergency as well, making my pain so much more bearable and working to restore health to my underlying system as well. he is awesome!!

    — casey ellison

  • just wanted to say how much i appreciate your energy ... flexibility ... and love of tai chi. each week a different cast of characters comes ... you are able to go with the flow and help us with our energy and spirit. you are a very generous teacher!

    — abby colihan

  • meeting baylen gave me a new opportunity. long before the treatment, in conversation i felt clear that baylen is a healer and it was that knowing that prompted my immediate response to work with him. i invite as many people as possible to work with baylen and be gifted by his inner knowing and the light he brings to acupuncture.

    — sandra mennella

 

baylen sky

Lic. Ac., healing guide

i founded black turtle medicine in 2016 to bring taoist clinical medicine and the skills i gained as an acupuncturist into a whole-life guidance context. i was driven to find a remedy to the empty pursuits of modern cultures so i created a framework for designing a life well-lived. i am fascinated by how the diagnostic and healing processes easily translate at multiple levels of scale, spanning from individual treatment plans to complex business and community challenges. i’m passionate about offering guidance to others when crisis creates an opportunity to change course.

  • black turtle medicine is run by baylen sky, L.Ac. baylen’s undergraduate studies were in art which included dance/movement, calligraphy, and pottery. baylen holds a masters degree in acupuncture and traditional chinese medicine (MATCM) from yo-san university where he studied with the ni family as well as other teachers in the tradition of tao.

    baylen’s acupuncture teachers include douglas eisenstark, yue-ying li, david cohen and others who supervised his clinical practice for more than 4,000 hours of training before he gained his license to practice. additionally he is trained in tui-na (chinese therapeutic body-work) as well as thai style bodywork and watsu, among other healing touch therapies. his training includes the use of far infra-red heat therapies such as traditional mugwort cigar “moxibustion” therapies and others. along with acupuncture, baylen has been trained in pneumatic cupping and has studied percussive therapies with master free jazz drummer milford graves, as well as russell buddy helm.

    for NCCAOM certification, baylen completed over 2,500 hours of academic training in herbal medicine (including more than 1,000 clinical hours). he has been tested in the use of over 350 specific medicinals and more than 150 specific clinical remedy formulas. in addition to masters study at yo-san university, baylen self directed and completed a 4 year postgraduate ‘residency’ at three of los angeles’ premier integrative pharmacies where he learned to use common modern/western folk medicines including vitamins, supplements, nutraceuticals, homeopathic remedies and essentials oils in addition to TCM raw herbal medicines (“twigs, sticks and leaves”) prepared tinctures, and tea-pills in the contemporary practice of medicine.

    baylen’s formal tai chi practice grew out of modern dance and theater explorations at bennington college in 2000. at yo-san university in 2003 he began studying tai ji chuan intensively with seth leon (MATCM) and became proficient in 64 posture “harmony style yin-form” tai chi in 2005, and the additional 64 posture “harmony style yang-form” in 2007. he also studied dao-in “taoist-yoga” extensively at yo-san university. he is certified by the college of tao (COT) and master ni, mao-shing as an instructor of both forms.

    baylen began practicing with the i ching in 2001 and continues to use it for medical and personal divination with the guidance and oversight of master teacher kathy bousquet. his formal training in the i ching deepened at yo-san university where he studied with james tuggle who receive direct mentorship from master ni, hua-ching, the author of the book written directly into english titled: i ching, the book of changes and the unchanging truth, and dr. mao-shing ni who deepened baylen’s understanding of the i ching for medical use.

    baylen’s training in emotional process work began at the age of 8 at which point he began 8 years of immersive training in psycho-spiritual bonding therapy and emotional release techniques along with his mother guided by the reverend george rynick. george built on the lineage and work of dr. dan casriel who developed a vocal emotional release and bonding therapy as part of his work with people struggling with addiction. immersion in this work helped baylen develop an emotional intelligence and facility to interact and understand disease energy patterns in the body from a young age. this continues to inform his work in TCM to this day.

    baylen is ordained by the integral way society (IWS) as a power of constructive life coach. in 2016 he completed training in ear acupuncture detoxification protocol and holds a certificate from the national acupuncture detoxification association (NADA). he has also been initiated in reiki, as well as medical qi gong practices.

    baylen has developed his medical practice in various integrative settings in california, new york, and vermont. he works in collaboration with chiropractic care, massage, energy work, and western conventional allopathic medicine. he has deepened his practice by working closely with food systems and permaculture designers in new york and vermont. in 2016 baylen founded black turtle medicine.

    baylen is licensed as an ‘acupuncturist’ (L.Ac.) by the states of VT and CA. he holds national certifications in acupuncture, oriental medicine, and chinese herbology (NCCAOM).