Silver Spring Wellness
PHOTOS: Andrea Ceraso
Sabbath McLean is the doctor of Chinese medicine who’s opened Silver Spring Wellness at 72 Westchester Avenue in Pound Ridge. …The thing is, the attractive retail storefront, and even the name of the business, do not begin to reveal Sabbath’s credentials or experience, or the quality and scope of treatment and benefits that may be found within.
Sabbath is especially serene, and is gifted in the art of reading another person. She can immediately take a measure of posture, gate, hair and skin, breath, visual clarity, and a myriad of other clues as a key part of informing her diagnosis and treatment, but is just as quick to explain she’s practicing medicine, and that her Eastern or Chinese methods and practices are just as scientific as, and can often be a valuable alternative to, Western medicine. “I was born in Houston, and moved all around the South with my mom until I headed out on my own at 17. My mom worked for FedEx and got a raise each time we relocated, so we lived in about 15 different places and in almost every Southern State. I was new all the time and I got very good at observing people. Kids are adaptable, and I developed a real curiosity about people, and learned how to communicate and get along.”
“I got interested in sustainable development, and went to Appalachian State because they were one of only a couple of undergraduate schools offering a degree with that focus. During college, I worked for an organization involved in installing solar panels in underdeveloped parts of the world. I liked the feeling of helping people, but was dismayed with the way organizational short-term thinking could actually do long-term harm, and my own inability to make organizational change. I like having my own agency,” Sabbath continues. “I had a constant desire to move around, meet new people, and experience different languages and cultures and environments. I lived in New Orleans for a while, and I lived in Morocco for a bit - where I got to meet, and was influenced by, the ethnomusicologist composer Paul Bowles. Along the way I did a variety of things to make a living…I built toys for an architecture firm in Seattle, I sold sculpture and did antique repair, I even worked in a hair and makeup place that specialized in drag. …At some point I realized I wanted to go into medicine, but the way Western doctors are forced to practice in the United States seemed impersonal and transactional, and extreme and unhealthy for the practitioner. I wanted to help people in a more personal and holistic way, and have a practice that also allowed me to live a healthy lifestyle.”
“I guess you could say I ‘found myself’ in the Strand Book Store at 828 Broadway in Manhattan. They have a virtual library of old books and everyone is welcome to spend as long as they like reading inside the store. I was in there reading books about alternative medicine, and was impressed with the Eastern ways of taking little risk while being effective. I’d experienced acupuncture when I was 7, when I was suffering from a nervous stomach, and the treatment had worked - but I’d never really thought about that again. I found a book called The Web That Has No Weaver : Understanding Chinese Medicine, by Ted Kaptchuk, and got really excited learning about what and how much Chinese medicine could treat. Chinese medicine has been developed and passed down in writing over thousands of years, and takes advantage of herbs, acupuncture, cupping, massage, moxibustion, meditation, breathing, and diet, among other treatments. I fell in love with the holistic philosophy and practices in Chinese medicine,” Sabbath recalls. “I went back to school to study Chinese medicine. First at Emporer’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine in Santa Monica, and then, because they had an even better Chinese medicine department, at Pacific College of Health and Science in New York City. I started practicing as a Masters level Licensed Acupuncturist or LAC in 2007, and got my Doctorate of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine or ‘DAOM’ in 2016, also from Pacific College. I’m licensed as a Doctor of Chinese Medicine in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. “After 16 years of practice, I have a powerful working knowledge of a lot of disease patterns and treat a wide range of medical conditions,” Sabbath says with confidence.
“I met my husband, Carter Powers Mclean, who grew up in New Canaan, through an app,” Sabbath’s smile begins to beam. “He was my third try on the app. From his profile he might have been a ‘starving musician’, and he’s 7 years younger than I am and that gave me pause, but Carter was and is a very interesting and dynamic person, who’s a Drummer for The Lion King on Broadway and quite successful in his field. I was really intrigued by him by the end of the first date, and when he said he’d ‘like to see me again’ I figured he meant ‘he’d call between sometime and never’...but then he said ‘tomorrow’! We were engaged in a year, he convinced me to move to Ridgefield in 2011, and we were married in 2012. Although I have to admit that, at first, the quiet up here was a bit overwhelming, I’d grown to love life in the country - or at least our version of it. We have a recording studio in the house, and a 90 pound Lab and Golden Retriever mix, named Watson, and the pleasant routine of taking Mondays alone together for sleeping late and coffee in bed, and some gardening, and some quiet time together, and pretty much shutting-out everything else. But when Covid hit and Broadway shut down I started to rethink things, refocused on the idea that time is our most precious commodity, decided to cut the two-plus hours of commuting out of my daily schedule, and to open a new practice up here. When friends brought me to 72 Westchester Avenue, I just knew it was the right place. I’d been hanging out in Pound Ridge - reading at Booksy - and really liked the vibe of the town. And in response to my concern about finding a new clientele, my husband gave me the support that ‘they only have to meet you once’! …I opened in October 2022, and I’m still working on transitioning my Manhattan practice. I’ve had a very successful practice in New York for quite a long time now, as I was lucky enough to fall in with the Broadway community years before I ever met my husband, and things grew by word-of-mouth from there. But there’s a pressure to see up to 16 or even 20 patients a day and the commute is too much. So my goal is to work 4 days a week, exclusively at Silver Spring Wellness in Pound Ridge, and see a max of 10 patients a day. This is my happy place!”
The intake visit, for which Sabbath presently charges the ridiculously low fee of $175, is comprehensive - and immediately different from the intake process with any Western doctor. In advance of the initial meeting if possible, the patient completes a health profile and furnishes Sabbath with any and all test results and as much of the patient’s Western medical record as possible. Sabbath explains, “The length of the intake visit depends on what’s happening. I’m trying to take into account the entire universe of you. Specializing is a Western idea. I want your blood and stool tests, but I also need to understand everything about your digestion, how you sleep, move, work. I try to learn as much as I can from everything I can sense about a patient. Do you blink a lot, are you thirsty, tired, hot or cold?Different symptoms usually relate to a root problem that requires treatment. If you have an immune related issue, then I need to focus on your digestion, because there’s likely some connection. If you’re struggling with your weight, we have to understand what these challenges stem from, and address all the related issues. We may find an addiction to sugar - and come up with some alternatives, treatments, and changes in your pattern that are meant to address what’s driving the problem. There are several different kinds of arthritis and each requires its own treatment. The length of treatment for acute problems will depend on the extent of the ailment, and the sooner a patient comes to me following an injury, or the removal of a cast, the quicker and more effective I can be. But if I’m not making a difference in 4 to 6 sessions I’m going to refer you to someone else, and in most events there should be significant improvement, in pain reduction, increasing range of motion, improving digestion, and other acute issues, within 10 visits. For chronic problems I’ll see a patient as needed, and will monitor a patient’s herbal remedies on an ongoing basis. I will address anything that feels out of sorts and am happy to see patients of all ages.
“I have quite a few tools in the Chinese medicine toolbox.
We use hundreds of different herbs and compounds, still sourcing many direct from China, to treat all kinds of ailments and just to improve general wellness. There’s a mystical aspect to these herbs and compounds as many are used for a purpose that mimics their appearance or purpose in nature. As one example, we use fiber from the underside of bark on a certain tree to strengthen muscles and tendons in the body. But make no mistake, each and every herb and compound has been tested over thousands of years - and proven effective! It’s got a mystical aspect, but I’m no mystic. It’s tried and true science.
I use acupuncture - the insertion of antiseptic solid hair-thin filiform needles - to break down restrictions in the fascia and stimulate organs, nerves, skin, and the flow of energy in the body we call ‘Qi’. The body is wired like a spider web, with connecting pathways called meridians, which direct the flow of qi throughout the body. By stimulating certain meridians we can reduce inflammation, increase blood flow and mobility, decrease tension, increase energy and strength, and achieve numerous other benefits. Acupuncture puts the body into a theta brainwave state, when it can rest and heal.
Cupping, is the ancient practice of suctioning in order to bring blood to stimulate the skin and break-down subdural adhesions. I use cups that are heated by a flame in order to control the amount of suction in the cup. I use a technique called ‘sliding’ where the cup is continually moved and ‘still’ cups for a variety of health concerns, including asthma, bronchitis and the common cold. The practice is safe, and can have tremendous regenerative effects.
Moxibustion is the burning of the herb mugwort either on a needle, directly on the skin, in a Moxa box, or in a rolled cigar-like fashion. The heat from the herb can reduce swelling, warm the area of concern, increase circulation of Qi and blood, reduce cold and stagnation, help turn a breech baby, reduce swelling and bruising of an injury, relieve menstrual cramps, and increase overall circulation.
Tui Na or Chinese medical massage is a therapeutic massage used for a myriad of health problems.
Diet is critical. And while calories are often critical, there are a myriad of other aspects of each person’s nutrition and digestion which require attention. Things like what each person eats, when each person eats, how much water they drink, and how much soda, must all be taken into consideration. I do not believe in any extreme diets and, personally, choose to eat everything, in moderation.
Other Eastern Practices include meditation, yoga, pilates, and breathing exercises. While I make each a part of every day, I’m not an instructor of any. I do incorporate these practices in my wellness plans…and doing them, like changing one’s diet, is a part of the equation that’s up to the patient!
I work in conjunction with a patient’s Western medical treatment, not in opposition to it. I can not provide an alternative to chemotherapy or a cast for a broken bone. However, if the issue is pain management, digestion, tension, immune-related, or any and all things women's health, I’ll be looking for holistic treatment solutions. I do a lot of work with Western doctors and I’ve been invited to join several Western medical groups and, although I’ve not chosen to go that route, I believe that the integration of Eastern and Western medicine is profoundly beneficial for patients and for preventative medicine.”
“When I can make the time, I love to write. I write fiction, with no intention of ever publishing a novel or anything like that. I like the process, and it gives me a chance to consider the kaleidoscope of human experience that I encounter in my practice and in my daily life. I love to cook…and eat…and I’m good at both! If I taste something in a restaurant I can recreate it at home. We love to garden, and watch movies, and hike with our pup. And we love to travel. I still love meeting new and interesting and different people. …And, yes, I check out everyone’s posture, clarity, breath, and other characteristics when I first meet…I can’t help it!”
