About Dalton

My name is Dalton Meade L.Ac. EAMP, I am an acupuncturist in the West Seattle neighborhood.

My toolbox includes acupuncture, gentle cranial techniques, trigger point therapy, fire cupping, and gua sha.

My main focus is to provide deliberate, attentive and thoughtful care. To me this means many things, including treating your shoulder, and elbow pain so that you can play your favorite instrument; addressing headaches so that you can enjoy a comedy show; and clearing out trigger points in your neck and back so that you can happily tend to your garden.

My Experience:

• Seattle Institute of East Asian Medicine Graduate (License #61504037)

• Master’s Degree in Acupuncture & East Asian Medicine

• Dry Needling - DNC 1 Course Complete with Myopain Seminars

• Cranial Course 1 Complete with Engaging Vitality

• CNT, Clean Needle Technique Certified

Call me at 503.427.8089 with any questions you may have.

To book visit: hulihans.janeapp.com.

Dalton Meade L.Ac, EAMP

I draw on the palpation-based approach of Engaging Vitality (EV, engagingvitality.com) in my practice — a methodology developed by Dan Bensky, Chip Chace, and Marguerite Dinkins — that emphasizes listening with the hands before treatment. The EV framework teaches us how to “feel first, interpret second”: I begin by physically palpating the body to identify restrictions, rhythms, or changes in fluid/qi flow, without immediately imposing my bias or assumptions (engagingvitality.com).

Here’s how I incorporate it into your session:

• Palpation first: Upon your arrival, I’ll begin by lightly palpating key areas of your body (muscles, fascia, joints, channels) to sense how your tissues are presenting that day. These findings guide me toward where your body is communicating restriction, tension or imbalance. EV describes this as a way of perceiving the body beyond words — temperature changes, rhythms, shapes of qi, areas of restriction — all felt through the hands.

• Thorough interview: After palpation, I’ll sit down with you and ask detailed questions about your health picture: what brought you in, how you’ve been feeling lately, how other systems (sleep, stress, digestion, movement) are doing. By delaying detailed questioning until after I’ve felt the body, it reduce my own pre-conceptions and allows the body’s “map” to speak first. EV teaches that this order — feel → interpret — helps us work more with the body instead of imposing rigid, predetermined ideas.

• Integrative treatment: Based on what I’ve felt + what you tell me, we co-design a treatment. I may include trigger-point/manual palpation work to release tight muscles, then integrate traditional acupuncture, perhaps cupping or other adjuncts, to support tissue loosening, improved blood/qi flow, and longer-term balancing. The palpation feedback continues throughout the session: I check how tissues respond, adjust as needed, and follow the body’s cues. EV emphasizes the practitioner’s willingness to test hypotheses (“Does this model fit what I felt?”) and refine based on ongoing feedback.

• Outcome-oriented: Ultimately, what matters most is how you feel in your body over time, how your pain or tension changes, how your movement and function improve. While the palpation gives us immediate tactile information, the bigger picture is your long-term health, responsiveness, and how your body changes with care. The EV method supports this by training the clinician to monitor changes in qi/fluid/structure via palpation and treatment feedback rather than relying solely on verbal reports.

In simpler terms: I listen with my hands → engage with questions → and treat based on what we've found together → monitor how your body responds over time. Because your system is unique and dynamic, my goal is to stay present, pay attention to the tissues, and work with the body’s feedback loop.

What's my process?