Holistic Wellness in Pilsen, Chicago

Q: What if I need to cancel an appointment?

Please contact us by phone (312-291-8298) or email (info@sanctuaryhealthpilsen.com) at least 24 hours before the start of your appointment. We charge a $80 no show or late cancellation (less than 24 hours) fee, out of respect for our practitioners’ time that they have set aside to see you. Thank you for understanding.

Q: I'd like to hold a workshop at Sanctuary Health. Who should I contact?

Please send an email to info@sanctuaryhealthpilsen.com with proposed dates, details of the workshop, and your social media & website. We love hosting workshops and events and broadening our circle.

At Sanctuary Health, we offer functional medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, counseling, massage therapy, and yoga to restore balance to mind and body.

About us

Sanctuary Health is a holistic clinic and community space located in a historic building in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. In addition to our clinical services, we also offer classes, workshops, and events.

We accept insurance & FSA/HSA cards, offer community acupuncture, and are in network with the VA in order to increase access to care. All services are available in both Spanish and English.

We believe in patient-centered healthcare that is effective, accessible, and compassionate.

Our Services

Functional Medicine

Functional medicine is a data-driven, biology-based approach to health that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Similar to Traditional East Asian Medicine, functional medicine takes a holistic approach to diagnosis and treatment, considering aspects of an individual’s past and current medical history, socioeconomic status, and other determinants of health—this information is considered alongside data gathered from comprehensive diagnostic testing to create a unique life-style, nutritional, and nutraceutical treatment plan for each patient.

Functional medicine may be supportive in the treatment of a variety of conditions, such as metabolic and/or endocrine disorders, headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, immune disorders, anxiety, depression, menstrual issues and infertility, and more.

At the next visit—the review of findings—the patient and provider will go over laboratory test results and treatment options. This visit typically lasts 30-60 minutes, in-office or via telemedicine.

Follow-up appointments to discuss patient progress and make any needed modifications to the treatment plan are recommended every 3 to 4 weeks. These appointments typically last 30-60 minutes, in-office or via telemedicine. Acupuncture may be included as part of in-person visits.

Chiropractic

At an initial chiropractic visit, patients will complete a full medical history and thorough physical exam before receiving safe, gentle chiropractic manipulation to restore proper joint mobility and pain-free movement. During the adjustment, a quick, direct force is applied to the affected joint. Patients may hear popping or cracking or feel movement at the joint.

Issues with lack of proper motion in the back, neck, pelvis, hips, or other joints are behind many musculoskeletal problems. Chiropractic care can benefit many conditions, including but not limited to: back pain, neck pain, headaches, sciatica, joint pain, sports injuries, herniated discs, arthritis, and pregnancy-related aches and pains.

At follow-up visits, patients will complete a short, problem focused physical exam before receiving their adjustment.

Acupuncture

In an acupuncture session, patients complete a full medical intake and may be treated for a variety of conditions, including back pain, headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, allergies, anxiety, depression, menstrual issues, infertility, hypertension, circulatory disorders, and more. Acupuncture addresses disharmonies and gently brings the body into a state of balance, increasing vitality and improving the body’s ability to heal itself.

Private acupuncture sessions may also include adjunct therapies such as cupping, nutritional counseling, herbal formulas, vitamins & supplements, moxibustion, guasha, and TDP heat lamps. At your first session, we will design your individualized treatment plan.

Massage Therapy

Whether from posture, injuries, or emotional trauma, our muscles and fascia hold patterns. Manipulating soft tissue helps us release these patterns and live with more comfort and ease.

Treatments are individualized and can vary from clinical trigger point therapy and muscular rehabilitation to sessions that focus more on nourishing and grounding, incorporating medical massage techniques and acupressure to reduce anxiety and increase relaxation. While many sessions focus on pain relief and optimizing physical function, we also believe in the simple healing power of touch to promote ease and comfort. Sessions may also include cupping, guasha, or floor-based Shiatsu-style bodywork.

Cupping

Cupping uses a vasopneumatic device to improve circulation, decrease back pain, remove toxins, and improve lung function. The suction pulls fascia away from the bone and helps to break up knots by flushing the area with fresh blood to repair and relieve inflammation in sore, stiff, or stagnant areas. Cupping may be included in any private acupuncture treatment, or be booked as a standalone treatment.

Herbal medicine

Herbs help to bring the body into balance. In creating your herbal formula, we will consider your medical history, physical symptoms, constitution, as well as any supplements or medications you may already be taking, and create an individualized treatment for you. Unlike many pharmaceutical drugs, herbal formulas are meant to be taken either short-term or long-term, but never forever; they correct patterns of imbalance, and once the pattern is resolved, you no longer need the formula.

Herbal consults can occur during a private acupuncture appointment for no additional charge, and your formula will be prepared while you receive your acupuncture treatment.

Microneedling

The skin is the largest organ of your body and reflects your whole body’s health. You can support a healthy aging process with microneedling treatments.

Microneedling is a non-invasive method that stimulates your skin’s natural healing abilities by boosting collagen and elastin production. The end result is smooth, firm, even-toned, and bright skin tone as well as reduced size of scars, pores and wrinkles.

Consider 3-6 treatment sessions about every month for maximum benefit or up to 8 sessions for harder to treat issues like deep scarring.

Yoga

Perinatal Yoga (Mondays at 6:30 PM) is a gentle, supportive yoga class designed for expectant and new birthing parents at any stage of pregnancy or postpartum recovery. With Natalie Pulvino.

Restorative Yoga (Tuesdays at 7 PM) is a relaxing, yin-focused class that guides students to listen to the sensations, signals, and messages of their bodies. With Jean Edrada.

Mindful Vinyasa (Saturdays at 11:30 AM) is a balanced and energetic class. Students can expect to be affirmed, challenged, encouraged, and relaxed. With Gayatri Sanku.

All levels welcome. $15

Please reserve your spot online, but walk-ins are accepted, space allowing.

Meet Our Practitioners

Functional Medicine

Doctor of Chiropractic & Acupuncture

Dr. Tulia Rubero is a licensed chiropractor and board-certified chiropractic acupuncturist. She received her Doctor of Chiropractic at National University of Health Sciences; she also holds a Master of Science from Pacific College of Health and Science and has completed coursework in Functional Medicine through the Institute for Functional Medicine.

Dr. Tulia has worked as a doula/birth-worker and lactation counselor, focusing primarily on postpartum care. Dr. Tulia’s functional medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, and birth/postpartum support training and experience come together to inform her style of practice, which is gentle, non-judgmental, and patient-centered.
Dr. Tulia specializes in the treatment of gastrointestinal issues, hormonal/menstrual and fertility issues, metabolic and endocrine issues, and musculoskeletal issues. Dr. Tulia believes in the body’s ability to heal itself and hopes to serve humbly as a facilitator for that healing process.

Tulia Rubero

Office Manager

Meet Ashley, our enthusiastic and compassionate office manager embarking on an exciting
journey at Sanctuary Health. With a background in non-profits, public relations, and
customer service, she brings a unique blend of interpersonal skills and a passion for
making a positive impact on people’s lives. Ashley is eager to contribute her expertise to
Sanctuary Health. As a dedicated advocate for health and wellness, she looks forward to
creating meaningful connections with our patients and fostering a nurturing environment
that supports everyone’s healing journey.

Ashley Wright

Samara has her Doctorate in Integrative Healthcare from Pacific College of Health and Science, her Masters in Public Health in Epidemiology & Biostatistics from UIC, and her Masters of Science from Southwest Acupuncture College. In her time as president of the Illinois Society of Acupuncturists, she worked legislatively to increase access to integrative and preventive medicine.

Samara thanks everyone who has given their time, care, and support over the years to make Sanctuary Health such an incredibly special place.

Samara Reigh

Doctor of Chiropractic

Dr. Doris Fregoso (DC) is a licensed chiropractor and is certified in acupuncture and functional medicine. She received her doctorate of chiropractic at National University of Health Sciences in 2010.

Dr. Doris has also studied naturopathic medicine, botanical medicine, and nutrition. She currently is the owner of Jade Orchid Wellness, a chiropractic and holistic care facility 23 miles west of the city of Chicago.

Dr. Doris specializes in the treatment of hip dysfunction, headaches, ringing in the ears, sinus infections, long COVID, fertility, disc herniations, spinal degenerations, knee pain, shoulder dysfunctions, and other musculoskeletal issues. Dr Doris has treated a variety of patients, from infants to children to adults and senior citizens. She has a nurturing, patient-centered, and educational approach, and believes that movement is life.

Doris Fregoso

Licensed Massage Therapist

Veronica is a licensed massage therapist and Reiki practitioner. She graduated from The New School of Massage in 2012 and is also in the last year of her Master’s program for counseling, specializing in clinical mental health.

Veronica has a deep understanding of the power of touch and its impact on healing physical, emotional, social, and trauma-related stressors. She takes an inter-sectional approach to bodywork and is committed to helping individuals across diverse communities reclaim wellness as their right by utilizing body-based somatic practice, body acceptance, and mindfulness. Veronica believes in intentional therapeutic restoration to promote one’s own healing.

Veronica Rivera

Yoga Instructor

Jean has been practicing Yoga since 2009 and received her 200-hr RYT in 2014. She has taken other trainings including Trauma-Informed Mindfulness and Yoga Nidra and has taught students from ages 2-72. Jean believes that we are all our own best teachers and invites each person to focus within to cultivate body awareness, build strength and find flexibility in body, mind and spirit.

Jean guides with a light-hearted, playful approach and always uses inclusive, invitational language so that each person can listen to their inner voice. Jean’s mission is to create supportive opportunities to explore the internal world and for all expressions of life to have equitable access to resources and spaces for healing.

Jean Edrada

Licensed Acupuncturist

Terri Peaslee is a board certified acupuncturist and herbal practitioner, and received her degree from Pacific College of Health and Science. She started her career by volunteering in Nepal, where she treated patients with varying ailments from pain management to post-stroke care. Terri considers herself to be a general practitioner, while having a passion for digestive and reproductive health.

Terri views healing as both a physical, mental, and emotional process. Her goal is to improve the health of her patients through acupuncture, herbs, diet, and lifestyle choices that support lasting change. Terri supports her patients in finding a balance that works for them, allowing patients to live a richer and more fulfilling life.

Terri Peaslee

Licensed Massage Therapist

Jennifer is a lifelong student of the human form. At The Soma Institute, she acquired a knowledge base that includes myofascial release, lymphatic drainage, and soft tissue manipulation. On the Caribbean Island of Dominica, she studied how the crucial time from conception to weaning affects a child’s subsequent growth and development. In her time living in the rainforest there, she learned traditional ways of living and natural curative methods. Jennifer approaches musculoskeletal therapy as a way to facilitate healing of the body and repairing of the body-mind-spirit connection.

Jennifer Stewart

Yoga Instructor

Gayatri is an RYT-200 certified yoga teacher and an MD-PhD candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago. With training in trauma-informed yoga, mindfulness, and yoga as a Hindu religious practice, their teaching aims to create space for alignment and inner transformation. They are deeply interested in integrative medicine and applying interoception into exploring the mind-body connection as a pathway to healing.

Gayatri Sanku

Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Jada Banko is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, a board-certified acupuncturist and herbalist, and a Diplomate in Canonical Chinese Medicine. As a healthcare provider committed to a holistic and integrative approach to medicine,
Jada works closely with each patient to best understand the underlying causes of their symptoms. She strives to educate her patients in self-empowerment and healing while working with them collaboratively to find a path that works best for them. Through acupuncture, nutritional guidance, herbal medicine, and various other lifestyle modifications, Jada works with her patients to achieve balance, well-being, and their optimal health.

Jada received her doctorate in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine at Pacific College of Health and Science in
Chicago.

Jada’s practice involves treatment for a wide range of health conditions including, but not limited to:
-stress
-headaches
-allergies
-digestive disorders
-skin conditions
-orthopedic injuries
-women’s health
-anxiety
-depression
-autoimmune conditions
-insomnia
-pain management

Jada Banko Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Licensed Massage Therapist

Jasmine is a licensed massage therapist and body worker. She graduated from Pacific College of Health and Science and is also completing her Health and Wellness Coaching certification with The Soma Institute.

Jasmine wholeheartedly believes in the healing power of touch and seeks to connect her patients to the deepest, most beautiful parts of themselves by listening to both their physical and spiritual needs.

Her approach to bodywork is all about helping clients learn how to listen to and understand their bodies’ needs in the present moment. She is trained in multiple modalities, including tui na, gua sha, cupping, hot stone massage, and deep tissue massage.

Jasmine Traylor

Yoga Instructor

Natalie is passionate about maternal health and wellbeing. With a Master’s in Public Health and years of multidisciplinary work, Natalie utilizes both holistically-driven and evidence-based strategies to care for pregnant and postpartum individuals. She has been teaching yoga in both group and private settings for over 5 years, and specializes in prenatal and postpartum practices. Her approach provides her students an opportunity to explore their wellbeing during classes. Natalie’s Prenatal Yoga class is a blend of both strengthening and resting to restore balance to the body and mind.

Natalie Pulvino

Gallery

FAQ

Will my insurance cover your services?

We can run your insurance benefits and find out! We accept BCBS PPO for acupuncture, chiropractic, and functional medicine. We always accept HSA & FSA cards for any treatment at the clinic, as well as for herbs and supplements.

We are also in network with the VA, and veterans receive 12 free acupuncture treatments with a referral from their VA primary care provider.

If you’d like us to run your insurance benefits, please write to us on the contact form below. Please include:

-Your name and date of birth

-Type of insurance (BCBS)

-Your member ID # and group #

-The customer service phone number on the back of your card

-If you are not the primary policyholder, their name, date of birth, & relation to you

Always feel free to reach out to us with any questions! We look forward to meeting you soon.

What is functional medicine?

Functional medicine is a data-driven, biology-based approach to health that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Functional medicine takes a holistic approach to diagnosis and treatment, considering aspects of an individual’s past and current medical history, socioeconomic status, and other determinants of health—this information is considered alongside data gathered from comprehensive diagnostic testing to create a unique life-style, nutritional, and nutraceutical treatment plan for each patient.

Prior to an initial functional medicine visit, patients will be asked to complete an in-depth medical systems questionnaire. At the initial visit, patients complete a full medical intake and physical and any necessary diagnostic testing will be ordered. Once the results are received and analyzed, a variety of treatment strategies may be recommended, including herbal medicine, nutritional supplements, acupuncture, and lifestyle modifications, among others.

How does acupuncture work?

Acupuncture improves the body’s functions and self-healing capabilities by stimulating specific anatomical sites, known as acupuncture points. Modern research has demonstrated acupuncture’s effect on the nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, digestive system, and cardiovascular system. Acupuncture has been found to release various neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, as well as to modulate chemicals that influence pain.

By stimulating, regulating, and harmonizing the various systems of the body, acupuncture can resolve pain and injuries, improve sleep, mood, menstrual cycles, and digestion, and instill an overall sense of well-being.

Acupuncture is well-known for its effectiveness at treating pain. Many patients come in for neck pain, back pain, headaches, migraines, joint pain, and injuries. However, acupuncture is a complete medicine, and can treat a great variety of other conditions as well, including allergies, anxiety, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems, menstrual issues, infertility, and more.

Acupuncture may also be used as preventive medicine, for overall health maintenance, regulation, and disease prevention. You don’t need to have a specific complaint or issue to use acupuncture medicine.

How often should I come for treatments?

At your first acupuncture or chiropractic visit, we’ll do a complete medical intake, have a session, and recommend a course of treatment depending on your individual conditions and concerns. Injuries and more severe conditions require more frequent visits until the condition stabilizes, at which point we decrease the frequency of the treatments.

Many people feel they benefit from weekly acupuncture treatments or chiropractic adjustments to deal with different issues as they come up (one week it may be anxiety, the next seasonal allergies, the next upper back pain) and to have a peaceful weekly ritual.

How should I prepare?

It is ideal to wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothes, but we can always work around whatever you are wearing on any given day. Caffeine inhibits pain-relieving effects and also makes for a less peaceful rest during your treatment, so we encourage you not to drink coffee or strongly caffeinated tea immediately before your treatment. Otherwise, come as you are!

Always feel free to reach out to us with any questions & we look forward to meeting you soon.

What if I need to cancel an appointment?

Please contact us by phone (312-291-8298) or email () at least 24 hours before the start of your appointment. We charge a $80 no show or late cancellation (less than 24 hours) fee, out of respect for our practitioners’ time that they have set aside to see you. Thank you for understanding.

I'd like to hold a workshop at Sanctuary Health. Who should I contact?

Please send an email to with proposed dates, details of the workshop, and your social media & website. We love hosting workshops and events and broadening our circle.