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About Carrie
Willowroot Acupuncture grew from my lived experience—navigating illness, uncertainty, and the search for care that truly listens.
Carrie Bow, EAMP
Licensed Acupuncturist
I graduated from the National University of Natural Medicine with a Master’s degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine.
Before becoming an acupuncturist, my path was anything but linear. After completing my undergraduate degree in Art Conservation, I spent years moving between jobs and places, searching for direction without quite knowing what was missing.
During that time, chronic health issues began to take hold. Many appointments followed the same pattern: short visits, temporary solutions, and little curiosity about the larger picture. Over time, daily life was reduced to my couch and a heating pad. Simple activities triggered symptoms, and progress felt increasingly out of reach. When I was referred back to the specialist I had started with years prior, I knew I had hit a dead end.
It was through acupuncture — first experienced in a community clinic in Missoula — that something shifted. I arrived to my first appointment skeptical and hopeless which was in direct contrast to my acupuncturist’s confidence. For the first time, patterns were noticed without dismissal. Questions were asked that hadn’t been considered before. With consistent treatment, my body began to respond. Symptom flares slowly spaced out, and stability returned over time.
That experience changed the direction forward.
I chose to study acupuncture because I wanted to offer the kind of care I had been searching for — care that allows room for change, listens deeply, and supports healing as an ongoing process rather than a quick fix.
Why Willowroot
The name Willowroot reflects both personal history and the philosophy behind my practice.
Growing up, a large willow tree stood in my backyard — a place of quiet refuge. One year, a hurricane hit our area directly and blew our huge willow tree down. As it lay on its side, I remember the roots reaching up into the sky — as tall as the tree once stood.
We loved that tree, and my dad chose to try to save it instead of cutting it up for yard debris. For years it looked thin and mangled, held upright by a few 2x4s screwed into the side of the trunk. Slowly, it began to re-root. Over time the foliage thickened again, creating the leafy curtain I had loved to hide in as a child.
In classical Chinese philosophy, the Wood element represents movement, growth, and the transition from winter into spring. Wood is resilient not because it is rigid, but because it bends and adapts.
Willows embody this beautifully. They are flexible, enduring, and deeply medicinal, with bark that has been used therapeutically for thousands of years.
Many willow species are native to Kittitas County, where my husband and I have chosen to put down our own roots.
Willowroot Acupuncture reflects these same qualities: steady growth, adaptability, and support through change over time.
My Approach
My practice sits comfortably between the clinical and the intuitive.
Acupuncture is not a single method, but a living medicine shaped by many styles and lineages. Over time, each practitioner develops an approach informed by training, experience, and the individuals they work with.
My treatments are responsive and adaptable. Sessions may be gentle for those who are sensitive or new to acupuncture, while deeper techniques are used when appropriate. For some clients, only 4 needles may be needed. Others may prefer 40.
In addition to acupuncture, sessions may incorporate supportive therapies such as cupping, moxibustion, electro-acupuncture, gua sha, or gentle bodywork when beneficial.
I do not use a fixed menu of treatments. Each session allows room to respond to what your body is communicating that day.
At the heart of my work is a simple principle:
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resilience through adaptability
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deep, supportive roots
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steady growth over time