Hope Ryf, MS., L.Ac. is a licensed Acupuncturist/Herbalist and the founder of Westlake Alternative Healthcare Center. Hope has a diverse background in western medicine. She received her Master´s Degree at Samra University in Los Angeles in 1989 and finished advanced studies in Shanghai, China. Hope is licensed by the Acupuncture California State Board and is certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and Herbology. She also has completed two years of in-depth studies at The Institute of Women´s Health and Integrative Medicine in Portland, Oregon. Until recently Hope was a part of the team at UCLA´s Integrative Pediatric Pain Program.

Professional Background

Hope has pursued a life long interest in researching the factors that bring the body, mind and spirit into balance. She believes that healing involves treating all levels of a person´s being. She has developed the professional expertise and personal insight to assist her patients in experiencing the interconnections that lead to vitality and a long life.

Hope´s background reflects her philosophy that the patient, not the disease, is the center of her practice. Her accreditations and certificates range from Iyengar Teachers Training, Holistic Medicine, Massage Therapy, Acupuncture and Herbology, Digestive Disorders, Allergy Elimination and Reiki to special training in treating menopause.

Biography

If it is important to know that the person treating you has pursued a lifelong interest in healing herself, please read further.

Hope Ryf grew up on a farm in the mid-West and at a very young age turned to nature and animals as a source of comfort, companionship and inspiration. Her curious and adventurous nature led her to wander into the nearby forest where she found her true home, protected by nature. "The trees hugged me," she says. Since the age of three, she has tapped into the chi or life force of the earth and of all living beings to receive emotional and spiritual sustenance. To this present day, she maintains her vitality and open mind with her daily morning walks.
"The outdoors is what healed me," says Hope. A very early riser, she is already in the mountains around her home walking on the trails at the break of day. Although keeping her body in shape is important to Hope, she also walks to stay connected to her animal friends. Coyotes sometimes guide her and hawks circle around her. She feels blessed to share the earth with all animals.

Testing her physical limits has brought Hope confidence in both her personal and professional life. She loves to ski and on one particular trip, when she was by herself, she climbed up the icy slopes of a mountain on cross-country skis. It was quite an ordeal and she had to check in with her heart every few minutes to continue the climb. But when she reached the top she felt the flow of chi and realized she had made it. If she could do that, she thought, she could get through anything. The exhilarating freedom as she skied down the mountain that day still inspires her to take risks that bring her yin and yang energies into harmony.

It is from this confidence of knowing how to pass through fear and pain to the other side of balance and freedom that Hope will work with you from her heart.