The path into medicine
It Began With
Being a Patient.
Michael's path into acupuncture began with a personal experience as a young swimmer.
Michael's path into acupuncture began with a personal experience as a young swimmer.
When Michael Niss was young, he developed significant lower-back pain while on a swim team. His parents recommended acupuncture, and the treatment helped. What stayed with him was not only the relief, but the way his acupuncturist, Dr. Ray Rubio, looked for how the problem developed in the first place—asking about Michael's swim technique, suggesting changes, and including nutritional and lifestyle advice to support recovery.
That early experience remained with Michael through his education. When it came time to choose a medical path, he wanted to combine humanity's long relationship with natural medicine with modern diagnostic tools. Acupuncture and East Asian Herbal Medicine became the direction that best matched that goal.
Michael received a Master of Science in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Health Sciences from Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington.
During his studies, Michael was part of a research team awarded a Venture Grant that traveled to Havana, Cuba to study the integration of the Department of Health and Department of Agriculture, including the use of urban sustainable gardens to grow food and botanical medicine.
The trip strengthened his interest in plants and in how and where food and medicine are grown.
Alongside clinic time at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle, Michael pursued additional pediatric training, three years of Chinese Tui Na bodywork therapy training, training in growing herbal medicine and medicinal mushrooms, HIV clinic shifts, and cancer hospital shifts.
Bastyr is also where Michael met Brooke Niss, L.Ac., who would later become his wife and co-founder.
Near the end of his studies, Michael traveled to Shanghai, China to study in an integrated public setting. Seeing acupuncture and herbal medicine practiced alongside Western medicine on a large scale reinforced a goal he and Brooke shared: to create a clinic that could serve a broad community and remain financially accessible.
In 2010, Michael and Brooke founded Universal Family Wellness Clinic in Los Angeles, California. The name was chosen intentionally so that people from every kind of family would know they were welcome.
Michael serves as a Licensed Acupuncturist, Herbalist, Clinic Owner and Co-Director. He works to listen thoroughly to each patient, provide effective and concise care, and develop plans that emphasize prevention and longer-term solutions whenever possible.
Outside the clinic, Michael enjoys playing bass, gardening, surfing, and spending time with Brooke and their two children.
I am excited to meet with you and help with your health goals. — Michael Niss, L.Ac.