Before pursuing Chinese medicine, I worked in the financial industry as well as non profit arts management. I’d been patient of acupuncture for over 20 years when one day lying on the table, I realized I wanted to share this gift with everyone.  This medicine helped me understand my body in a whole new way.  This lead me to study at the Pacific College of Health & Science, the largest school of Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine in the country. Because there is always more to learn and many masters to learn from, I continued to study orthopedic acupuncture techniques for chronic and acute pain with some of the top practitioners in the field; studied stroke rehabilitation techniques and am certified by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Oncology Acupuncture. I even advanced my practice of Japanese acupuncture at Meiji University of Integrative Medicine in Kyoto, Japan.I have enjoyed the opportunity to volunteer my time for various organizations, notably  the Bumi Sehat Foundation International, a non-profit, village-based birthing and community health clinic in Bali, Indonesia, for staff of the Hospital for Joint Diseases, Lenox Hill Hospitals and runners in the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers event.Because I get asked (often) what our education is like: I have has a Master of Science in Acupuncture from Pacific College of Health & Science, the largest school of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the US with campuses in New York, Chicago and San Diego. It was an intensive 4 year program of study combining both eastern and western medical coursework and included more than 3,000 hours of clinical experience seeing patients. I am board certified by the National Commission on the Certification of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and licensed in the state of New York. I am excited to have opened a multi disciplinary health and wellness space on the upper west side of Manhattan where I run my practice specializing in acute and chronic pain conditions with a special interest in immune health, anxiety, Lyme disease and related conditions. 

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I know how busy and hectic life can get in New York. We need to be operating at optimal efficiency just to navigate around town while picking up groceries for dinner, the dry cleaning, fitting in a workout all while calculating whether to cross the park at 66th or 79th depending on the time of day.  I am excited to offer you a brief respite and powernap to recharge your batteries and melt away the pain.  It changed my life and I think it can change yours too.

Born in the Philippines, Ria moved to New York City as a teenager and has called it home ever since. The first thing people notice upon meeting Ria is how warm, caring, and present she is when they are with her.  She is passionate about this medicine and all it is capable of and feels deeply fulfilled when she resolves a health issue for a patient.  Her particular clinical interests are women’s health, emotional health, and pain management, while her earlier life experiences as a bartender, 10 years working in the tech and media industry, as well as training as a Muay Thai athlete for many years provide Ria a broad perspective of the health challenges one encounters in life.

Ria’s first encounter with acupuncture began when she had a debilitating back injury as a bartender. Seeking relief, she turned to acupuncture and was astonished by how immediately it alleviated her pain after just one treatment.  Later, when multiple surgeries couldn’t resolve Ria’s stage 4 endometriosis diagnosis, she again turned to acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to help her manage the chronic pain and other symptoms, finally finding a non-invasive approach that helped her manage her condition. No longer suffering from catastrophic health episodes was life-changing, and that’s when Ria realized that she wanted to help other people change their lives as well.  

Ria received her Master of Science degree from Pacific College of Health & Science, and as someone who always seeks out more opportunities to learn, she did additional clinical rotations at a harm reduction center working with addiction and trauma patients, and at Kamwo Meridian Herbs, the largest and oldest herbal pharmacy on the East Coast providing acupuncture treatments and herbal consultations. Ria also engaged in a year-long mentorship program on women's health, studying the treatment of menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, aging, and how diseases affect women differently.  

Her deeply personal connection to this medicine inspires her to share its benefits with others. The combination of her work ethic, analytical mind, ability to get along and connect with all kinds of people, and intense training have made her an outstanding practitioner so we feel incredibly lucky to include her on the AB Acupuncture team!

Shaneka is the first person you meet when you contact AB Acupuncture and the first face you see when you walk through the door. We are grateful for that! She brings not only warmth, a smile and a cup of tea when needed to all our patients, she keeps us in line and the office running like clockwork.  Prior to running our offiice, she ran the student clinic at Pacific College of Health & Science and worked for the Visitng Nurse Service of NY.  She spends her off hours with her beautiful daughter Aspen and exploring the city with her. Fun fact, if you tell her your birthday, she'll tell you all about your astrological sign!