We’re an award-winning husband and wife team providing one-of-a-kind acupuncture and coaching sessions that blend Classical Chinese Medicine, Japanese Acupuncture, Daoism and Yoga to empower your journey to wellness.
Our Personal Story
In Iceland with our teacher and 88th generation Daoist Master, Dr. Jeffrey Yuen
We first met during a seminar with our teacher and 88th generation Daoist Master, Dr. Jeffrey Yuen in Los Angeles in 2007. We began to see each other at seminars in Los Angeles and San Francisco a few times a year, sometimes promising to get together to practice what we’d learned since we were two of the only students of Dr. Yuen in the Bay Area at the time.
In 2008, Dr. Jeffrey Yuen began a yearlong seminar in San Francisco on the use of gems and stones in Classical Chinese Medicine. Reluctantly, we both enrolled in the course, each of us skeptical about the true healing power of stones.
After just a few days of taking a stone elixir that was prescribed to her by Dr. Yuen during the first class, Dr. Setareh experienced a profound transformation that woke her up in the middle of the night and cleared the symptoms of low energy, painful menstruation and depression she’d been experiencing for months.
Salvador became enamored with the stones right away, building a collection and sharing them with friends and family.
In 2009, the stars finally aligned when we decided to share in our newfound passion for stone medicine by attending a Gem and Mineral Show in San Francisco together.
We’ve been inseparable since.
After combining forces in April 2009, we expanded A Center for Natural Healing (founded by Salvador in 1996) to a full scale clinic and teaching studio that included several other therapists, offering one-on-one healing, as well as teacher trainings, ceremonies and workshops and retreats. We also became the humbled recipient of several awards, including Best of Santa Clara, Expertise, and many more.
Yoga Integration Retreat in Bali
During the pandemic in 2020, we finally decided to close the doors to our beloved Dharma Studio and offer services online.
We began to offer virtual consultations, taught weekly Yoga Integration classes on Facebook Live (which you can access for free here) and introduced Dr. Setareh’s signature program, From Surviving to Thriving, to students around the world.
We also started recording The Natural Healing Podcast, which grew quickly in popularity and ranked in the top 5% of wellness podcasts in the world during its first year.
In 2024 Dr. Setareh experienced an unexpected health crisis that brought her to a complete halt and forced them both to reevaluate everything. After discovering a malignant tumor in her abdomen, the multi-layered surgery left her with severe nerve pain in her lower back and right leg as a result of a necessary sensory nerve recession.
Through pain, she discovered a powerful teacher and through self-healing as well as Salvador’s careful treatments with both Japanese Meridian Therapy and Classical Acupuncture, she continues to regain optimal health as well as more strength, mobility and freedom from pain every day.
The first graduating class of the Yin Yoga Integration Teacher Training
Today, we continue to maintain a thriving clinical practice. Salvador is now the primary hands-on acupuncturist while Dr. Setareh assists at the front desk, runs the backend of the business, teaches corporate yoga, and works with a limited number of private 1:1 coaching clients.
We welcome you to A Center for Natural Healing, whether as part of our global community through our podcast, blog, or online programs, or to work together more closely through our personalized, authentic style of healing.
Our Professional Bios
Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. is Founder & Co-Director of A Center for Natural Healing. A practitioner in the healing arts for the past 30 years, Salvador received his M.S. in Traditional Oriental Medicine from Meiji College in San Francisco in 1994.
Having studied extensively with three of Japan's finest acupuncturists — Anryu Iwashina, Masakazu Ikeda and Koei Kuwahara, Salvador is a leading practitioner of non-insertion Traditional Japanese Acupuncture using Gold and Silver needles in the U.S.
As a student of 88th generation Daoist Grand Master Dr. Jeffrey Yuen since 1998, Salvador also specializes in Classical Chinese Acupuncture and integrates the use of herbal medicine, Essential Oils and gemstone therapy into his customized treatments.
Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. is Co-Director of A Center for Natural Healing and a natural teacher, inspired by 20+ years of experience as a certified Yoga instructor and over 17 years of experience as a licensed acupuncturist and life and wellness coach. After founding Yoga of Los Altos, the first yoga studio in Los Altos, California in 2003, she transitioned to a personal healing journey that ultimately led her to study Classical Chinese Medicine directly with Daoist Master, Dr. Jeffrey Yuen.
Dr. Moafi has a B.A. from UC Berkeley, an M.S. in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Five Branches University, and a Ph.D. in Classical Chinese Medicine from American University of Complementary Medicine with 88th generation Daoist Grand Master, Dr. Jeffrey Yuen.
Both gentle and highly intuitive, Dr. Moafi provides transformational guidance through The Shift, personalized nutritional consultations, as well as advanced Empowerment Coaching sessions.
She interweaves her extensive experience in both Chinese Medicine and Yoga through the Yin Yoga Integration Teacher Training as well as the highly reviewed From Surviving to Thriving online course.
Learn more at www.setarehmoafi.com and listen to this episode of The Natural Healing Podcast to learn all about Dr. Setareh’s journey.
