The AcuWellness5NP Story
In April 2016, Nobi Pyle had just completed two decades of practicing Asian medicine, acupuncture and Chinese herbs and Chuck Pyle was getting ready to retire as a federal judge in two years. Two years prior, Chuck had co-founded Second Chance Tucson, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping formerly incarcerated individuals successfully reintegrate into the community and avoid recidivism.
While Nobi already knew the 5 ear acupuncture points of 5NP, she wanted to be formally trained to be an acupuncture detoxification specialist (ADS). So Chuck and Nobi headed to Albuquerque, where Nobi was trained by Dr. Michael Smith and Carlos Alvarez who helped develop 5NP and Chuck attended the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association Conference where he heard how Hassan Latif was incorporating 5NP into the reentry efforts of the Second Chance Center in Aurora, Colorado. Nobi appreciated that the training was about a lot more than correct needle placement in the five points, including a trauma-informed approach and the social justice roots of 5NP. Chuck could envision applications of 5NP in many criminal justice settings.
When they got back to Tucson, Chuck and Nobi found that acupuncture detoxification specialists could only provide 5NP in a state or federally licensed chemical dependency treatment program. They reached out to acupuncturists and others to form a statewide advocacy committee to work on changing the state statute. A bill was introduced to eliminate the site restriction, add “trauma” to the scope of practice, and add an ADS position on the Arizona Acupuncture Board. The chair of the Acupuncture Board was Susan Williams, the consumer representative, who was a passionate advocate for 5NP after experiencing several people close to her dying of drug overdose. Our bill making those changes passed the Arizona Legislature and was signed by Governor Ducey in May 2021, becoming effective in September 2021, This meant that anyone could be trained to provide 5NP and they could provide it anywhere in Arizona.
Nobi, using her acupuncturist license, had already started providing 5NP at Dismas Charities correctional halfway house on a weekly basis and after becoming certified, Chuck joined her. They provided 5NP treatments on a weekly basis at Dismas for three years. But since the focus was on training more people to become certified to provide 5NP and make 5NP more accessible in community settings, in 2022 Nobi began doing 5NP training at the YWCA House of Neighborly Service (HNS) in South Tucson. In August 2023, Chuck and Nobi began a weekly drop-in, free 5NP clinic at HNS on Sunday afternoons and that clinic continues to this day. Chuck and Nobi do four trainings a year at HNS and additional trainings at other sites, including three on the Navajo Nation.
In August 2023, Nobi and Chuck co-founded and incorporated AcuWellness5NP (AW5NP) as a nonprofit to provide 5NP training and open more low-barrier clinic sites. AW5NP was approved by the IRS for 501(c)(3) status in November 2024. Nobi and Chuck are not compensated for their work for AW5NP, except for reimbursement of expenses. The training fees pay for those expenses and are deposited in the AW5NP bank account to be used to support the overarching goal of expanding access to this very safe, supportive and inexpensive modality. The goal is for AW5NP to be active and sustainable in providing 5NP training and clinics long after Chuck and Nobi’s needling days are over, so that Arizonans facing the effects of stress, trauma and cravings can benefit from this effective and beautiful treatment.
Our Mission
Our mission is to expand barrier-free access to auricular acupuncture by training and supporting a wide network of Acupuncture Detoxification Specialists (ADS) and Auricular Acupuncture Technicians (AAT), empowering communities through this simple, safe, and effective treatment.
Our Founders
Nobi Pyle, L.Ac., C.SMA📧 Email Nobi
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Charles Pyle, ADS📧 Email CharlesCharles "Chuck" Pyle was raised in Haddonfield, New Jersey, before pursuing his undergraduate studies at Stanford University. In 1970, he relocated to Tucson to attend the University of Arizona College of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree. Chuck's legal career in Tucson spanned 27 years, primarily in public service. In June 2001, he was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Arizona. He served in Tucson from 2001 to 2017 before relocating his judicial chambers to Flagstaff from 2017 until his retirement from the bench in 2018. In 2014, Judge Pyle and then-Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild co-founded Second Chance Tucson, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping formerly incarcerated individuals successfully reintegrate into the community and avoid recidivism. Following his judicial career, Chuck became a NADA certified Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist in December 2021 and received certification from the Arizona Acupuncture Board to provide 5-Needle Protocol (5NP) in April 2022. He further expanded his expertise in July 2022 by obtaining certification from the People's Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA) as an Auricular Acu-Technician (AAT), later becoming a certified 5NP Trainer through the same organization. Chuck regularly works with advocacy groups in other states to support efforts to change state laws to allow increased community access to 5NP. Since 2022, he has regularly provided 5NP treatments in a federal corrections halfway house, at events providing support for unhoused people, at employee wellness events, substance misuse treatment programs, and every Sunday afternoon since August 2023 at the AcuWellness5NP drop-in clinic in South Tucson. |
"I feel so calm and relaxed (no stress whatsoever) when those needles are placed in my ears. I’m not sure exactly how but it works.”