Hi, I'm Ben
I’m an acupuncturist, a practitioner of Chinese medicine, and someone who believes healthcare can be both deeply thoughtful and remarkably simple.
I grew up in St. Michael and Plymouth before moving away for college, not knowing where life would take me. After many years away, and a lot of life in between, I returned home to help my family. I never expected that coming home would also mean building my acupuncture practice here, but I'm glad it did. It feels good to be back and to have the opportunity to give something back to the community where I grew up.
If I can help someone walk through life with less pain and more ease and joy, then I’m doing a good job.
A different way of seeing health
My fascination with Chinese medicine began with reading "The Web That Has No Weaver." It introduced a way of thinking about health that felt completely different from anything I had encountered before.
Chinese medicine looks beyond individual symptoms to understand the relationships between sleep, energy, digestion, emotions, and the world around us. Its emphasis on balance and interconnectedness, rooted in Taoist philosophy, captivated me and changed not only how I understood health, but how I understood people.
When I was younger, I had some pretty big ideas about what “healing” was supposed to mean. The goal was to help people transform their lives and reach their highest potential.
Years of practicing, and probably just growing up, have made me a little humbler about that. My job isn’t to decide what healing should look like for someone else. Sometimes healing is profound. And sometimes it’s sleeping through the night, walking the dog without pain, or having enough energy to enjoy the afternoon.
Both matter.
Why Ursa Minor?
Good healthcare should be accessible.
Acupuncture can be incredibly helpful, but not if the cost makes it difficult to receive treatment often enough for it to make a difference.
Ursa Minor was built around community acupuncture for that reason. Treating several people in a shared space helps keep treatments affordable while still allowing each person to receive individualized care.
But there’s something else special about treating people together. A room full of people resting and healing has a feeling of its own. Each person contributes to the calm of the space while also benefiting from it. There’s something powerful about realizing that your healing doesn’t always have to happen alone. You can be part of something larger, even while receiving a treatment that is entirely your own.
And there’s a simplicity to it that I value. You don’t need a luxury spa or an elaborate experience. You need a comfortable place to rest, thoughtful treatment, and someone paying attention to what you need.
Ursa Minor is also a place where you can simply be yourself. You don’t need to share my beliefs, understand Chinese medicine, or show up as some ideal version of yourself. Good care begins with listening, meeting you where you are, and helping however I can.
Good medicine doesn’t have to be complicated.
When I'm not at the clinic...
I tend to go all-in on whatever has captured my attention at the moment. Right now, that’s pickleball; I play three to five times a week and have apparently reached the point where I’ll voluntarily wake up at 4 a.m. to play. Very few things in life have that power over me.
When I’m not on a pickleball court, some of my favorite moments are much quieter: making dinner and watching Jeopardy with my boyfriend, taking walks through the parks, hunting for bargains at thrift stores, or getting together with friends for food and board games.
I'm also a lifelong dabbler. At various times you might find me woodworking, crocheting, running, doing yoga, or hiking.
And, inevitably, I spend entirely too much of my free time thinking about the perfect herbal formula for one of my patients.
Education & Credentials
S. Ben Hoff, MSTOM, L.Ac
Licensed Acupuncturist
Master of Science in Tradition Orientel Medicine
Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, 2010
Nationally certified: NCBAHM
25 years working in complementary and alternative healthcare