Connecting the missing dots
that keep your physical life fragmented
Hello, my name is Dr. Lance Westendarp, ND, LAc
I work with individuals in Houston, TX as a mind-body integration specialist. In my practice, I combine acupuncture, manual therapy, herbal medicine, naturopathic care, movement training, and embodied awareness practices to support healing, resilience, and growth.
I’m a naturopathic doctor, acupuncturist, and movement educator with advanced training in mind-body medicine, sports medicine, and complex chronic illness. My approach is shaped by over two decades of mentorship in yoga, movement, and traditional medicine—integrating clinical precision with lived, embodied experience to facilitate meaningful and lasting change.
Integrative care and embodied physical education in Houston, Tx
This is a place for healing—
but also for growth, strength, and deeper connection with yourself.
This work helps you feel better—but that’s just the beginning.
People come here with everything from acute pain to long-standing patterns, and start to feel real relief—sometimes immediately, sometimes as their system begins to unwind. But it doesn’t happen by pushing harder or silencing what hurts. It happens through letting go, listening, and reconnecting with the intelligence of your body. When you stop fighting your system and start working with it, change becomes sustainable.
Your body isn’t a machine to fix. It’s a relationship to tend.
Whether you’re navigating injury, illness, or striving for higher performance, the body is always offering information. This work helps you understand that language—through clinical care, hands-on work, movement practice, and internal awareness—so you can build strength, clarity, and trust with your own system.
This is a space for healing, growth, and everything in between.
Not everyone who walks through the door is in crisis. Many come to deepen their practice, build strength, refine their awareness, or reconnect with parts of themselves that have gone quiet. The Center for Embodiment is a space for learning, healing, and exploration—where people of all experiences and backgrounds are invited to grow.
Services I offer
There are several ways to work with me—through individualized integrative care, movement classes, longer-term embodied programs, or self-paced online study.
Some come here to heal.
Others come because they sense there's more.
This work helps you feel better—but that’s just the beginning.
Your body isn’t a machine to fix. It’s a relationship to tend.
This is a space for healing, development, and deeper exploration.
People come here with everything from acute pain to long-standing patterns and begin to experience real relief—sometimes quickly, sometimes as the system gradually unwinds. But this work isn’t about pushing harder or suppressing symptoms. It’s about learning how to work with your body rather than against it. When that shift happens, change becomes more stable and sustainable.
What my clients say
Lance asks the questions I didn’t realize were missing from my healthcare. He listens deeply and brings Eastern and Western approaches together with real thoughtfulness.
MR
Lance balances care and challenge in a way that feels both intelligent and safe. I regained strength in areas that had felt unreliable for years and trust his guidance completely.
SB
Working with Lance helped me simplify my health rather than add more to it. I felt clearer, more supported, and more confident in my body.
PE
I was initially unsure about acupuncture, but working with Lance quickly put me at ease. He is prepared, knowledgeable, and deeply compassionate, and takes the time to explain his thinking and build a thoughtful plan.
MW
Chronic conditions
Support for complex or long-standing health concerns that haven’t found resolution—helping you experience relief and make meaningful progress where you’ve been stuck.
Mind-Body health
For those wanting a deeper mind-body understanding—whether you feel stuck in your growth, disconnected from your body, or are working through emotional patterns that show up physically.
Areas of focus
While every individual is unique, much of my work centers around the following areas.
Exploring the Breath - A Six-Part Series
Breath is the most immediate movement available to you — and there's usually more here than we've been shown.
For something so foundational to health and to our felt sense of being alive, breathing rarely gets the careful attention it deserves. This six-week series changes that. We'll explore the breath from both Western and Eastern perspectives — anatomy, physiology, energetics, and subtlety — with the goal of bringing those two worlds together into something practical and meaningful.
Through somatic practice, guided breathwork, and direct experiential exploration, you'll develop a working relationship with your diaphragm and ribcage, learn the foundations of conscious breathing, and come away with tools you can actually use — in movement, in stillness, and in daily life.
What you'll explore:
Functional anatomy of the breath — diaphragm, ribcage, and supporting structures
Basic practical physiology of breathing
Movement practices to open the musculoskeletal structures that support breathing
Foundational yogic breathing and Ujjayi pranayama
Alternate nostril breathing
Paced breathing
Breath integrated with movement
The energetics and subtleties of the breath from an Eastern perspective
Each session includes:
Full class recording
Supporting practice resources
Dates: Tuesdays, April 14 – May 19
Time: 5:30–6:45pm (first class: 5:15–6:30pm)
Price: $35 drop-in — the flexible drop-in format is a feature of this inaugural series; future offerings will have more limited drop-in availability
Attendance: In-person, with limited online spots available — contact me directly for inquiries.
Ready to join? Head to the Schedule page to sign up: https://www.centerforembodiment.com/booking-calendar
What Are We Really Reaching For?
A reflection on longevity, time, and the question underneath the question
Discernment: Pain vs. Discomfort
What if the sensations you've been avoiding are actually trying to help you?
Engaging vs Bracing
On the difference between effort that serves you and effort that quietly works against you.
The Power of Constraint
What if limitation is exactly what your practice needs?
FAQs
The Center for Embodiment is an integrative practice centered on movement, awareness, and connection with the body. It brings together movement education, embodied practice, and supportive health services to help people develop deeper self-connection, physical intelligence, resilience, and clarity in how they move and live.
People come here for different reasons. Some are navigating chronic illness, persistent pain, or health concerns that haven't fully resolved elsewhere. Others are drawn to the movement work — looking to build physical intelligence, deepen their practice, or develop a more intentional relationship with their body. Many arrive somewhere in between. What they share is a desire to engage more fully with their own system.
The clinical work — Integrative Care and Attunement — is one-on-one and focused on your specific health history, patterns, and goals. It may include acupuncture, manual therapy, movement, and other tools selected for your particular situation. Movement classes are group-based and open to anyone interested in developing physical intelligence, strength, mobility, and embodied awareness. Many people do both — and the two sides of the work inform each other naturally.
It sits at the intersection of all three without being fully any one of them. Movement classes involve real physical work but are not a traditional fitness model. The clinical work draws on naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, and somatic practice but is not a replacement for primary medical care or mental health treatment when those are needed. The work is integrative by design.
If you're primarily interested in movement, starting with a group class is often the easiest entry point. For those seeking clinical or integrative care, booking an integrative care session is the most direct place to begin. If you’re unsure, you’re welcome to reach out for guidance.
