A shift in perspective —
from society to the individual
Dr. Na grew up in Korea, where he studied journalism at one of the country's oldest universities — a place where classical Eastern texts were still part of the curriculum. That background gave him an unusual foundation: a fluency with classical Eastern thought rarely found in clinical training.
After military service, he spent a year in Vancouver with extended family. His uncle — a Korean medicine doctor — introduced him to acupuncture and herbal medicine. Something shifted. He'd been thinking about health as a collective, societal concern; now he began to see it as something deeply personal — belonging to each individual.
What he found in his studies surprised him. Classical texts were being mistranslated into English — not out of bad faith, but because the conceptual gap between Eastern and Western medicine is genuinely wide. Bridging that gap became his work: not by simplifying Eastern medicine, but by explaining it in ways that actually make sense to patients encountering it for the first time.
A different angle on a problem
that hasn't been solved yet
Dr. Na founded Greenleaf Clinic in 2007. Over nearly two decades and more than 7,000 patients, he has treated conditions ranging from chronic pain and anxiety to digestive disorders, skin conditions, fertility challenges, and post-cancer treatment recovery — including infertility he faced personally, which deepened both his research and his understanding of patients navigating that path.
Most patients arriving at Greenleaf have already been through the Western medical system — tests, specialists, medications. They're not looking for someone to dismiss what they've been through. They're looking for a different angle on a problem that hasn't been solved yet. That's what this practice offers.
His approach is direct. He asks a lot of questions, explains what he observes, and sets realistic expectations. He doesn't recommend more treatments than are necessary.
Three areas, one practice
Dr. Na works across three areas simultaneously. The three inform each other: clinical practice shapes research; research shapes teaching; teaching sharpens clinical reasoning.
Continuing education lectures for licensed practitioners: