Hi, I’m Dan, founder of Gentle Rebellions, a recovering overachiever, and a lifelong student of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

I grew up in China in a home where herbal teas simmered in the kitchen and acupressure tools lived on the sofa. My mom, a TCM practitioner, shared remedies long before I understood the deeper principles behind them.

After moving abroad and spending a decade in tech, I achieved a lot on paper, but also collected the full package: insomnia, hormonal shifts, digestive issues, and the constant sense of falling behind. I kept outsourcing my wellbeing to diets, workout plans, and productivity systems, until caring for myself felt like another job.

That exhaustion brought me back to the roots I once took for granted. Deepening my study of classical TCM and Taoist philosophy changed the way I approached my life. Instead of outsourcing, I turned inward, listening to my body’s signals, honoring my energy cycles, and trusting what felt true.

Reclaiming agency required unlearning, patience, and practice, and although it is still an ongoing process, every step has been worth it.

I was never the rebellious type, but choosing softness in a world obsessed with control felt radical. It still does.

Gentle Rebellions began as my personal experiment in living differently. As I practiced and shared these principles, others resonated, and now I welcome you to begin your own gentle rebellion.