Integral Medicine
Who We Are
Integral Medicine was built by a clinician who needed it to work on his own body first — before he ever offered it to anyone else.
Integral Medicine is the clinical framework Luke Tera, MTOM, L.Ac., built after conventional medicine and standard functional-medicine protocols both ran out of answers for what was happening in his own body. A 2004 Lyme infection left him with normal labs, no clear diagnosis, and a body that kept getting worse — so he built a model that treats the body's chemistry, its nervous system, and the meaning of the illness itself as one connected system, not three separate referrals. Refined over two decades and taught to other practitioners since 2009, that model is Integral Medicine: a framework for restoring Adaptive Capacity in people whose complex chronic illness has outrun conventional care. Based in Hotchkiss, Colorado, Integral Medicine serves clients in person and by virtual membership in all 50 states.
Thanksgiving 2004
I'm Luke Tera. Thanksgiving week 2004, a Lyme infection put me flat on my back. Some days I could bike to work; the next I couldn't lift my head off the pillow. I was offered IV antibiotics and declined them — I wanted to understand what my body was doing, not just suppress it.
No Map for What Was Happening
At the time I was training under some of the best Chinese-medicine and functional-medicine doctors in the country. None of them had a map for what was happening in me. I was in uncharted territory. With my back against the wall, I had to look at the parts of illness most medicine ignores entirely — the cognitive, the emotional, the spiritual. One of my Daoist teachers called these dimensions "our life's curriculum." That reframe changed how I approached my own recovery.
Building the Model on Myself
Over six months I built a self-treatment protocol from botanical medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, functional-medicine lab work, and mind-body practice — clearing the hidden loads on my system, rebuilding my body's underlying capacity to adapt, and integrating what the illness had to teach. Full recovery took about a year. It took several more years of continued work to rebuild my Adaptive Capacity beyond where it stood before I ever got sick.
Two Decades Later
Nearly twenty years on, I haven't relapsed. My hormone panels run in the top 1% of adult males my age. What took me roughly five years to work out for myself, clients now begin to feel in as little as 3 months, with full recovery in 1–2 years — because they're following a map instead of building one from scratch. That map is Integral Medicine.
Integral Medicine, Defined
Integral Medicine is a clinical framework built around Adaptive Capacity — the total ability of a person's body, nervous system, and life circumstances to handle stress in a given period of time. Integral Medicine is not integrative medicine: integrative medicine still asks which combination of pharmaceuticals, supplements, and therapies can treat a diagnosis, while Integral Medicine asks why the whole system stopped adapting in the first place, and rebuilds that capacity across the physical, functional, and meaning-making dimensions of a person's life at once — drawing on Traditional Chinese Medicine and functional medicine as a single integrated lens rather than two separate referrals.
Luke Tera, MTOM, L.Ac.The Mission
Integral Medicine exists to rescue the energy, vitality, and spirit of people who carry a mission of their own — a drive to lead, build, contribute, and show up for the people who depend on them — that chronic illness has put on hold. The near-term promise is meaningful results in as little as 3 months; the goal for those who stay the course is full recovery of Adaptive Capacity in 1–2 years, often to a level beyond where they stood before the illness began.
Integral Medicine operates under a 508(c)(1)(a) faith-based health foundation, a nonprofit structure that supports the practice's charitable work and expands access to care for people who could not otherwise afford it. Membership is offered as wellness coaching and health education — not a substitute for your physician's medical care.
Training & Credentials
- Luke Tera, MTOM, L.Ac.
- Master of Traditional Oriental Medicine, Emperor's College — with honors, 2008
- Currently in doctoral studies, Pacific College of Health & Science, San Diego
- Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.), State of Colorado
- Practicing functional medicine and nutrition since 2003; Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture since 2008
- Pioneer of the Integral Medicine model
- One of the first clinicians to identify and treat Long Covid (PASC)
- Teaching practitioners in the Integral Medicine framework since 2009
- Author, Integral Medicine: How to Get Your Life Back from Long Covid, Lyme, Autoimmune Disorders, and Other Chronic Conditions in 90 Days
- Sees clients at Wellspring Vitality, Hotchkiss, CO, and by virtual membership in all 50 states
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Luke Tera a medical doctor?
No. Luke Tera is a Master of Traditional Oriental Medicine (MTOM, Emperor's College, 2008) and a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) in Colorado, currently in doctoral studies at Pacific College of Health & Science. Integral Medicine is offered as wellness coaching and health education under a faith-based health foundation, not as a replacement for your physician's care.
What makes Integral Medicine different from the functional medicine I've already tried?
Most functional medicine still treats the body as a chemistry problem — the right supplement matched to the right lab marker. Integral Medicine adds what that approach typically skips: the nervous system's current capacity to handle stress, and the emotional and spiritual weight the illness carries. All three are addressed in one protocol, not referred out to separate providers.
Do I need a specific diagnosis to start?
No. Many clients arrive with normal labs, a list of specialists who found nothing wrong, and a body that still doesn't work right. Integral Medicine starts from Adaptive Capacity — how much stress your whole system can currently handle — rather than waiting for a named diagnosis to justify care.
Can I work with Integral Medicine if I don't live in Colorado?
Yes. Luke sees clients in person at Wellspring Vitality in Hotchkiss, Colorado, and works with members virtually in all 50 states. Labs, protocol design, and check-ins run through the same membership structure for both.
How soon will I feel different?
Most members notice meaningful change within the first 3 months. Full recovery of Adaptive Capacity — for many, to a level beyond where they stood before the illness began — typically takes 1–2 years. What took Luke roughly five years to work out on his own, members now cover in a fraction of the time, because they're following a map instead of building one.
The first step costs nothing. The cost of waiting is everything.
Book a Free Membership Call