Andrew C. Maloney, L.Ac. Dipl.OM MSOM
From Fear to Purpose: Childhood in Boulder
As a child, one of the last things Andrew Maloney imagined was growing up to practice medicine. “Being around sick or elderly people scared me,” he says. Today, with the benefit of hindsight, Andrew understands that his profession—and Jade Mountain Health—are the culmination of many threads of his life, including that early fear. “I wasn’t afraid of illness,” he says. “I was afraid of being helpless. That fear disappeared once I discovered Chinese medicine and the power it gave me to help people who are sick and in pain.”
Andrew’s journey began when his mother moved the family from Long Island to Boulder in search of better educational opportunities for her sons and herself. While raising her children, she studied at the University of Colorado and became a therapist, modeling a lifelong commitment to learning and service.
Adventure on Two Wheels: Finding Freedom Through Cycling and Nature
Growing up in Boulder—floating Boulder Creek in summer, riding his bike through the CU campus, trail running, and skiing—Andrew developed a deep connection to nature and the mountains. Though shy, he was active, curious, and imaginative. “Those qualities made for great outdoor exploration and adventure,” he says.
As he grew older, Andrew became increasingly athletic and gravitated toward cycling, often imagining himself racing in the Tour de France as he flew up and down the Front Range. “I loved riding fast and feeling the wind on my face,” he says. “My bike helped me reconnect with my body and free my mind.”
Seeking Answers: The Mind-Body Connection in Education
After high school, Andrew moved to Steamboat Springs, where snowboarding and mountain biking deepened his love of the mountains. Yet he felt something was missing. “I had a strong need for education and wanted to understand the human experience more deeply,” he says. Studying psychology at Colorado Mountain College gave him new insight into himself and the mind-body connection. “As I learned more about the mind, I felt its effects in my body—and I became acutely aware of how much being in nature shaped my mental state.”
LOOKING EAST: Discovering Chinese Medicine in Taiwan
After graduating, Andrew received an invitation that both excited and terrified him: to join his brother in Taiwan. “I worried about being away from nature in a dense, gray city,” he says, “but I was drawn to a culture shaped by Buddhism and Taoism, where the relationship between mind and body is deeply understood.”
In Taiwan, Andrew began studying Mandarin and sought out Qi Gong and Tai Chi masters to further explore the mind-body connection. He also accompanied his brother to appointments with Chinese medicine doctors and soon began receiving treatment himself—first for knee pain from years of snowboarding, then for gut health, and eventually for overall balance. “Western medicine had always treated problems in isolation,” he says. “In Taiwan, doctors treated the whole person. The time they took, the herbs, the acupuncture—it was powerful, and it surprised me.”
As he had with cycling and psychology, Andrew immersed himself fully in learning Chinese medicine. When he understood that it works by aligning nature, mind, and body into harmony, he knew he had found his path.
Learning from Masters: Five Years of Immersive Study
Determined to study at a clinic renowned for its physicians, Andrew hitchhiked across Taiwan during typhoon season. Despite accepting very few apprentices, Dr. Yo Mao Ling welcomed him. “I spent five days a week in the clinic, asking questions, observing cases I’d never encountered, and learning from doctors whose depth of knowledge felt unfathomable.”
Under Dr. Yo—who specialized in acupuncture and electrostimulation for musculoskeletal issues while maintaining a deep interest in internal medicine and herbalism—Andrew learned to integrate Chinese medicine with modern anatomy and physiology. “That combination created deeper, longer-lasting results,” he says, “outcomes that weren’t possible otherwise.”
Bringing It Home: Founding Jade Mountain Health
After five years in Taiwan, Andrew returned to the U.S. to complete a Master’s degree in Oriental Chinese Medicine, a four-year program combining academic study and clinical training. In 2003, the same year his first daughter was born, he opened Jade Mountain Health in a shared basement office in Boulder.
Over the decades, the practice has grown and evolved. Now located in North Boulder near Wonderland Lake, Jade Mountain Health reflects Andrew’s lifelong journey—his connection to nature, his understanding of the mind-body relationship, and his commitment to helping others through Chinese medicine. It also marks the long-ago resolution of his childhood fear. “Once I had the training to help people and no longer felt helpless, it disappeared,” he says. “I love being able to help.”