Here’s a little bit more about myself and what brought me to Chinese Medicine.
How did you get into acupuncture?
A trifecta of stubborness, weird experiences, and never ending curiosity.
As a kid I grew up playing multiple sports year round and LOVED it, but by the time I reached the collegiate level, various injuries and ailments started to pile up. We are not usually taught from a young age how to take care of our bodies and recognize their signals. I had pushed my body for a long time to perform and had never made sure I was taking care of it day in and day out. Already at the age of 18 it had caught up with me in the form of mono, depression, anxiety, horrible acne, and achilles tendinitis. I wasn’t super keen on that conglomeration of drama, and being curious and intensely intellectual at heart I spent the rest of my time outside of class reading and looking for answers. This led me to researching everything from nutrition to reiki to ayurveda to shamanism and more. Shortly after my second year of college I spent a month in Cusco, Peru, and had an NDE-like experience which completely changed the view of my life, my then-current relationship, my history, and my perspective of the world. After that trip, I left college to partake in an audio-engineering program in Nashville TN for 9 months. I completed the program and never went back to undergrad, but instead drove straight to NYC.
I spent 8 years in NYC, went from waitress to photographer’s assistant to working at a record label (which I still do now), all the while completing my master’s in Traditional Chinese Medicine at Pacific College. New York offered me a quick and beautiful start as an acupuncturist as I was able to see and treat people from all walks of life, along with having the opportunity to work in a successful and high-paced acupuncture studio, WTHN.
Becoming an acupuncturist has been the perfect fit for me as it matches my endless desire to learn, my keen insight and intuition, and my love for all people. I go home everyday with gratitude that I am able to offer my community support, while always learning something new in return. It’s a pretty great gig.
How did you end up in Dallas?
I am originally from Dallas, grew up here for 10 years, but spent the rest of my childhood in Southern California. When I grew out of NYC, Dallas made the most sense. I still have family here and I felt there was a lot of opportunity to start an acupuncture clinic as there are just not enough acupuncturists in the area! It is the perfect place to share my love for what I do and empower my client’s to support their best selves.
Why Mama’s?
I use “Mama” as a term of endearment with all of my friends. I find the word has a touch of gratitude and love to it, and I wanted the clinic name to represent that. As the clinic continues to grow, I want to create more space for retail and hire more acupuncturists to work alongside me. It is so much fun to work with other like-minded people! I want Mama’s to be a space everyone feels welcome in, a place they can call up and get in same-day if they wake up with a tweak in their neck, a wrinkle in their forehead, or anxiety over something they can’t quite pinpoint, a place they can come by and quickly grab some herbs and other supportive supplements if they feel they are coming down with a cold or flu or horrible allergies. Ultimately I want Mama’s to exude warmth and a helping hand, and I wanted the name to extend beyond just myself.
What is your style as an acupuncturist?
I am a gentle needler by nature with much of my intuitive skill coming from years of palpation, listening, learning, experiencing, and researching. I like to share what I am doing with my clientele in order to educate them as to the power of acupuncture and what is really going on behind the scenes; there’s no “magic”, it is science, intention, and more than two thousand years of Chinese medical practice and theory.