Roots Acupuncture Center

Meet your acupuncturist

My journey began…

… as a slightly disenchanted college student. I began as a Nursing student - I always knew I wanted to help people heal, but I ran into the same predicament over and over in traditional medical settings:

The incessant focus on treating SYMPTOMS, rather than the ROOTS of disease.

I was discouraged by the fact that pharmaceuticals were often the first and only line of treatment for patients (beyond that, surgery). Deep in my heart, I knew there was a more natural, intuitive, and organic way to help promote wellness, so after I graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, I immediately began my Master’s program at the Midwest College of Oriental Medicine, without having any idea whether I would like it at all. But, after only a short few months, I fell in love with it.

This was my medicine.

I loved how holistic medicine was aligned with my own values: natural living, self-empowerment, personal responsibility, and positive lifestyle changes to foster health and wellness. With holistic medicine, I was now working with the body’s natural, internal resources, rather than “adding in” external [chemical] solutions.

There has always been a part of me that, deep-in-my-bones, has known that we humans are stunningly advanced creatures who were born with the innate ability to experience a state of relative harmony and balance. Our bodies are extremely complex, and, without us even realizing it, they are working 24/7 to keep us in a state of balance. Our immune systems are constantly rebalancing and readjusting to the environment around us and within us, despite a persistent onslaught of not-so-good-for-us inputs: pollution, toxins, negative mental activity, pesticides in our food, etc. It’s really amazing - when you really think about it - that we aren’t sick ALL the time!

I also knew that when we get into a state of pain, discomfort or dis-ease, that our bodies are simply communicating with us, and it’s up to us to turn inward, listen, and make the necessary changes (or gather the necessary understandings) to help our body get back to homeostasis.

Often, our bodies get out of balance through an insidious pattern of life stress/pressure > poor lifestyle choices > pain/symptoms > fear and panic about those symptoms lasting forever > more pain/symptoms (chronic) > more stress/fear > etc.

Sound familiar?

This is what I like to call “the loop of being HUMAN” - because, truth be told, we ALL experience it to a certain degree at various periods in our lives - and it’s what can lead to a body that is in a persistent state of fight-flight-freeze (AKA: central sensitization), and the beautiful thing about acupuncture is that it is specifically designed to help down-regulate the nervous system so that it can finally step OUT of that sympathetic (fight-flight) feedback loop, and get back into rest and repair mode (which then builds resilience).

I have been helping my patients step out of this loop for the past 12 years, and it is why I’m here on this planet.

And now, as I enter my own phase of mid-life, I’ve found myself suddenly obsessed with clean, non-toxic skincare and ways to help myself age more gracefully. This is why I’m now offering Cosmetic Acupuncture Services, Microneedling and TOMA skincare products in my practice.

So, if you’re looking to feel better in your body, or more radiant in your skin, we’re here to help you do just that.

💛 Katelyn

Questions?
rootsacu@gmail.com
(414)839-4349