So far I must say this has been an incredible learning experience and I’m only on my 4th article about Health and Wellness! With so much more to discover, I’m excited to share with you my latest interview with Mrs. Sarah Thompson who founded “Sacred Vessel Acupuncture” back in 2012.

Mrs. Thompson has been in practice for over 20 years, with her passions being a mission to educate women throughout pregnancy and labor, with an emphasis in dedicating her practice to those with complicated fertility and pregnancy conditions. She has worked directly in the fields of Pain Management, Obstetrics & Gynecology, advanced studies in both Functional Medicine and Acupuncture, and had been a doula for over 14 years.  

We have been trusted partners with Mrs. Thompson for over 3 years and it has been such a pleasure to work with her to help her clients on their Journey of Wellness. It was so captivating talking with Mrs. Thompson. She has such a deep and thorough knowledge of the physiological processes throughout the phases of pregnancy. Some how, she is able to explain the most complex concepts that occur through all phases of preconception, fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum making them totally understandable. 

“The Functional Medicine model is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness. It requires a detailed understanding of each patient’s genetic, biochemical, and lifestyle factors and leverages that data to direct personalized treatment plans that lead to improved patient outcomes.”

Remember that not all Functional Medicine Practitioners are the same, make sure your practitioner is “Certified”, meaning they have passed rigorous training and testing to practice Functional Medicine.

When I initially walked into Mrs. Thompson’s office for our interview, it was really fascinating to hear that she was reviewing a long genetic makeup report for one of her clients to understand what might possibly be a barrier to their fertility and how to best support them to a successful pregnancy. Oftentimes conversations around challenging fertility are tough and deeply emotional, especially when the news is not the most ideal. Reviewing both the health, medical history, and lifestyles of the mother and father to help support best outcomes is her goal. 

Hearing her talk about the importance of really focusing on the “Sacred Vessel” the “Mother” and their continuously changing and developing nutritional and physiological needs during pregnancy felt like a profoundly different shift in focus than just focusing on the developing baby. Oftentimes we hear more about how the fetal baby is developing, if they’re on the right timeline, caudal to cephalad measurements, fetal heartbeat, sex of the fetus, etc. With the maternal plan of care being developed around the developing baby, not the other way around, where caring for the mother is the primary focus which will intrinsically provide all her growing baby needs.

Let’s listen to how Mrs. Thompson explains the importance of focusing on the “Sacred Vessel” first to best support the pregnancy and developing baby.

There are several services that “Sacred Vessel Acupuncture” provides. As aforementioned, there’s a predominant focus on fertility, conception, pregnancy, postpartum, but also acupuncture, Functional Medicine, Women’s Health in general, pain management and injury, and Doula services. She currently provides virtual care for clients internationally as well, and has written the book on Functional Maternity, integrating Functional Medicine and Pregnancy!!  

Thompson, S. (2021). Functional maternity: Using functional medicine and nutrition to improve pregnancy and childbirth outcomes. Modern Wisdom Press. 

ISBN: 978-1-951692-16-2

Mrs. Thompson offers a free 15 minute phone consultation to try and understand what each client might be challenged with, what the client may have already attempted or done, and help provide understanding if she would be able to help them succeed through their current health and maternity journey.

I highly recommend reaching out to Mrs. Sarah Thompson to see if she can help you!

Sacred Vessel Acupuncture

Sarah Thompson, CFMP, L.Ac., Doula

2001 S. Shields St. Bldg H – 101, Fort Collins, CO  80526

(970) 631-8119 info@sacredvesselacupuncture.com

www.sacredvesselacupuncture.com

Stay tuned for my next adventure into Wellness, until then… 

Aloha a hui hou!!  

Keonemana

Spring is in the air!!! I am so ready and excited for the change into Spring. I can hear the birds starting up in the morning, it has been getting warmer to get out and be active, and it is a good time for change, a catalyst to focus on internal and external changes to benefit our personal Wellness and Health goals. Working on becoming the best versions of ourselves.

I had the wonderful opportunity recently to meet with one of our newest partners, and I am really excited to share with you about Ms. Brenna Galves who owns and operates Reset Medical Solutions. I hope I can do justice to the palpable passion you can feel when she shares her vision, expertise, and ambition to Educate, Empower, and Evolve her clients and the community into better Health and Wellness.              

Ms. Galves was originally driven to become a Nurse. Born and raised in San Diego, CA she also had an abundant community filled with alternative sources of health and wellness. “My mom would take me to herbal shops before antibiotics”, she mentioned. When asked what she wanted to do in the hospital as a nurse she would convey to her family and peers that, “I want to be on a floor that would help people heal.” Though she knew that healing wasn’t always the case in the hospital setting.

When she realized that the path of a nurse in that setting would not give her the satisfaction of her driven mission to heal the world, the opportunity arose for her to attend an Acupuncture school in San Diego, where some of the best Acupuncture Schools are located. She received her Associates Degree then quickly dived right into her Masters Degree where she was not only educated in acupuncture, but intensively learning over 350+ individual herbal medicines, compounding herbal remedies, Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Acupressure, Cupping, Reiki, Lymphatic Activation, “Tui Na” Massage, and integration of sound in healing to touch on a few. 

Eight years later her passions still remain the same, if not more galvanized by our current system of health care. Where there exists a fundamental problem in our current healthcare system that treats symptoms with a lot of patients finding themselves on a life long regiment of prescription medications, often not being reevaluated throughout their lifespan on necessity or the possibility of alternatives that may have fewer side effects on the body’s systems as a whole.    

Ms. Galves expresses, “My spirit is irritated, you come as a helper to help people, and you see what we’re being offered (health care options) and it’s irritating. My spirit is irritated because I know that there’s better for people, and it’s just gotten so chaotic now we all can’t ignore it. Being an advocate for people… and truly talking about preventative medicine with them, is when we will truly see change.” 

Ms. Galves is not against western medicine at all, she conveys “Western medicine has done an amazing job in a certain capacity… though there needs to be an understanding of when and where each is needed”. Ms. Galves actually loves collaborating with Physicians, most of whom she works with see the need for true preventative medicine for their mutual clients.

For example some of that collaborative work is to help clients get off of long term prescription medication and to lessen those side effects that accompany that medication regimen. She talks about the importance of this kind of collaboration to uniquely meet the needs of her clients and balancing the right time and place for both Western and Traditional Medicine. 

A lot of the clients that walk through her door feel powerless, her goal, her mission, is to meet them where they are at, to best understand what they need, and Educate, Empower, and Evolve their personal health and wellness giving them advocacy and agency. She calls it the three “E’s”

“Educate, Empower, and Evolve”

1. Educate her clients and the community, on the Traditional and Scientific approach to discovering true Health and Wellness.

2. Empower clients with options to their care, in the amazingness of their body, understanding that there can be alternatives to a lifetime of prescription medications or only being told that surgery, or enduring chronic pain is their only option, to have a voice and say in their Health and Wellness. 

3. Evolving of personal health and wellness on an individual level as well as a systems approach to community and societal Health Care as a whole.

The interesting part of this model is it is always in motion, once a client feels that their health has Evolved the cycle may return to Educate or Empower to further advance a clients personal health goals or in the development of new goals.

Part of her education is what she describes as “Tradition meets Science” listen to how she describes this kind of integration:

          A Traditional approach to Health and Wellness is supporting the body’s natural pathways and immune response systems to correct imbalances occurring in the physiology of the body. It is understanding the science and the physiological body processes, identifying possible dysfunction and/or dysregulation and how to naturally support the body’s own ability to correct those internal pathways naturally and flourish to its homeostatic natural state. Seeking to understand the root cause of a client’s alignments and correcting that, instead of just focusing on relieving symptoms while still enduring the underlying dysfunction. With the use of natural dietary recommendations, lifestyle adjustments, herbology to replenish essential nutrients, proteins, amino acids, minerals, etc. along with other modalities like lymphatic drainage, cupping, and acupuncture to be able to get to the root of each clients’ unique needs. 

A new client experience is a balance between a thorough 90 minute intake assessment through consultation, a thorough health history, and client’s personal perceptions about their health. Ms. Galves then assesses what their body is actually saying through a thorough physical assessment to better understand what parallels between the two assessments as well as what the objective signs that the body is conveying that hadn’t been indicated during the verbal and written consultation portion of a new client assessment. Some of her most helpful intake questions are:

1. In your opinion what has happened to your health?
2. When was the last time in your life that you felt 100% with your health?
3. What are your top 3 health care goals in the next year?

          These questions are her most helpful in being able to meet clients where they’re at in their self-care and wellness journey. These questions are continually readdressed, not only on the initial intake assessment but are reevaluated during every appointment to ensure the client’s goals are guiding the direction of care.

At Reset Medical Solutions, based on the aforementioned assessments, clients may be recommended for a variety of treatment options or an integration of several, some of those include Acupuncture; Reiki; Cupping; Herbology; An integration of Acupuncture, Message, and “Tui Na” Soft Tissue work; Whole Body Cosmetic Wellness; Lymphatic Activation; Sound Bathing; and Health Coaching to name a few. 

                   She conveys that she doesn’t want to overload herself, and through this eight (8) year journey so far, she continually receives abundance and signs in the fruition of her mission and goals. This seems to be what continues to propel her to heights not often taken on by small business owners. What felt like a title wave of complex endeavors ahead, she talks about her goals with a calmness and excitement that was felt across the room. It’s as if her internal compass has always pointed to True North and she listened, even in the toughest parts of her journey. 

          Locally, Ms. Glaves plans to expand her clinical treatment space, doubling it in size, adding some group work sessions, integrating a Registered Nurse Licensed Clinical Nutritionist in her practice, and is also hosting a health fair coming up in Johnstown, CO in May 2023. 

          She is looking to grow her connections with local community partners, establishing an integrative health network among like-minded community health providers, physicians, and the Chamber of Commerce, and with this network her biggest goal is the creation of an Integrative Hospital here in Northern Colorado. 

Ms. Galves has also been presented the opportunity to be on a non-profit board for medicine, and through that connection she is opening up a satellite Clinic and Wellness Center in the mountains of southern CO near Monument Lake off the Legends Hwy, 30min into the mountains from Trinidad, CO.

          She is also working on putting together a 3 day wellness festival there, bringing together providers and professionals from all over the nation, along with the community, speakers and experts in the field of Traditional Medicine, Integrative Care, Health and Wellness, all with the goal to come together to share on best practices so that this collaborative knowledge and expertise can be brought back to their own communities to help Educate, Empower, and Evolve!

      We’re excited to have Reset Medical Solutions as a trusted partner and recommend, if you’re on a journey of self-care, health, and wellness, to take a moment and check her out!

Reset Medical Solutions 2038 Vermont Dr. Unit 207, Fort Collins, CO 80525 info@resetmedicalsolutions.com (970) 889-0521

Stay tuned for my next adventure into Wellness, until then… 

Aloha a hui hou!!  

Keonemana