Today we’d like to introduce you to Meghan Gray Peckinpaugh.
Meghan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My story started when I was an undergrad student at Colorado State. I was unwell and spent too much time in and out of hospitals and visited multiple specialists. No one could figure out what was going on. Eventually, my mother convinced me to try acupuncture and it was this clinician that was able to finally help me after multiple incorrect diagnosis and many ineffective medications. She was able to help me through dietary changes and build my strength and health back up. Acupuncture has been a priority in my life ever since.
After graduation from CSU, I moved to Los Angeles for work. Eventually I started to realize I wasn’t loving my work. I ended up in acupuncture school and was the first student in the country licensed with a first professional doctorate degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. For my doctoral research, I studied with the use of acupuncture for PTSD in combat veterans. I chose this topic because my own grandfather, who had fought in World War II, struggled daily with his haunted past and I had heard acupuncture could help. It can!
Before I opened the doors at Balanced Thistle, I was working in other clinics in Fort Collins. One of which was very centered on treating veterans and I was able to grow my experience treating PTSD considerably. My time working with veterans in school and after led me to lots of self-education and reading into the use of acupuncture for treating not just the body, but also mind, spirit, and soul. The majority of my wellness patients I treat for stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. I always tell them that I can’t take the stress away, because I’m not their boss or their kids or their job, but I can help them mentally deal with the stress and help protect the body from the negative effects of it. I also treat a lot of people with digestive issues and all things women’s health, from PMS and endocrine disruption to fertility and menopause. It was working with so many women that led me to the unique aspect of Balanced Thistle. We call it our “Wild Side” and it’s all out cosmetic services!
After enough women jokingly asked if I could get rid of their wrinkles or teased themselves that they’re looking old these days, I started to realize how much this matters. Essentially, I started to wonder why we think “health” and “beauty” are two separate things. Particularly since so many cosmetic concerns are rooted in our internal health. So I started to learn cosmetic acupuncture. I wanted to offer people beauty that’s rooted in wellness, and all natural of course! All of our cosmetic services centered around promoting optimal health via improved digestion, reduced stress, better detox function, etc. And so Balanced Thistle was born. Balance, inspired by the classic Chinese Medicine image of Yin and Yang, and Thistle, which represents the sharpness of an acupuncture needle, and power of herbal medicine, and the beauty of health.
We have a lot of new exciting services we’re about to bust out in 2020. They’re all rooted in Chinese Medicine which is essential to what I envision for this business. I think this ancient medicine is really amazing, otherwise it wouldn’t have so boldly and stubbornly withstood the test of time. We’re introducing NoCo to a lot of services not previously offered in this area but popular in places like LA and NYC. The foundation of everything we do is health and wellness, and this is how we get such beautiful change cosmetically. Clients are loving feeling better and more confident!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Oh goodness no. But bumpy roads are more fun than smooth ones, right?! Going back to school was scary. Then when I graduated the regulation board didn’t even know what to do with me because it was a new degree. So for a couple very scary months, I thought I wouldn’t be able to sit boards and that I’d never be licensed. It eventually worked out but it was very stressful for a while.
Once I was licensed I was petrified to go out on my own. I ended up working in another clinic with some really wonderful people. I just wasn’t growing though. I tried everything and I couldn’t gain traction. I started to doubt my skills as a clinician and began wondering if I’d chosen the right career. It was terrifying! I had to supplement my income with multiple other jobs. I ended up renting a room in another clinic, just in an attempt to try something different, and suddenly something shifted. My schedule was filling up and people were really improving. I love that quote about how if a flower doesn’t grow, you change the environment, not the flower. I feel like that describes my career.
Then, of course, I was blessed to outgrow the room I was renting and I realized I needed more space. I saved and saved and when I finally signed my lease, my husband and I did the entire renovation ourselves in order to avoid a business loan. Every time a patient comes in and tells me how beautiful the space is I want to cry. My husband would be in the clinic all day building and I would be there early before work and again after work late into the night. With multiple jobs, the days felt very long. My parents came to town to lend a hand on all the final touches like painting and furnishing everything- I was so grateful. It took a lot of showers to clean off how gross all those old ceiling tiles were! Once it we were ready to open a friend called it a “labor of love” and I couldn’t agree more. It truly embodies what I wanted in my healing space, and it was a lot of work! So worth it though.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Balanced Thistle is a family practice. I have advanced training in cosmetic acupuncture and significant experience working with mental health concerns, but I also treat pediatric patients, women’s health, pain management, chronic headaches, and more. I have extra training in pulse reading which is a traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis technique and I have a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine. I’m proud of the fact that we look at the whole person- everything is connected.
Kandi, our esthetician, has been in esthetics for over ten years and taught many of the NoCo estheticians while they were in school. Her varied experience, from teaching and working in med spas, has led her to the realization that all natural beauty is definitely the way to go. She has advanced training in Chinese Medicine Cosmetic Gua Sha and Five Element facials (also Chinese Medicine) and is the only esthetician in Northern Colorado with these amazing credentials.
I’m most proud of our commitment to learning. Both Kandi and I are constantly reading and taking continuing education courses in order to offer the best services we can. We don’t do anything with only slight enthusiasm, we do it all with so much excitement that you can feel the energy bouncing around the entire clinic. Everything we tackle we do so full force ahead. We just want to be sure we’re using every dang tool in the tool box to help people truly look and feel their best.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I don’t think success has a single definition. I don’t see it as some big, over-arching accomplishment. I think we’re finding “success” because we are looking at each individual person that comes to Balanced Thistle and chasing their personal goals. That’s what it’s really about. It’s the steps we take every day, not the end goal, that is growing us. The bottom line is that I absolutely love what I do and I’m always striving to be better. So while I think my personality type knows there is always room for improvement, I measure this daily simply by all the smiles we create! Helping people live a better life is definitely success.
Pricing:
- New Patient Acupuncture Appointment $115.00
- Balanced Thistle Wellness Acupuncture Appointment $75.00
- Wild Thistle Cosmetic Acupuncture Appointment $130.00
- Wild Renew Gua Sha Facial $95.00
- Wild Rejuvenate Anti-Aging Gua Sha Facial $115.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 1730 S. College Ave. STE 301
Fort Collins, CO 80525 - Website: www.balancedthistle.com
- Phone: 970-658-5777
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: balancedthistle
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/balancedthistle
Image Credit:
One Oak Photography
Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
