Community Highlights: Meet Gina Farmer of Connecting Point Acupuncture

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Farmer.

Hi Gina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been fortunate to have met, been healed by, befriended by and guided by truly gifted healers for much of my life. It’s not only what someone studies that helps them assist others and helps people be well, but what they carry inside themselves. What they carry, and how they carry it. At the time I didn’t realize the incredible impact some of these individuals made upon me, but I look back through the memory of them and it is so clear. To tell my story is to share about these individuals, because I can’t seem to separate myself from their influence. Here are a precious few:

I was stunned by the eloquent light that shone from a Chicago area heart surgeon when I met him at the bedside of my younger brother. This was a man who was skilled in heart surgery, and along with his skill was his light…his eyes glowed, so alive with a quiet and sublime presence. I felt completely at ease and still inside upon meeting him as my brother was entering in to an 8 hour surgery to repair a congenital condition. My brother’s care was in the best hands, this I was sure of.

Close to my heart is Michelle Flora, a tradition midwife who became my dear friend. Her knowledge ranged from chiropractic, to delivering babies, to healing with essential oils. She knew women, knew how to be with them, knew their hearts. I liken her to a bird’s song. And come to think of it, she was an amazing whistler! The bird sings her song because that is what she knows to do, that is part of who she is. Michelle was steadfast in her commitment to provide safe and wholesome birth experiences to her many patients. She was a song that could be no other song. Her way with people moved me so deeply and shaped me in my desire to serve, as she has served.

Dr. Lin, my children’s pediatrician also carried a calm and still presence when he entered the exam room. He greeted my children with a joyous heart each and every visit. He never used more words than were necessary and thought deeply about the questions I asked him. While he was board certified as an MD, he practiced homeopathy but would write a prescription “just in case.” We never needed it. Not for impetigo, not for coughs, not for ear infections. After giving birth to my youngest, I had become lethargic and developed quite a bit of pain in my body. Dr. Lin was also an acupuncturist and his office assistant told me to come in. After 2 needles inserted for about a half hour or so, I walked out that office with my life restored. I was pain free, my energy was back! I jumped and clicked my heals together while walking to my car.

I knew acupuncture worked. It was nothing short of a miracle in my mind. So when I became overcome with the stresses of life as a single mother, a full time job and not enough time to listen to my own thoughts and heart each day, I found acupuncture again. This time is was for migraines, emotional health and digestive issues. I did not experience a 2 needle miracle this time, but an abiding sense to continue with it as I felt a bit better, more like myself with every session. One day I finally admitted to myself that I wanted to learn more and this day began the 4 and a half year journey I took to become an acupuncturist.

But that journey did not end with receiving my degree and starting my own practice. I sough out another remarkable individual to become my mentor and teacher. Studying with Ann Cecil Sterman, I found the magic of the acupuncture channels that I had been longing to experience- beyond the rote memorization of their functions. I began to meditate on the channels, feel them in my own body and come to love them like I love my own heart beat, my own breath. One of the greatest gifts I received from her is how to be with my patients. How to hold open the limitless possibilities for their healing while I attend to them. She taught me that I am not the healer, each person is. My job is to help create an environment for healing, because… the body knows what it needs to do. That is the respect and care I offer my patients. I will help identify and translate what the mind, body and spirit are calling for. I will activate the channels with acupuncture and abide with my own cultivation of quiet and presence. Then, their being will respond with its own beautiful and God given wisdom.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Struggle is an apt description for what it’s like as a mother to watch your child fall into addiction. The grief and pain I’ve contended with has been unbearable at times. Part of the struggle I’ve faced is coming to terms with how my grown child chooses to live their life. As a mother I may not approve. I want more for them. I want them to be happier, healthier. I want us to be in relationship with each other like we used to be. I want to hear their jokes, laugh and wonder at their adept wit. And yet, no matter how much I wish things were different, they are not.

I’ve had to learn to accept the way my oldest child chooses to live their life. This acceptance is hard won. This is where the rubber meets the road so to speak. I see people all the time who rail against the way life is, the way life presents. “Things should not be that way!” “Those people shouldn’t have done that.” “The world is too ___ (fill in the blank)” “I should be further ahead in life.” “He shouldn’t have said that to me.” And on and on…This judgement and comparison leads to much un-wellness in the mind. The body will follow as it has to find ways to finance the rumination and obsessive thinking. I have been in this repetitive and stagnant state longing for things to be different. I know that sate of mind well and have a lot of compassion for those who carry the great weight of wanting life to be different. Recently, I knew I was on the brink of becoming physically ill due to my regret, my fear and worry. And as I sought help from some of my colleagues and was witnessed in my deep pain and suffering, I made a commitment to heal.

As an alternative health care practitioner, how can I help others identify costly and unhealthy patterns if I do not commit to walking this path myself? My child has an addiction. I love and miss her dearly. I am always here to talk and to listen. But I cannot change her or her destiny. Only she can.

When I commit to showing up as a professional, it means that I take my personal cultivation very seriously. I cannot expect people to make changes that I myself aren’t willing to make. There is no perfection here, only the willingness to continue to move towards greater states of balance.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Connecting Point Acupuncture ?
I practice classical acupuncture. How this differs from many other acupuncture practices (I mean not to minimize any other practitioner or how they practice- everyone has their own gifts!) is that I use the full channel system, which is not taught in most acupuncture schools. What my practice excels at is helping ease patients back into wellness who have been struggling with chronic conditions- fatigue, digestive issues, fertility, pain etc. Seen through the lens of classical acupuncture, illness is not only a western diagnosis, or something a person “has”, but the body’s cues and communication of where one is out of balance and harmony with oneself, with one’s relationships and with the world.

I seek to help those who feel they want a new way, to try something different if what they have tried before isn’t working. I never reduce people to metrics or numbers but see the whole person, understanding that given their own circumstances, their body is doing the best it can for them. I help unravel some of the mystery and provide simple dietary or lifestyle actions that align with the treatment principle. I am always learning from my patients about how both illness and healing moves through the human body and mind!

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Acupuncture is growing and will continue to do so! I find many people are desiring a blend of both western medicine and holistic care. Yet what people are hungry for regardless of their preference is connection- to be seen, listened to and respected as a whole and unique individual. They long to re-learn how to regulate their own nervous system and mitigate the stresses of modern life. Chinese Medicine is a whole package- treating the body and the mind/spirit based on principles observed in nature. I don’t think I’m imagining that many people want to feel more connected to themselves and the natural world. In fact, if we don’t connect to the natural world, the opportunity for being healthy and thriving fades. Because of these growing realities, Chinese Medicine has the opportunity to truly serve people in ways in which we are all longing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.connectingpointacupuncture.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connectingpointacupuncture?igsh=MW4yendkaWsyNWVhdA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr