Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Thompson.
Sarah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I think, like most, my journey to where I am today is full of curves and bends that I did not expect, but am happy occurred because they brought me to the place I was supposed to be.
My entire childhood, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I took jobs in high school at vet clinics and studied nutrition/pre-vet in college. One job changed the course of that path. I was working as a receptionist at the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital while attending college. There, I met a DVM/DO/L.Ac. who treated patients with acupuncture, both human and animal. I was fascinated and blown away by the results that she was getting with acupuncture therapy in the animals she saw at the clinic. I had many deep conversations with her and made a very big change in my career path. I transferred from vet school to acupuncture school. I had to know more about this mind-blowing medicine. In acupuncture school, I felt drawn towards pain management and sports medicine, studying with some of the best sports medicine acupuncturists in the field. After graduating, I worked directly with a pain management specialist physician where I learn a substantial amount of western treatment for chronic pain.
It wasn’t until I became pregnant with my first child that another big bend in my path would take place. Who knew women’s health was so intriguing? I sure didn’t. Now it was all I could think about. I studied fertility and reproduction, hormones, neurotransmitters, prenatal/maternity care, and I increased my education in nutrition.
My own childbirth experiences were empowering and amazing, and I knew I needed to be apart of the childbirth community. It was then that I did my Birth Doula training and started to incorporate prenatal/maternity and childbirth care into my acupuncture practice.
After almost a decade of providing acupuncture care, something was still missing. I needed to, again, dig deeper into my education. I decided to pursue advanced training in Functional Medicine so I could fully support my patients in their healthcare journey by providing an encompassing approach. Functional Medicine is the understanding of how the organ systems of the body are interconnected, and how nutrition plays a role on a biochemical level. So, here I am, a Functional Medicine Acupuncturist and Birth Doula with patients locally and internationally.
As my career has grown and changed my family has been my foundation. My husband of 13 years is my support. We’ve spent nearly half our lives together and have two beautiful daughters, a couple of dogs and cats, and after years of dreaming of settling on a small plot of land, we have finally found ourselves the owners of a small farm.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you had to overcome?
Life is never a smooth road, but it’s the bumps along the way that help you grow.
Being a mother who also wants a career is one of the great struggles any woman will have to navigate. Each of us has to develop our balance. Before children, my life seemed clear and steady. I had a plan, and I was executing the plan. When I became pregnant with my first daughter, that plan upended. I wanted both worlds. I wanted to have my career but I also wanted to be a mother. It took time and sacrifice to find the balance. I sacrificed portions of my career and personal growth to be home with my children as much as possible; to be there when they got home from school, and to be at their practices and games. I wouldn’t change it for the world. Life is short, and the time of life that your children are children is smaller still. As my daughters get older, I am happy that I made the decision to sacrifice hours at the office for hours at home. Life is long and I still have many years ahead of me to reach my personal goals, but only a few years of my children being children.
If I had any advice for young women just started out, I would say don’t make a plan for life, but plan for life. Meaning, be prepared for the possibilities of life, know who you are, what you believe in, and as life throws you curveballs know where you stand. Don’t let your big plans keep you from living the life in front of you.
Also, perspective. The way you perceive a situation will influence the lesson you take away from it.
What should we know about Sacred Vessel Acupuncture & Functional Medicine? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a constant explorer and knowledge seeker. I always tell people that when I was a child, I was obsessed with dogs and dog breeds. I wanted to know everything about them. I prided myself on knowing each breed of dog at a dog show. I was a big nerd, and I spent so much time trying to figure out how to make this obsession a career. Vet school seemed the most likely choice. As I got older, I realized it wasn’t the knowledge of dogs or the dogs themselves that I was obsessed with, it was the knowledge and expertise. I wanted to be known as an expert in what I knew. Which is partially what has fueled my work, and my specialties in my work… I am constantly searching for more knowledge.
I’ve spent the last 10+ years educating myself on the body and how it functions through nutrition. I will never be done educating myself as there are still so many unanswered questions in medicine, but for now, I am a Functional Medicine Acupuncturist and Doula who specializes in Women’s Health. What does this mean, and what do I do? Most of what I do is actually based in Functional Medicine & Nutrition. I look at the body as a whole and how it functions on a biochemical level. With my patients, we are addressing areas of dysfunction, and using proper nutrition and lifestyle habits to maximize their function. Acupuncture is used to help facilitate this process.
There are many practitioners out there who focus on reproduction and fertility, but not many, like myself, that focus on pregnancy and childbirth function. It is an area of women’s health that has been neglected, in both western and alternative healthcare. The function of the body during maternity is complicated and fascinating. Nutrition plays a big role, not only in fetal development but in the function of the mother’s body during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. I follow many women from fertility through postpartum, nutritionally and physically as a support system. I have patients with a history of severe pregnancy complications, and those who are hoping for natural childbirth with their first pregnancy. I have patients locally and as far away as Europe and South Africa whom I counsel and coach. I help them assess previous complications for patterns of nutritional dysfunction, and work towards prevention. I help them achieve the most functional pregnancy and birth experience they can with their genetics and health history.
I also lecture, and I am currently working on a second website to provide continuing education courses for practitioners and educational courses for the public. I am also writing a book, “Functional Childbirth” which I am hoping to release soon.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
In general, a woman’s biggest barriers in career advancement, whether she is self-employed or working for a company, are not what most people think of. They are ourselves, other women, and motherhood.
We are our greatest critics and our greatest barrier. I believe we live in an amazing time for women in America. We have endless opportunities for education, careers, motherhood, whatever we can dream we can create. We are also what we tell ourselves. Do we make excuses for our actions, blame others for what has happened to us, or do we stand strong and accept mistakes and move on growing from the experience. Everything in life is a fight, mostly within ourselves. Who we become is largely based on the decisions we make or don’t make. Did we turn left or right? Did we stand up for ourselves or hide? Were we a voice or a shadow? We make our own path.
Other women should be our greatest support system, but I’ve seen so many strong beliefs cause division among women, that I believe we are each other’s second greatest barrier to success. We all have our own beliefs and values in the way we live our lives, as we should, this makes us who we are. With the rise of social media and digital platforms, it is easy to berate others who choose differently, or don’t follow the same path as you. Whether you choose to work full time or stay at home, eat keto or vegan, it shouldn’t matter to others. We have the right, as women, to choose the path that best suits our life and needs. As women, we should respect these decisions of others. We do not have to agree with them, but we should respect the decisions they have made.
Having children changes so many things for a woman. The way you view the world, expectations, desires, priorities. Some of the barriers of motherhood are personal choices and others are societal expectations. It is difficult to wear multiple hats; to be the mother and to be the leader in business.
I have personally, never felt that I was left out, or missed out on opportunities because I was a woman. I made decisions for my overall quality of life. I am raising two very strong little girls. I want them to grow up knowing that they can make their life what they want, they have options and opportunities. The decisions are theirs to make.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1720 W. Mulberry Street – B7
Fort Collins, CO 80521 - Website: www.sacredvesselacupuncture.com
- Phone: (970) 631-8119
- Email: info@sacredvesselacupuncture.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sacred_vessel_acupuncture
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SacredVesselAcupuncture
Image Credit:
Shawna Cruz @sparkphotographyco
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