Meet Trailblazer Anna Francis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Francis.

Anna, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I graduated from Acupuncture school about eight years ago. I started school because I have always been fascinated with medicine and healing, but I don’t agree with the way western medicine views disease. Acupuncture views emotional and physical problems equally and doesn’t separate the two.

After graduate school, I became pregnant with my first daughter. I maintained a small practice until the birth of my second daughter when I stayed home with both girls due to medical issues they had. Now that my youngest is in school, I have been working to rebuild a practice. I am a single mama, so I am slowly figuring out how to see patients, run a business, and be able to be there for my girls before and after school. It has taken a learning curve, but I am starting to settle into both worlds. I have so much help from friends and family, and wouldn’t be able to do it without them.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been an easy or smooth road! I had to start practice earlier than I intended, and it was much harder to rebuild a practice with two kids in the mix. I don’t have a partner to pick up the slack at home, so I have relied on friends and family to help, and have built my schedule so I can be there for my girls before and after school. It is often a scramble to get to work on time and looking presentable, but my girls have started to understand the importance of me being at work and are becoming more helpful. They are also getting really good at being quiet while I am on a call at home so I can talk to patients when I’m not at the office (they are 4 and 7, so its a big ask to have them be quiet).

Something that became crucial to my growth was hiring a business coach. While I am very confident in my abilities as an acupuncturist, I quickly realized I had no idea how to grow or maintain a business. I hired a coach before I could afford it, counting the money spent as an investment in myself and my business. Not only has it helped me grow my business financially, but it has helped me to work through my own self-sabotage created by my doubts and insecurities.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
As an acupuncturist, much of my work is done by inserting thin needles into various points around the body. At a base level, acupuncture unblocks blockages – things hurt or don’t work if they are stuck. And I can treat almost anything – stress, anxiety, pain, poor sleep, digestion, infertility, allergies, headaches… pretty much anything, And it works, and it’s lasting – you don’t have to keep taking a medication daily in order to feel better. I also prescribe Chinese Herbs that again, can be used for almost anything. But I do so much more than that: I am a nutritionist, a counselor, a life coach, a relationship coach, I offer nonjudgemental support, and my patients share their lives with me.

I focus my practice around women, especially those who are dealing with infertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and the early years of parenting. I am most proud of the work I do with those patients. There is so little support given to women in this stage of their life and it is such a pivotal, life-defining period that is often brushed aside. Women are constantly dismissed and taught to ignore their own bodies, I teach women to listen to themselves, to trust what their bodies and their intuition is telling them. I give them support, listen to their grief and happiness, and tell them all the truths about labor and parenting, even the hard ones as I believe women are strong and deserve to know the truth in all things. I love the work I do and am so grateful for the trust my patients place in me.

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
I had a lot of hurdles to overcome in both my childhood and my adult life. It was those experiences, and the therapeutic work I did around those experiences, that have taught me to be patient, to work through challenges, and to believe in my own abilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: pricklymermaid.com
• Phone: 303.835.4195
• Email: anna@pricklymermaid.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pricklymermaid

Image Credit:
Anna Francis

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