We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brenna Werme a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brenna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

I have been fortunate to have many amazing mentors/leaders/teachers since I was a teenager. To say that I am grateful would be an understatement and I’d love to speak about all of them, however, since this is chiropractic focused, I feel it is most fitting to talk about my chiropractor and former boss, Dr. Catherine Hondorp.
When I finished chiropractic school in 2012 I decided to move back to Western Mass (born and raised) from Atlanta. Finishing school and getting spit into the “real” world is quite a shock on the nervous system and the body/being as a whole and that transition was extremely hard. The sudden change and all that came with it left me feeling really lost and depressed and I knew I needed help. Since the philosophy behind chiropractic is all about having a healthy spine and nervous system so we can function optimally and feel regulated physically/mentally/emotionally/energetically, I knew the best thing I could do to help myself was get under regular care again. I also knew I didn’t want to JUST be “cracked”. I wanted to receive care that would go deep and help me to discover new ways of being, transform patterns that no longer served me and awaken to a more whole version of myself so that I could show up in the world. I knew what I was looking for and had a hunch Dr. Catherine could help me. (Mind you, this is after months of dragging my feet because I didn’t want to admit I was suffering) From the moment she sat down with me I knew I was in the right place. I mean, all she said was ‘what brings you in today and how can I help’ and I was an instant puddle on the floor. I felt so safe and welcome and seen in ways that I had never experienced from any practitioner before. Not only was this relieving, but it was also a mirror of how I wanted to show up for my practice members and patients. Interestingly enough, Dr. Catherine was about to take a sabbatical and in need of someone to cover her practice. Since I was interested in and had some minor training in the technique she used, and more than willing to learn from her and upcoming seminars, I jumped at the opportunity! As a new grad, looking for more work as I built my own practice, this felt like divine timing. So while receiving deep healing care, I also observed and learned from someone I consider a master of her craft. Chiropractic really is an art form as much as a science and philosophy and Dr. Catherine is a gifted artist. If Catherine had not trusted me to tend to her practice while she was away, I am not sure I would have developed my skills as a practitioner and a healer in the ways that I did. To this day, I learn so much from being on her table and receiving care from her. Each session (we call them entrainments, and yes, I go weekly) is unique and potent. Magic, if you will.

Brenna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up in the Pioneer Valley. My fascination with health began as a teenager, when I began practicing yoga, swimming competitively and learning about nutrition. Around that same time I started to see a chiropractor for back pain, and immediately wanted to learn everything I could about chiropractic, health and the body. Fortunately, my dear friend Freshman year of college said to me one day she was going to go to chiropractic school after undergrad and in that moment I knew, oh, this is what I’m supposed to do! (She did not end up going and becoming a chiropractor, but I do believe she was meant to direct me on my path)
I have been a practicing chiropractor since 2013. My approach to chiropractic has evolved over the years through my own healing, training and experiences. I practice in a very non-traditional, gentle way (rarely am I delivering the cracking type of adjustment) that is facilitating in a healing process instead of doing something to someone and “fixing them”. We are not broken as humans. We are simply traumatized, disconnected, and lacking regulation and ease. The way I approach chiropractic is through a unique blend of multiple techniques and approaches that helps my clients heal deeply & create lasting change on many levels. I strive to include education and understanding of the spine, nervous system and energy and how trauma and stressors get stored in the body during table sessions (we call them entrainments) to assist people in neural reorganization and regulation for optimum health and resilience. It is an honor to be part of someone’s healing journey and anytime a client gains an awareness, has an ah-ha moment, or just feels more in their body, it’s a time to celebrate. We are so disconnected in today’s culture and just about everyone is struggling with dysregulation or trauma that is contributing to their suffering. Helping people regulate and feel a sense of safety in their bodies – physically, mentally, emotionally and energetically – is something I am so passionate about and feel really proud that it is the work I get to do in this world.

In addition, I am also a certified Embodyoga® teacher and practitioner. This knowledge gets woven into table sessions on many occasions to help in facilitating healing and connection. I teach in my office, locally, and run retreats internationally.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think moving back to the area after school and already having a community within the Yoga Center at the time helped me to start getting my name out there and talk to people about what it is I offered. In addition I was able to weave in some basic tenets of chiropractic into my classes when I was teaching yoga that helped give curious people a flavor of what Embodied Chiropractic was becoming.
I am also a certified Webster Technique practitioner – a technique specific to pregnancy and primarily breech pregnancies. This is a niche I am passionate about and having this extra training has helped to build my reputation among the pre and postnatal community.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

I love love love what I do and I love that I get to help people be more in their bodies and lives every day.
However, if I had to go back, I would consider more carefully the debt accrued with going to chiropractic school. That is a heavy weight that seems to never go away. If I could choose again to do what I do without amassing so much debt, I would.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.embodiedchiropractic.com
• Instagram: embodiedchiropractic
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/embodiedchiropractic

Image Credits

Cara Totman Photography