We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Anastasia Lander a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Anastasia , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Am I happy as a business owner?

The honest answer is… it depends on the day.

There are days where I absolutely love what I do. I get to walk into a space filled with people I genuinely care about—my husband, my best friend, our team who have become like family. And then there are the patients. Families who come in exhausted, overwhelmed, and searching for answers.

A newborn who hasn’t slept.
A mom who feels like her body isn’t her own.
A patient who has been in pain for years and is starting to lose hope.
And then something shifts.

By focusing on the nervous system—by helping the body regulate instead of just chasing symptoms—we start to see changes. The baby sleeps. The mom breathes again. The patient starts to feel like themselves. Those moments are everything. They’re grounding. They remind me exactly why I chose this path.

That part? That’s the easy part.

The part people don’t really talk about is everything behind the scenes.

I remember one night not too long ago—I was sitting at my dining room table long after my husband had gone to bed. Laptop open, spreadsheets pulled up, messages from insurance companies I still needed to respond to. Payroll coming up. Rent. Overhead. The quiet weight of knowing that multiple families depend on the decisions I make.

And I had that thought.

What would it feel like to just… clock out?

To finish work at the end of the day and be done. No mental tabs left open. No late-night calculations. No responsibility sitting on your chest at 11 PM.

For a moment, that life felt really appealing. Clean. Contained. Predictable.

But then I sat with it a little longer. Because I also know what I would lose. I wouldn’t get to build something that reflects what I actually believe healthcare should look like. I wouldn’t get to create a space where families feel seen, where care is centered around the nervous system, where we’re not just reacting to problems but changing the trajectory of people’s lives.

I wouldn’t get to impact generations. And that’s the trade.
Entrepreneurship isn’t freedom in the way people think—it’s responsibility. It’s pressure. It’s a constant stretching into the next version of yourself. But it’s also purpose.

So am I happier? Not always in the moment. But deeply, overwhelmingly fulfilled in the bigger picture.
And for me, that’s worth it.

Dr. Anastasia , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Dr. Anastasia Lander, and I’m one of the co-owners of Lander Chiropractic in Brea, California. What we’ve built here is more than just a chiropractic office—it’s a space centered around nervous system health, family support, and what we call generational wellness.
My path into this work wasn’t linear. Before becoming a chiropractor, I was in finance, working on Wall Street. After 9/11, everything shifted for me. It forced me to reevaluate what I was doing, who I was helping, and what kind of impact I wanted to have. I realized I didn’t want to spend my life building numbers—I wanted to help build people. That decision led me into chiropractic, and ultimately into creating something much bigger than I originally imagined.
At Lander Chiropractic, we focus on the nervous system first. Most people come in thinking chiropractic is about pain relief—and while we absolutely help with that, pain is often just the last signal the body sends. We work with infants who aren’t sleeping or are struggling with colic, pregnant moms who want a more connected and supported birth experience, postpartum women navigating recovery and identity shifts, athletes optimizing performance, and individuals dealing with chronic stress or long-standing conditions.
What we’re really doing is helping the body regulate, adapt, and function the way it was designed to.
We use a combination of techniques—chiropractic adjustments, craniosacral therapy, dynamic body balancing, soft tissue work, and acupuncture—all tailored to the individual. But more importantly, we educate. We shift the conversation from “What’s wrong with me?” to “How can my body work better?”
What sets us apart is that we don’t chase symptoms—we focus on the system.
We’ve built a practice where families don’t just come in for care—they grow with us. We see babies become toddlers, toddlers become kids, moms become stronger versions of themselves, and entire families start to experience health in a completely different way. That’s what we mean by generational wellness. We’re not just helping someone feel better today—we’re changing how they experience health long-term.
I’m most proud of the community we’ve created. The relationships. The trust. The fact that people walk in and feel safe, seen, and supported—not rushed, not dismissed, not reduced to a diagnosis.
We’ve also expanded beyond the walls of our office through our postpartum community, Co-MOM-ity, which was created to support mothers in a stage of life that is often overlooked. It’s built around connection, education, and real conversations—because healing doesn’t happen in isolation.
If there’s one thing I want people to understand about us, it’s this:
We are not just here to “fix” pain.
We are here to help people reconnect to their bodies, regulate their nervous systems, and create a higher level of health than they thought was possible.
Our philosophy is simple:
Reset. Regulate. Restore.
And when you do that consistently, everything else starts to change.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My co-founder is my husband, Dr. James Lander—and our story is anything but typical.

We met in chiropractic school, but not in the way you’d expect. We weren’t in the same year, and there was no instant spark or “love at first sight” moment. Instead, we became study partners while taking acupuncture classes. Long hours, shared notes, helping each other get through exams—it was easy, natural.

That friendship grew into something really solid. We became best friends. Eventually, roommates. We were so comfortable with each other that we would actually try to set each other up with other people. Looking back, it’s almost funny how obvious it probably was to everyone else except us.
The shift didn’t happen overnight. It was years in the making.

Somewhere along the way, the dynamic changed—but neither of us wanted to be the one to say it out loud. There was too much to risk. When your foundation is that strong, you don’t want to lose it.

But eventually, we had the conversation. And once we did, everything moved quickly.

We went on our first date a week later, got engaged within three weeks, and were married nine months after that. When you know, you know—and for us, it felt less like falling in love and more like realizing we had been there all along. This year will be our 15-year anniversary.

What makes it even more meaningful is that we don’t just share a life—we share a purpose. We’ve built our business together, grown it together, and navigated all the challenges and wins side by side.

He is still my best friend. The best business partner I could ever ask for. And the most supportive, steady, and loving husband.

There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t feel seen, supported, and deeply loved—and I think that foundation is a big part of why we’ve been able to build what we have, both at home and inside our business.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

If I’ve learned anything about managing a team, it’s this: culture isn’t built by accident—it’s built by intention.
First, surround yourself with people you genuinely trust, enjoy being around, and who share your vision. Skills can be taught. Alignment and integrity cannot. If someone doesn’t align with where you’re going, it will eventually create friction—no matter how talented they are.
Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions upfront. It’s far better to be temporarily short-handed than to bring in the wrong person and disrupt your entire team dynamic. The cost of a misalignment is always higher than the cost of waiting for the right fit.
One of the biggest shifts for me as a leader was realizing that even if you have the right people on your team, they may not be in the right roles. I’ve learned to ask: What do you actually enjoy doing? Where do you feel most confident? Where do you thrive? When people are operating in their strengths, everything changes—energy goes up, ownership increases, and the entire environment feels lighter and more productive.
Open communication is everything. And that includes the uncomfortable conversations.
Avoiding difficult conversations doesn’t protect your team—it slowly erodes trust. Addressing things with honesty and respect creates clarity, and clarity creates safety. Your team should know where they stand, feel heard, and understand that feedback isn’t criticism—it’s part of growth.
At the end of the day, high morale doesn’t come from perks or surface-level incentives. It comes from people feeling valued, aligned, and connected to something bigger than themselves.
When you build that kind of environment, people don’t just show up to work—they show up with purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.landerchiropractic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/landerchiro/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LanderChiropractic
• Linkedin: landerchiropractic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@landerchiropractic3905
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lander-chiropractic-brea?osq=Lander+Chiropractic