We were lucky to catch up with Georgios Vlahoylis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Georgios, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents did a lot of things right, and some others wrong like most parents, but I am more than grateful and proud of them to say the least.

The best gift they provided when raising us (my brother and I) was to build our self-confidence, and the second one was to allow us to become curious human beings. In my opinion, when you are confident about your potential and curious about discovering the world and your place within it, then the sky is the limit. I think these are the biggest wings you can provide to a child before you teach them how to fly.

I would have not been where I am today, both in terms of my career and my personal happiness, if it was not for my parents’ inner strength and courage while allowing me to discover what really inspires and motivates me. Long story short with a strong heart and unconditional trust, one of their biggest sacrifice, my parents allowed me to immigrate to the States from Europe (3000+ miles away) 17 years ago right after highschool in order to chase and test my dreams. It has been a self fulfilling, growth mindset path ever since, and for that I will be eternally grateful to them. I hope I can also teach resilience & provide a strong support system to my own children one day.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the founder of an Integrative & Traditional East Asian Medicine practice which utilizes traditional tools such as Acupuncture, Electroacupuncture, Traditional Chinese Herbs, Supplements, Fire Cupping & Moxibustion in order to help people with acute and chronic medical conditions.

I am bridging neuroscience to tradition by utilizing electroacupuncture with traditional acupuncture bringing evidence based protocols for any condition treated. As a primary health care provider I also utilize functional lab testing and medical labs in order to get accurate feedback on patient’s current health baseline, and to track progress when needed. We offer telehealth consultations to people who are only seeking phytomedicine and herbal therapies, or other supplement suggestions when addressing deficiencies and imbalances. I believe that educating my patients about the clinical applications of Acupuncture and phytomedicine, fitness & wellness for longevity, is as crucial as it is offering these healing approaches. I follow up with clinical research and always try to stay informed both on eastern and western medicine subjects.

I specialize in Pain management, Mood regulation, and Digestive health since I believe that “All disease begins in the Gut,” like my ancestor Hippocrates spoke about thousands of years ago. By addressing the gut microbiome ecosystem, you can neuroregulate your body and enhance nutrition absorption which both lead to achieving constitutional balance, and optimal health such as improved focus, elevated mood and proper immunological responses.

I believe the art in traditional Chinese medicine, like all traditional medicines, comes from the “one size does Not fit all” approach, and that each person’s idiosyncrasy dictates the treatment care plan and which health tools (acupuncture, electroacupuncture, herbs and supplements, cupping etc) are more appropriate. I love working with every population, both in and out of my practice, I also see patients at UCLA Ashe Center, and I find that the keys to helping anyone are active listening and an open mind.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Time spent in clinical practice is essential. Offering traditional and integrative health care is a life long process. Like in any other medical field, success comes from result driven health care and results are guaranteed only with time in practice, and patience. Sure there can be small successes early on, for example treating an acute ankle sprain, or a minor respiratory infection. However, most conditions are complicated and only with consistent treatment and lifestyle adjustments you can expect long term progress, and all that requires time.

Besides time, which is usually an unquestionable tool for success, word of mouth, community outreach and professional networking are also key ingredients to a growing health care practice. Reaching out to other professionals from different medical subfields such as mental health counselors, physical therapists, medical doctors etc, can help you grow faster and also provide your patients with guaranteed interdisciplinary support.

Lastly, allowing yourself to fail and make mistakes in order to learn about better and faster approaches to health care & business growth. This kind of ties along with “time” since the more time in practice, the more likely to make mistakes and learn from them.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

As previously mentioned, I believe that networking and reaching out to other professionals, alike and non, is vital. In addition, when you have a result driven approach to health care, then word of mouth will do the rest. I understand that we live in 2024 and that technology and social media play a key role to networking and getting the word out. Therefore I do try to stay connected on certain platforms, mainly through Instagram and frequent email newsletters. This has allowed me to not only reach to a greater audience/community, but to also stay connected with my already existed patients and show them my constant support and outtake in health and wellness. I find that topics on traditional medicine, science, cooking and exercise are well received and appreciated.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hermesholistic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hermesholistic/?hl=en
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hermes-holistic-pasadena-2?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
• Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1hXFHmmGDPrGN8pdA

Image Credits

Antonio Follo