We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lanna Schwab. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lanna below.

Lanna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I started a career in the traditional western health care path. I was an Radiologic Technologist. I was in my early 20s when I got my first job working in a big hospital in Boulder, CO. I liked the job itself good enough, but after several years working in the hospital, I started to become aware of all the deficiencies in our modern health care system. Simultaneously, I lived down the road from an acupuncture school and started going to the student clinic for treatments, more out of curiosity than anything else. The more I learned about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), as well as our American Healthcare system, I started noticing where the deficiencies were. I started to feel gross being part of such a broken system. I went into healthcare to help people, and I was becoming jaded and depressed. I left the hospital system to Join the Peace Corps. I spent 2+ years in rural South Africa, working in the healthcare sector there as well. I witnessed the power of natural healing, and plant medicines, as well as the importance of preventative care- something that isn’t talked about enough in USA. While serving in South Africa, I realized that I wanted to work in a more holistic sector or healthcare. I wanted to help people address the root cause of symptoms, not just mask the symptoms with drugs. I wanted to know why people were sick, not just how to treat the presenting symptoms. With my exposure and limited understanding of Chinese medicine, I knew that was closer aligned with my values and passion. When I got back to USA, I started applying for grad school programs in TCM.

Lanna, 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 graduated from Northwestern Health Science University. In the state of MN, all acupuncturists must be licensed by the MN board of medicine. In the months it took to get all the required paperwork to legally practice in the state, I moved up to Two Harbors and was able to get a casual position doing Xray at Lake View Hospital. Through the connections I made at Lake View, I was able to rent space in the hospital to start my own acupuncture practice there. I was also fortunate enough to meet, what has become a dear friend, Katie Olson, as she was opening up a healing collective in downtown Duluth. Currently, 1-2 days/ week I work out of “It takes a Village” healing collective on Superior St. in Duluth. The other 3 days of the week, I am in my Two Harbors office.

Acupuncture is one modality within the Chinese Medicine umbrella. It works by stimulating certain points along channel pathways in our bodies. These pathways carry Qi (life energy) and blood through them. Our bodies flow like a stream in nature. When there is a drought or a flood, it messes with the smooth flow of Qi. I stimulate certain points to bring the body back into balance.

I work with a variety of ailments and clients. As licensed acupuncturist, we must meet continuing education requirements. Some practitioners choose to specialize in certain fields, such as fertility/ reproductive work, or sports medicine. I am choosing to keep a wide variety or treatment knowledge in order to serve the largest community. Some of the more common conditions I enjoy working with is chronic pain, sleep disorders, mental health concerns, smoking cessation, digestive disorders, menopausal symptoms, and trauma integration work. I think my biggest strength is in the way that I am able to connect with people. I am a compassionate listener and am able to hold space for whatever my patient is bringing to the treatment. I can relate to most people in some way to find a common connection. Finding a practitioner that you are comfortable with and you enjoy being around is part of the healing experience when it comes to energy medicine and healing. I lead most treatments with my intuition first and my head second.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a umbrella term for multiple modalities that we will work with within that philosophy or healing. Under the realm of TCM, acupuncture is not the only modality of healing. There is also cupping therapy, Guasha (dermal scraping), Moxibustion burning, Tuina (therapeutic massage), Food therapy, as well as exercises such as Tai Chi and Qigong (moving meditation). I utilize most of these in my treatment plans, and will utilize whatever I think you will benefit from.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

When I was first starting, I really relied on the standard forms of virtual marketing: website, facebook, instagram, and newsletters. I started out doing a lot of work on social media. I am not personally a fan of social media, so this was really hard for me to keep up. WIth my office being located in the hospital, I was fortunate enough to get exposure through that. I did presentations for local professional groups and the providers at the clinic to get referrals. After a couple years, I started asking more people to leave google reviews and tell their friends and family about my services. Once the ball got rolling, I would say my most effective strategy is personal referrals. When people talk about you, that is the best marketing you can get- and it’s free! Also referrals from other holistic practitioners in the area has been helpful as well, and I am always referring people back to others as well. It is worth your time to have a coffee date, or set up your own session with other practitioners in the area so you can speak from experience.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Your mindset. I worked with different coaches and therapists that all talked about mindset. I knew it was important, but in the beginning I had a lot of messed up thought patterns around money, scarcity, and security. So when you are still operating from that scarcity mindset, it is hard to jump in and make the switch. As my mental health and life circumstances shifted, I noticed shifts in my bookings. I realized that when I was feeling burnt out, or had a lot of my plate, it was no coincidence that my schedule would lighten up as well. It is such a “duh” thing to me now- I work with energy, I have a spiritual practice, I know that our thoughts shape our reality, but it was hard for me to trust that when it came to my livelihood. I am single, I didn’t have anyone else or another income to fall back on. My entire life I was taught that the harder you work, the more it pays off. Which is true to a point, but when you are trying to get people in the door, there is not much you can do to force them to book. I started meditating with my calendar and coloring in what I wanted my schedule to look like, within 2-3 weeks, It was happening! My schedule was filling. When I needed a break, or was getting too stressed, my schedule slowed down. If you put your mind and intention into what you want, it is amazing what can happen! Also, I gave myself permission to not follow all the acupuncturist on Instagram. That led me to feeling inadequate, and gave me imposter syndrome- which was already there just from being fairly isolated from other colleagues in the field and people to talk to and learn from. So I took some time away from social media, focused on what I wanted and what I was good at, and left it at that. Now I look at Instagram for inspiration, rather than competition.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.agateacu.com
• Instagram: agateacupuncture
• Facebook: Agate Acupuncture & Natural Healing

Image Credits
Carrie Coan Photography