“With my acupuncture training, I’ve had the great honor of helping patients heal from pain and illness, create new life, and awaken to new ways of thinking about their bodies as amazing microcosms of life to observe and appreciate.”
What drew you to your healing discipline at MUIH?
I was drawn to acupuncture because of my personal experience with natural medicine. When I was in college, a chiropractor opened my mind to the power, joy, and awe of holistic healing – I learned to listen to my body and also to pay attention to specific points on the body (acupuncture points). This newly learned self-awareness and self-acceptance had a profound effect on how I went on living, working, and relating to others.
After college, I spent over 10 years in advertising, and then was laid off in 2009 during the economic downturn. By body was stressed from my demanding career, and I got physically nauseous when I kept applying for more advertising jobs. That’s when I paused, invested a few weeks in introspection and exploring what kind of work I wanted to do in the world – a career in which I had a true interest and desire in, and a career in which my body would not buckle under the stress of. I decided to make the leap to natural medicine, and it felt so right in my body.
Why did you choose MUIH for your academic program?
I chose MUIH because of its location, its history (the length of time it’s been in existence), and because of its philosophical underpinnings. I felt I would come away learning how to apply healing to all aspects of living rather than simply learning the technicalities of one integrative medical intervention.
Describe your path since graduating from MUIH.
Since graduating in 2013, I’ve started an LLC called Third Space Wellness along with my classmate and fellow practitioner, Rachel Brumberger, and a local yoga teacher, Samantha Dublin. We founded Third Space Wellness on the philosophy that third spaces are necessary—they are where the living of life happens; between home and between work, third spaces are where community members come together to learn, heal, enjoy life, and meet others with whom they can “do life with.” We are currently practicing acupuncture, providing wellness consulting and local wellness event programming, and are planning to expand our operations in a full-scale wellness center in which we can fully express and put into action what we learned at MUIH about applying healing to all aspects of living. We’ve written more about our vision on thirdspacewellness.com.
What have you accomplished that is a result of the education and skills you received at MUIH?
With my acupuncture training, I’ve had the great honor of helping patients heal from pain and illness, create new life (babies!), and awaken to new ways of thinking about their bodies as amazing microcosms of life to observe and appreciate.
In addition to my work through Third Space Wellness, I’ve also been invited to speak at organizations about acupuncture and wellness, and have worked as a corporate wellness consultant for a global beverage company, teaching managers and employees about self-awareness and stress management.
What has been your most exciting or fulfilling professional experience to date?
Launching Third Space Wellness has also been one of my greatest accomplishments to date, because with it, I now have a structure to make this medicine and healing philosophy available to more people in my community. We’ve established partnerships with local businesses, offering wellness workshops and events, and the result each time is that participants are empowered – they learn something about their own bodies – and they connect with others, building a sense of community.
Are you achieving your professional goals?
Absolutely!
What advice can you offer recent grads?
When I graduated and began practicing on my own without the guidance of teachers, peers, and clinical supervisors close by, I found my learning only expanded because my decisions rested squarely on my shoulders. This meant I needed to – even more than before – “practice what I preach,” making a habit of listening to my body, self-care, and self-awareness in order to serve my patients and community.
What would you like to do next?
Continue practicing, learning, and teaching!
Joy Andrews completed her Master of Acupuncture at MUIH in 2013. Visit her website at thirdspacewellness.com.
