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Meet Annie Vedeler of Spirit Tree Acupuncture in Scottsdale

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Vedeler.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Annie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My journey into this field began over 25 years ago and like most people who come to my office for acupuncture, I was seeking relief from pain and willing to try ANYTHING! The therapies I had tried up to that point had not been successful. I was experiencing discomfort and pain 24 hours a day from a pinched nerve in the back of my shoulder that I just woke up with one day. It affected my sleep, and therefore, the quality of my life for a couple of months. Luckily for me, it was my dad who suggested I try acupuncture as he had experienced relief from his chronic back pain. 3 acupuncture treatments later, all of my pain was gone! I was absolutely stunned and thrilled that Chinese Medicine worked!! It set me on a course of seeking the answers to not only ‘why’ acupuncture works but also how natural healing happens. The root cause of why any disease and disharmony happens in the mind- body-spirit has fascinated me for 25 years. I believe you are given the experiences/pain you need to be able to help others. My journey continued as I developed severe dyshidrotic eczema and autoimmune symptoms hinting at Systemic Lupus. This led me to study Functional Medicine where I was able to learn how to reverse my autoimmune process and eczema by finding the root cause. Today, as a result, I am simply passionate about combining my knowledge of Chinese and Functional Medicine to help others with simple pain complaints to preventative wellness treatments to complex reversal of autoimmune skin diseases.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My favorite Zen proverb is “The obstacle is the path.” Both of the experiences that shaped me to become a healer involved pain. The irony is that without these painful obstacles, I may have been led down a different path entirely. The pinched nerve I experienced lasted only a couple of months but it opened my eyes to the enormous world of Chinese Medicine, to the endless list of health issues it can help people with, and it led to the exhausting 6 years of acupuncture and herbal training while working as a dog groomer full-time. I was depleted but also strengthened and humbled by these experiences.

In the second year of my acupuncture practice, I began to suffer with severe dyshidrotic eczema. I was trying to understand WHY this was happening to my hands! It was embarrassing and shaming to be honest because I was a new health care practitioner charged to help others with their health while mine was falling apart! Not only falling apart silently, but in grand color for all to view! It was at this time that the words ‘root cause’ kept coming across my path. Once I became trained in Functional Medicine, I understood that my eczema was the tip of an autoimmune iceberg. I learned the ‘root cause’ and reversed my condition. As a result, I have been driven to help others do the same.

Without falling apart myself and without both obstacles in my path to strengthen, humble and teach me, I may have never trusted myself to help you. Now, I stand ready.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Spirit Tree Acupuncture story. Tell us more about the business.
I could list for you what Chinese Medicine encompasses but you can find that on Google. The quality that sets me apart from the rest of natural health practitioners is my ability to hear you. I listen, understand and empathize. I also truly care so much about you as my patient and any kind of suffering you are experiencing. I not only want to address your health issue, I want to teach you why your body is responding that way, and how you can prevent or treat issues at home. People come for all kinds of healing. Some for physical pain, others for emotional pain or loneliness. Suffering is suffering and when it is shared, the burden is somehow lifted.

I have treated issues ranging from infertility to labor induction and breech presentation to menopause, inner ear balance issues, post-radiation symptoms from cancer treatment, stress and anxiety, PTSD, sinus infections and allergies to tons of physical pain symptoms. The list is endless because people are so individual. Treatments vary also based on who you are as a person, the strength of your constitution, whether your condition is acute or chronic and the cause of your back pain or migraine. 10 people could come see me for a migraine and there will be 10 different reasons someone has a migraine…that is Chinese Medicine…it is as unique to you as your fingerprint! As an acupuncturist, I am a general practitioner. It is in Functional Medicine that I specialize in testing for and treating the root causes of autoimmune diseases affecting the skin.

“Maybe you are searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots.” Rumi

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t identify with good luck or bad luck that is not to say they don’t exist. I believe more that you are set on a path by some experience, good or bad, and you begin to walk down that path. Whether or not you continue on that path depends on trust. Is this the right way? How do I know if what I’m doing is right for me? I believe if you pay attention by listening while you are heading that direction, you will begin to trust by developing your intuition. Does it feel right? Am I happy when I am doing this even though it is tough? Do people seem to respond positively to what I am doing? Or, am I stressed and dreading doing this as a career? Am I doing it for someone else’s approval? Or am I doing it for money? Fame? Or, do I really want to help people?

I never dreamed of becoming an acupuncturist, in fact, I changed my major 3 times in college. I was in music performance, then I switched to elementary education and also thought about being a social worker. For me it was curiosity about how acupuncture worked combined with my dad’s belief that I would be good at it that stirred something in me.

It was through curiosity, putting in the footwork and big trust that yes, this is what I am supposed to do with my life.

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