Paige Bourassa, DACM, L.Ac., RHN

What is your wellness philosophy?

My wellness philosophy is all about creating a sense of balance in my patient's lives. Whether you are working with someone who has never heard of yoga and GMO's or a vegan who lives in an eco friendly hut, I like to look at the whole picture and see where I can help balance your life out, add some magic and laughter, and then work towards creating you ideal life. For me personally, I eat and live clean 6 days out of the week and then will enjoy pizza, dumplings, and football on the 7th because you live once in this body and frankly, this body deserves to know what dumplings taste like. I love what functional medicine has brought to the table and incorporating that into traditional Chinese medicine is the future of east meets west wellness. We use it at Shen Medicine and I use it in my life too!

What brought you into wellness?

I grew up in the wilderness of Vancouver, Canada and became passionate about alternative medicine after having several remarkable experiences with it at a young age. After high school, I enrolled in Canada’s first holistic nutrition program and graduated as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. From there I traveled extensively through Asia where my passion blossomed into studies as I began taking an interest in Ayurveda, an ancient East Indian medicine system. After living in India for several months I moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to pursue my Ayurvedic training further by studying alongside the famous Dr. Vasant Lad at his Ayurvedic Institute. Following Ayurveda, I studied Psychology at the University of Colorado and began to assimilate what I had learned of Eastern Medicine with Western Psychology. Understanding that disease in the body is most often attributed to disharmony within the psyche and emotions, a concept called “Psychosomatic Illness” I was drawn to the integrative philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine where everything is believed to be connected. I started the rigorous four-year Masters of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine degree at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego and finished at their New York City campus, my new found love and home. My love affair with wellness is never ending as I constantly try to find new and innovative ways to continue to learn and incorporate it into my everyday life.

What does You. We. All. mean to you?

To me, You. We. All. means that we're all in this together. I think it means more now than ever given our current climate and the difficulties we are facing as a nation and all around the world. You. We. All. means that helping people, choosing kindness, and reaching out means more than driving for your individual purpose. It's about bringing back that sense of community, that it takes a village to raise a child but we also need that village as teenagers, adults, and into old age. When don't you need a sense of support? I feel strongly that when we do take the extra step to care for each other and create connections between one another we can achieve so much more than pushing through life on our own.

What inspires you?

People. I am inspired every time I see one of my patients push through something they didn't think was possible and grow from that experience. Watching people break through their own barriers is like watching a butterfly take form and it just makes me want to be better every day. We work a lot with fertility at Shen Medicine and I love helping to create life and watching how that creation changes a woman into a mother. Seeing that transformation is one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. All of the amazing things that people do in their lives to grow each day is a blessing to witness and the fact that I am chosen to help support people on their journey is the most inspiring gift in the world.