We recently had the chance to connect with Sarah Murphy and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah , a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
One of the biggest misconceptions is that natural health therapies are not “real medicine” or backed by science. In reality, they are the original medicines, relied upon for hundreds and even thousands of years, long before modern medicine was professionalized and monetized. Longevity of safe, effective use should be considered alongside research as a marker of validity, especially when much of today’s research funding follows profit. That is why pharmaceutical studies dominate while studies on diet, lifestyle, and natural therapies do exist, but lag behind.
Another misunderstanding is that naturopathic medicine is simply “green allopathy,” where we hand out supplements the way a conventional doctor prescribes pharmaceuticals. A true naturopathic plan is not about swapping a natural pill for a pharmaceutical pill. It is about understanding the whole person: their history, lifestyle, environment, and the deeper reasons illness is showing up. Fatigue or any other symptom for that matter, for example, does not have a one-size-fits-all answer. The right treatment depends on why the fatigue is happening for that individual.
There is also a tendency to think natural medicine is something you can just do on your own: order supplements online, follow a list you saw on social media, or assume that “natural” automatically means safe. The truth is that the right combination of natural therapeutics, brand quality, sourcing, dosage, and timing, etc. all matter enormously. Without professional guidance, it is easy to waste money or even do harm. Healing happens when therapies are matched to the right person and diagnosis, in the right dose, at the right time, and in the right combination with other synergistic treatments.
A related misconception is that naturopathic doctors (NMDs) are not “real doctors.” In fact, we complete accredited, rigorous medical programs that train us in both conventional sciences, pharmaceuticals, and natural therapies. We are licensed to diagnose, order labs, and treat, with a philosophy that emphasizes prevention, root causes, and supporting the body’s innate healing mechanisms.
Finally, in this digital age, some people even believe that AI tools can replace the role of a doctor. While technology can be a wonderful source of general information, it cannot replace the years of training, discernment, and human connection required to safely and effectively guide someone’s health and healing. Medicine is relational. It requires a thoughtful, individualized plan, not an algorithm.
At the heart of it, what is most misunderstood is that natural medicine is both deeply traditional and scientifically grounded. It honors the body’s ability to heal and works best when guided by a trained professional who can see the whole picture and craft care that truly addresses the roots of illness, not just the symptoms.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Dr. Sarah Murphy, a nationally recognized Naturopathic Medical Doctor (NMD) and Licensed Acupuncturist with over 20 years of experience in integrative care. I founded Zuma Wellness in Malibu, California, a performance and longevity clinic where we help people detoxify, restore energy, balance hormones, and build long-term vitality through deeply personalized, science-backed care.
Our clinic is unique because we meet people where they are and aim to find the true root cause(s) of their health concerns. We support individuals dealing with chronic fatigue, inflammation, hormone changes, or digestive issues, as well as high-performing professionals and health-conscious individuals looking for preventive and optimization strategies. Whether you’re healing or optimizing, we provide a compassionate, clear path forward tailored to your needs.
In recent years, our work in environmental medicine has taken on new urgency. I was honored to be featured in Let Them Be Naked, a documentary by Jeff Garner that uncovers the hidden dangers of toxic chemicals in everyday clothing—and the often-overlooked health risks they pose. The film brings urgency to the links between exposure to toxins and chronic illness, a message that resonates deeply here in California, where the Palisades and Eaton wildfires have also begun to make this painfully relevant. Pollution and environmental toxins are not just global issues for the planet—they are immediate health problems affecting us all. That’s why testing for toxicity and creating effective detoxification plans is a central focus in our clinic.
We also focus on longevity medicine, because our people often ask how to not just live longer, but live well. For me, quality of life is inseparable from longevity. Natural medicine is uniquely positioned here: nutrition, lifestyle, natural hormones, peptides, antioxidants, plant compounds, and other regenerative techniques all play powerful roles in creating both vitality in the present and resilience for the future. Conventional medicine excels in acute care and emergencies, but for long-term wellness, prevention, and the “feel good” of daily life, natural medicine often holds the most effective tools.
Hormone health is another cornerstone of our work. Hormonal shifts are an inevitable part of life, and when they’re out of balance, every area of health and life can suffer. Supporting hormone stability – in all stages of life and especially as we age – is key to having healthy energy, mood, longevity, and continued overall wellbeing.
Finally, we’ve adopted a concierge model of care because healing is most often a journey, not a single visit or quick fix. Most people don’t need one pill to feel better—they need sustained, thoughtful, individualized support. Concierge care allows us to partner with patients over time, customizing treatment to their evolving needs. We’re honored to work with people who truly value their health and treat it as a lifelong investment.
At its core, my work is about helping people reconnect with their body’s natural ability to heal. We combine the wisdom of traditional healing with modern science to help individuals feel strong, centered, and fully alive for the long haul.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I never envisioned myself as a doctor. My first dream was to be a dancer. Movement and energy training shaped me in ways I didn’t understand at the time, but I now see how it trained my whole being for healing. Dance taught me about the human body and energy flow, rhythm, discipline, and the power of presence, all of which I now bring into medicine.
But the moment I discovered naturopathic medicine, it was like a light bulb moment. I thought, “This is what the world needs. This is what I need. This is how people can truly heal.” Before that, I loved the artistry of dance but felt trapped in a culture of Hollywood entertainment that seemed shallow. I was sad, even depressed, believing that was all the world had to offer.
College opened a door. Living in a fresh city, but an old one too where I was born, studying widely, and encountering deeper philosophies showed me there was so much more than the LA life I had known. As a spiritual person, I realized what had been missing for me: meaning, depth, connection. Once I found those avenues, I began to heal myself, and I wanted to help others do the same.
I know what it feels like to be lonely, hopeless, or to think the world is too broken. And while yes, the world can feel that way, perspective matters. Self-care matters. Nurturing who you really are, not who the world tells you to be, matters. We can’t control everything, but we do have agency over ourselves. The way we take care of our health, our body, and our spirit gives us the strength to feel our best and do our best while we’re here. That realization changed everything for me, and it’s what continues to guide my work today.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Yes. As a teenager, I almost gave up because the world felt doomed to me. Everywhere I looked, people seemed consumed by money, power, and fame, while the planet was being destroyed in the process. It felt like a world I didn’t want to be part of. I turned to drugs, and for a time I was almost successful in destroying myself.
But then something in me woke up. I realized I could either exit the world or decide to stay and help create the kind of world I longed to see. I chose to stay. And in that choice, I discovered that if more of us make that decision — to stay, to heal, to create something better — we have the power to build a more conscious, loving, healthy, and sustainable world together.
That has been one of the defining wounds and also one of the defining healings of my life. It taught me that despair can be a teacher, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the story. Healing comes from finding meaning, from taking agency over the small but important choices we can make every day, and from using our own survival as a way to help others. That shift in perspective has guided my personal life and my naturopathic medical practice ever since.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
In my experience, health fads tend to come and go quickly. They’re often fueled by advertising, social media, or the desire to look good and keep up with whatever feels trendy at the moment. They usually promise quick fixes and make sweeping statements like “this is the solution for everyone.” In my view, that’s a red flag, because nothing in health is ever one-size-fits-all. These approaches rarely hold up over time, and in some cases, they can even be unsafe.
Foundational shifts, on the other hand, seem to arise from deeper motivations. They’re not about following the crowd; they’re about creating lasting changes in how you think, feel, and live based on what you really truly need to do at the time. From what I’ve seen, these shifts are personalized, sustainable, and built on a combination of science and lived experience. They make a real difference because they’re crafted with purposeful intent, not because “everyone is doing it.”
For example, you’ll hear people say “ice baths are a healthy lifestyle practice and everyone should do it.” In my view, that oversimplifies things. Hydrotherapy is an ancient technique that can include ice baths, but should be applied in a way that fits the individual. Or take GLP-1 medications. They may be useful for some patients, but they’ll never be as foundational as nutrition and movement, which always matter. And then there are extreme diet and detox plans that are not grounded in any data and over-promise specific results such as the watermelon diet for weight loss. In my experience, detox and diet fads are attention grabbing, but silly and potentially harmful.
True foundational shifts for detox and weight loss support include consistently minimizing daily toxic exposures and supporting your body’s natural detox and metabolic pathways with basic healthy lifestyle practices over time. And perhaps you might engage in a short-term, intensive detoxification plan or diet, but I recommend doing something that is guided by a licensed health professional and customized to be safe and effective for your specific health status and needs.
So, to me, fads are flashy and external. Foundational shifts are personal, sustainable, and deeply connected to your journey of discovery on what you need to do for true, long-term well-being. They don’t need to be expensive or famous. They’re just simple and real.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If immortality were real, what would you build?
Honestly, the same thing I’m committed to building today: a healthier world to live in. That matters not only for all of us here now, but also for the generations to come. Whether my own lifespan was endless or not, their future matters just as much.
That said, I don’t actually want to live forever on this planet. And in a sense, I believe we are already immortal. Physics teaches us that no energy is ever created or destroyed; it only changes form. I trust that when I leave this planet, my energy will continue on, and I’m actually excited to see what comes next.
I believe that at our core, we are all energy. You can’t hold that in your hand or measure it on an official lab test (yet), but you can feel it. And I believe the future of medicine will increasingly recognize this truth. Healing won’t only be about taking pills or managing symptoms; it will involve working with energy — our body’s frequencies, our nervous system, and the subtle forces that influence how we feel and function. When we better understand the invisible fundamental forces of nature and the universe, this will translate into how we live and heal in a revolutionary way.
In my experience, when we shift energy, we shift biology. You see it in practices like acupuncture, movement, prayer, meditation, and breathwork — all of which change how energy flows and how the body responds. I can’t yet “prove” this in the conventional sense, but I believe the medicine of the future will validate it more and more.
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