Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Lum, LAc., Dipl OM.
Hi Kristen, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
After graduating from the Southwest Acupuncture College in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, I started practicing as a primary care physician using Classical acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and nutrition therapy. Over the years, the practice has evolved into providing comprehensive healthcare with the addition of nutraceuticals, lifestyle modifications, functional labs, microneedling, and cosmetic acupuncture. Our integrative medicine clinic offers health freedom and transformations. At Lum Acupuncture in Beverly Hills, I provide holistic mental health solutions empowering patients to reclaim their personal power, discover joy, and reach their full potential.
My health journey began in the 90s when I was in high school. Riddled with candida, I developed what is called “yeast syndrome”. As a teenager who was only exposed to conventional Western medicine, I fell victim to the pharmaceutical industry. Multiple doctors prescribed medications for my various conditions, creating the perfect cocktail for an overproduction of yeast in my body. I could not escape the relentless, chronic fatigue. Even after twelve hours of sleep, I could not stay awake in class. Brain fog blurred any capacity of functional concentration. My A’s were turning into C’s and D’s. I experienced anxiety, depression, environmental sensitivities and allergies, social isolation, and of course, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness on how to crawl out of misery.
However, in 1993, after reading the book, “The Yeast Syndrome” by Trowbridge and Walker, I was astonished that medical doctors carelessly prescribed two medications that were known (at least by the alternative medicine community) to cause an explosion of yeast if taken together. I suffered for years but with the help of the candida diet, I learned about die-offs and how to detox my body.
Nearly a decade later in my twenties, I battled yet another health crisis related to candidiasis; this time in the form of eczema covering my entire back. I felt imprisoned within my body. Born with eczema, I experienced patches of it my entire life, but never had I truly suffered from unrelenting itchiness and pain, day and night. I tried every eczema cream–natural, homeopathic, or prescription-based. I tried every cleanse on the market, detox protocol, and juice fast. Nothing worked!
Finally, my mother dragged me to Koreatown where I saw a Chinese herbalist. Speaking not a word of English, my mother translated her questions, which at the time seemed utterly ridiculous. She was interested in three things: my pulse, my tongue, and my menstrual cycle. After what I felt was a bogus, utterly overpriced $400 appointment, I rolled my eyes at my mother and complained that this woman had no idea how to practice medicine. This Chinese medicine doctor literally asked me about my menstrual cycle which has nothing to do with my eczema. Hello? … I came in for matters of the skin and you are talking about my blood? I was suspicious, to say the least.
Yet, after two weeks of religiously drinking her concoction of herbs, a miracle occurred. My excruciating menstrual pains vanished, and shortly after so did the eczema that I was afflicted with from birth. What I confidently wrote off as a sham or at least a placebo, turned out to be the most effective treatment and healing process without any side effects and worth every penny. I was utterly shocked. That was the moment when I became a dedicated believer in Chinese and alternative medicine.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I believe we all came into this life perfectly imperfect. The human experience shapes our ability for resilience and growth. Whether we struggle with a health or mental condition, or experience emotional or physical pain, the loss of a loved one, or trauma from an event(s), we are all suffering in varying degrees. The question remains: How are we equipped to manage the overwhelm, the pressure, feeling safe, responsibilities, grief, or perhaps dissidence or disconnect from the self, family, or the greater community? I think when you go to the doctor with these questions, 9 out of 10 times you will be prescribed a drug as a solution, which over time creates more problems and may even trigger auto-immune conditions, cancer, hormone dysregulation, organ toxicity, and the list goes on. We are made to believe that we are in this dis-ease state because it runs in the family, and prescription medication is the only treatment option. We urge you to continue going to your doctor for your yearly check-ups and standard lab work. This is absolutely necessary information. We always refer out. However, at Lum Acupuncture, we offer a different approach. We teach you how to listen to your body and what your body is telling you. We create space and the possibility to rediscover your blueprint to become your best self. We align body, mind, and spirit to reach health potentials.
Along my path of surviving emotional and physical abuse, sexual trauma, loss of loved ones, challenges to motherhood, and divorce, my process of the human experience has not been easy. The universe teaches us a lesson and when we are ready to receive the lesson, that challenge fades into the background and it seems a new one appears. Obstacles become easier as I listen to my body, enlist a daily practice of letting go, shed self-limiting beliefs, dissolve victim mentality, drop into the still point, and surrender to evolution. Then we become just a little bit better at responding to stress and dealing with difficult people or situations. Suddenly, life gets just a little bit easier. We train as peaceful warriors to experience emotion and let it go—a constant practice to become the eye of the storm.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Like hundreds of generations of Chinese medicine practitioners before me, my commitment to sharing the power and wisdom of this ancient healing modality is at the heart of my wellness clinic, Lum Acupuncture. Unlike holistic psychiatry which partially relies on traditional forms of psychiatric care such as pharmaceuticals, my clinic only offers natural modes of healing. As a culture, we cannot continue to hyper-focus on the disease mechanism. Utilizing the ancient wisdom of Chinese medicine, acupuncture, nutrition, and lifestyle modifications from thousands of years ago, coupled with cutting-edge research into the microbiome, we shift the paradigm from treating dis-ease to treating health. Doctors diagnose patients with a disease which, in turn, becomes our identity. We must educate ourselves about our bodies and minds for health freedom and detach ourselves from a persona perpetuating a victim mindset.
“I have anxiety” or “I have depression” statements separate you from being an emotional, multi-dimensional person who is allowed to say, “I am feeling anxious”. You are not given the option to work through issues and let emotions go. You are prescribed Xanax or Zoloft as a bandaid to numb the emotions. We must put on a different lens to shift into a new perspective and build health for radical change. When you “have” anxiety, fear, self-doubt, depression, brain fog, or an auto-immune dysfunction, you are begging for change. When your desire for change is greater than your desire to remain the same, you are ready to take the first step into the wellness clinic and rewrite your story. Lum Acupuncture is a judgment-free, safe space to mobilize your radical change.
With a thorough, comprehensive health history intake, consultation, and exam, I gather the information and start piecing together a big picture of what is out of balance. I capture the entirety of the patient’s health history from birth to present to understand the root cause and uncover the pattern that fits within Chinese medical diagnosis. Utilizing lab results that provide a scientific analysis of dysbiosis in the gut microbiome, hormone imbalance, mold toxicity, or metabolic disorder a clarified understanding of what is truly going on in the body begins to unfold. True health becomes possible when we accept our limitations instead of falling into a victim mentality. What we resist persists. When we resist change, we sustain our dis-ease states. As Chinese Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu so profoundly states, “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” When we surrender, we shift into the present and the authentic self.
Just as you would go into the gym to achieve chiseled abs, you need to spend time in the clinic for self-care, which may look like a combination of weekly acupuncture, custom herbal formulas or nutraceuticals, working on nutrition therapy, and practicing lifestyle modifications. When you are ready to commit to self-care, I am ready to build a relationship with you because true healing doesn’t happen overnight.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
As an environmentalist, I have a hard time with all of the traffic and pollution. I try to do my part by limiting the use of plastic, recycling, and driving an electric car. At the end of the day, being amidst the toxicity in any metropolitan city is inevitable thus detoxing is paramount. As a foodie, I am never bored with the plethora of innovative, high-quality restaurants LA has to offer, and I’m thrilled to find more restaurants are becoming conscious of clean-eating by using organic produce and offering farm-to-table dining. Also, the crazy amount of artists and visionaries in LA blows me away. I frequent the theater, museums, and love concerts. The talent that inhabits our great city astounds me. There is no time like the present to take advantage of what our community has to offer. We are lucky to be living now.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lumacupuncture.com
- Instagram: @lum.acupuncture
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lum.acupuncture
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lum-acupuncture
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lum-acupuncture-beverly-hills?osq=lum+acupuncture
