Meet Tamara Tifft L.Ac of Wren Acupuncture in Santa Monica

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamara Tifft L.Ac.

Tamara, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My interest in health and wellness began at a very young age. When I was 5, I started a 16-year career as an Olympic hopeful gymnast. I left my home and family in Washington State at age 14 to train at an Olympic training center in Florida. By this age, I had already been a vegetarian for several years and began learning about how herbs and diet help with performance. Sadly, we as gymnasts didn’t have much guidance in this area. After a major injury, (compound fracture of my ulna and radius) my dreams for the Olympics had come to a quick end. I worked very hard to “come back” after my arm injury and succeeded in getting a full scholarship to college. My goal was to study medicine/dietetics and minor in Psychology so I could work with athletes who may have had a similar experience as me, to be the guide that I never had. College gymnastics was a lot of the same…injuries. I had a stress fracture in my femur and broke my ankle, I was now living in Chicago where winters with crutches were no fun! I decided to quit gymnastics, give up my scholarship and move to Los Angeles to try out stunt work. Stunt work was fun and while doing it, one of my fellow stuntmen introduced me to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It fascinated me! This medicine was magical. It involved everything that I found interesting; Herbology, Acupuncture and Nutrition. I decided to take an introductory course at The Emperors College of TCM in Santa Monica. I was very lucky to have an extremely inspirational teacher. I started getting acupuncture and using Chinese herbs myself and quickly noticed the positive effect TCM had on my old injuries and my spirit. I was also drawn to the recognition that there is always an emotional component to illness. After 5 years, I earned my Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and graduated with honors. In 2005, I started the process of building a private practice with focus on mental wellness (anxiety, depression, insomnia, addiction, and stress), pain management, and gastrointestinal health.

Great, 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?
Building Wren Acupuncture has been a pretty smooth ride. I am passionate and have a strong work ethic, one great thing that being a high-level athlete taught me. I consider myself lucky to get to do what I love while helping others feel better! Passion plus patience has been the answer.

I was told it takes about 5 years to build a practice and that was pretty right on. During those 5 years, I had side jobs that helped me survive in LA and pay my bills. When I graduated, my first job was on cruise ships. I helped integrate acupuncture and TCM at sea. It was a wonderful way to gain experience and also see the world. I have been practicing in Santa Monica for a little over 8 years and it is now flourishing. I truly believe that if you are doing what you love, the struggles along the way only become valuable lessons and unforgettable memories.

Please tell us about Wren Acupuncture.
At Wren Acupuncture our main focus is to make sure that our patients feel like they are heard. Acupuncture can sound intimidating for those who haven’t yet experienced it. We do our best to make our treatments enjoyable, relaxing and even fun! We do a lot of laughing, which is an important part of the healing process. A great deal of time is spent with each patient, it’s so important to listen and have empathy. Each treatment is around an hour long and is developed for the individual person and their unique situation. The modalities used are acupuncture, cupping, nutritional counseling, meditation, moxabustion, essential oil therapy, and various functional medical testing when needed. In a world where there is so much stress and chaos, our goal is to create trust so our patients can stop, breath, let go for a bit, and walk out the door with a smile (otherwise known as the “acupuncture high”)!

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My mom, dad, little brother and I used to go up to our friend’s lake cabin in Priest Lake, Idaho. We water skied, parasailed, and just got to run free and explore nature. The big kids introduced me to the song that I remember most from my childhood, “You shook me all night long” by AC/DC (still one of my favorites). There was a little area on the side of the house where we would sink up to our necks in freezing cold mud! This was terrifying because the “mud monster” underneath was sure to grab us. Luckily the monster never showed up, but it made for a good memory.

Pricing:

• Initial consultation and treatment is 1-1.5 hr / $125
• Follow up treatments – $95

Contact Info:

• Address: 1448 15th Street
  Ste 201
  Santa Monica, CA 90404
• Website: www.wrenacupuncture.com
• Phone: 310.395.3111
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Rebecca Tifft
Bryce Sorensen