I am living my life with the knowledge that my inner voice and wisdom are the guidance that I need to move me towards a fulfilling and joyous life.

             
I grew up in southern Maryland in a very supportive family. We talked about everything from sex to drugs to peer pressure. I was constantly told that I could do or be anything that I wanted. Lawyer, doctor, teacher, athlete - whatever I chose. My parents were and still are wonderful parents who have always wanted the best for me. Yet there were always some subtle “don’ts” that were confusing to me. Don’t dress like that. Don’t walk like that. Don’t talk like that. At some point in my youth I stopped listening to my own instincts and intuition. As I got older and continued to abandon my own thoughts for those of others, I became even more confused and eventually angry. The angrier I became, the less I listened to my parents or anyone else.       

One day when I was in my early twenties I woke up and realized I didn’t know who I was. I remember lying in my parents’ bed, but I didn’t remember how I got there. As I sat up, I found literature from the college that I was attending next to me. When I looked at the paper I remembered that this was a letter asking me not to come back to school due to poor academic performance. I remember shaking my head and saying, “I have to do things differently. If I’m going to go on with life, I’m going to listen to myself first.”

So I did, and there were lots of bumps along the way. Not everything I did worked out the way I had hoped, and that was ok because it felt good to make decisions based on what seemed right to me. Being the observer that I am, I started to notice that I wasn’t the only one moving to the beat of someone else's drum. The population that I saw being most affected were other women. I became aware of women being told whether to have a baby or not; whether they can work outside the home; the fact that women were not able to vote until 70 years ago; women earning $.70 for every male dollar; women being limited to work in certain fields; and don’t get me started on health care and body imaging for women in this country. I was blown away.

I decided to go back to school to become a social worker. I wanted to set up programs that helped women see their own strengths and possibilities. I truly believe that when we trust ourselves there is no reason to fear the unknown. At the time I was ending a three-year relationship. I knew that I needed to gain a new understanding of my own strengths and beliefs. I knew of Tai Sophia’s Taoist-style program, and I enrolled believing this knowledge would be helpful to me. Three life-altering years later, after checking into every corner of my mind and heart, I emerged as an acupuncturist. It was around this time that I decided to switch from Michele to Cara Michele, my full given name. When I hear my name spoken it reminds me to live into my bigger self.

I earned my Masters Degree in Acupuncture from Tai Sophia Institute. “L.Ac.” means that the State of Maryland licenses me to practice acupuncture. The service and community work I performed while I was a student was acknowledged by the faculty, and at graduation I was honored with the Herbert C. Brown Community Service Award. After graduating from Tai Sophia I accepted two positions as an assistant faculty member. In these positions I have the opportunity to work with students in the classroom and to be involved with community programs through Maryland Community Health Initiative.

As an Acupuncture Detox Specialist (ADS) and Registered Trainer through the National Acupuncture Detox Association (NADA), I help to prepare acupuncture students and other licensed professionals to treat addicted clients using the NADA 5-Needle Protocol. I am also the acupuncturist at Chase Braxton Health Services in their substance abuse detoxification program, where I treat clients using the 5-Needle Protocol.
While in graduate school I had also worked as a crisis counselor with Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, which was a transformative experience for me. For six years I assisted clients by means of telephone and face to face counseling. Working on a daily basis with clients in the midst of life-altering situations such as child abuse, domestic violence, rape, and suicidal thoughts has shaped my ability to be an effective listener and partner. I was also fortunate to be a part of Grassroots’ community and in-house staff trainings.

After spending several months recuperating from exams and getting my practitioner legs under me, I started to remember life before graduate school. I remembered my plans of working with women to help them see themselves from a place of strength and wisdom. One of the guiding forces in my life as a practitioner is Dr. Christiane Northrup's Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing. This big purple book sat on my shelf, catching my eye, for years. When I realized that my practice needed to reflect my values in a deeper way, this book was my first resource. Dr. Northrup fleshed out the theories and undeveloped ideas about the disconnect between women’s bodies and their hearts - what I had been working on all my adult life! On page three of her book she writes, "Healing cannot occur for women until we have critically examined and changed some of the beliefs and assumptions that we all unconsciously inherit and internalize from our culture. We cannot hope to reclaim our bodies' wisdom and inherent ability to create health without first understanding the influence of our society on how we think about and care for our bodies." This is the operating premise for Women in Wellness.

My studies with the school of Kinokawa Aikido are also a major force in my life. My understanding of Aikido’s design of smooth flow and partnership has become a great companion to my intention to create ease and self-awareness through acupuncture.

Now I’m in the process of growing a new business called Women in Wellness, Inspiring Emotional and Physical Health and Balance. It fills my heart to hear a 20-year old client say that she turned down cocaine for the first time and that she was proud of herself. Or to hear my 38-year old client say that she wants to learn to be ok with or with out her husband.

There once was a time in the history of humans when women were seen as equal and essential members of our communities beyond our ability to bear children. Men and women held positions of leadership together, where innate feminine wisdom and the ability to unite were more important societal qualities than physical power and domination. I believe that these feminine qualities are the forces that will shift the state of our world as we know it today.

I have found my time in acupuncture treatment to be profound, life-changing, and boundary-expanding. I can see the limitlessness of my own potential, in both my inner and outer worlds. I invite you to explore this ancient and powerful form of healing with me.