Today we’d like to introduce you to Lyn Swirda.
Lyn, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I can’t remember now what the inspiration was, but ever since I was a child I have loved medicine and wanted to be a doctor. I love how the body functions, which led me choose a degree where I could immerse myself in anatomy and physiology during my undergrad studies. After college, I figured I would work for a while and then move on to medical school, but every time I started thinking it was time to take the next step, something would crop up and derail my plans. What I know now, but didn’t realize then, was that my heart wasn’t completely on board with med school. I loved the body, I loved medicine, but traditional medical training was not the perfect fit for me.
When I was in college I was thrown from a horse, injuring my neck. I never realized that my injury was going to change my life’s direction profoundly. Poor sleep and constant pain led me to meet an incredibly talented Chinese Acupuncturist. I didn’t understand how Acupuncture worked, but it had to be better than facing a possible surgery fusing the vertebrae in my neck and installing a permanent metal plate to keep everything from shifting. My decision was to exhaust all possibilities before agreeing to surgery. My only hesitation about Acupuncture was that I was needle phobic. (I know, I laugh too).
When I received my first treatment I was surprised that once the needles were put in I fell into a deep sleep. I was told to come back two days later and to take a Chinese herbal patent formula in the interim. I did feel better after my first treatment, but assumed it was the placebo effect.
I woke up the morning after my second treatment and as I pushed myself off my bed I heard the loudest “crack” in my head (neck). I was stunned and wondered if something was broken. I gently turned my head from side to side and noticed less pain and more mobility. I was delighted, but wondered if it would last. By the end of the day, my energy and neck felt so much better that I thought, “maybe I should go to Acupuncture school,” but moving to China seemed really big.
So I called my Acupuncturist and told him I wanted to train to be an Acupuncturist and asked him where the best school in China was for training. He said, “No, silly, the school is in Watertown Ma.” Could my luck get any better? He told me the school year was starting the following Wednesday, and that’s exactly where I was seated just 5 days later. I studied for what was a 3-year licensure program at the time and then stayed on for 2 more years when they offered a Master degree in Acupuncture. It was the perfect fit for me.
When I started my practice in 1995, I didn’t have a plan to treat infertility as a niche, but a friend asked if I could help her, she was having irregular periods and couldn’t seem to get pregnant, though she had been trying for months. I loved the complexity of the cases I worked with and being a woman felt I had a built in understanding of what was happening naturally. So I became very familiar with how Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) looks at women’s health and fertility. The most important thing I learned is to look at the body as one big conversation, not isolating each symptom. Acupuncture diagnosis has this beautiful way of looking for the cause (root) beneath the symptoms (branch), we call it Root and Branch theory. Instead of just treating the symptoms (in her case irregular cycles leading to infertility), we look to identify the root imbalance that is leading to the symptoms.
Not too long after she began treatment, she was pregnant. If you know anything about women, you know we are incredible networkers. So she told everyone the story and as word-of-mouth travelled, I started seeing more women and men who were having fertility troubles. A few years later, I was interviewed for a local television show, The Chronicle, and my practice exploded and I have been treating fertility ever since.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think when I first started out, I was so excited to have completed my Master’s degree in Acupuncture and to start practicing, that I didn’t realize how big the step was or maybe I knew it was too late to turn back. I just jumped in, feet first. I didn’t create a business plan or speak with a business consultant, I flew by the seat of my pants and knew somehow it would all work out. I believe in hard work and commitment, and the combination has always worked for me.
During the 22 years I have been in practice, the hardest issue was having to move my practice….twice. A real estate developer was buying up large blocks of the real estate in town and pushing many of the small businesses out so he could build residential condominiums. I had to move my office twice in a 4-year period.
The second move was the most difficult. There were only two properties available in the area and only one property could work for my type of business. Not only would the space need tons of work to be inhabitable (think purple carpet the color of Barney, a water leak in the middle of one of the would-be treatment rooms and a bathroom that I hadn’t seen cleaning products since the Cold War). On top of that, the new rental fee would be seven times what I had been paying for the office I was leaving.
I will never forget when the new landlords asked me how I was ever going to afford the rent. I laugh now at the answer, because I must have sounded very confident or slightly delusional. I replied, “I’m not sure, but if I sign my name to the lease, I will make it happen.” What they didn’t know was, I cried all the way home in my car and broke out into full-blown hives for the next 3 days. I look back on that time now and realize that if I hadn’t been forced to move and take on the new space with higher rent, I would have never grown personally and my business would never have expanded. It’s so easy to stay safe but stretching out of my comfort zone was exactly what I needed to develop a muscle that I use all the time now when thinking about what the next step for my practice is going to be. I try to see obstacles and problems as opportunities when I look toward the future.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Center for Complementary Medicine Inc. story. Tell us more about the business.
My business is known for helping women (and men) with fertility challenges. I use the word “fertility” instead of “infertility” because my focus is on optimizing what is already working and enhancing the overall balance and health of the body. I primarily treat women who are trying to get pregnant naturally or with ART (assisted reproductive technology) and then once they’re pregnant, support them in having healthier pregnancies and to reestablish balance post-partum. I see a lot of women who are diagnosed with low ovarian reserve, PCOS, elevated FSH, irregular cycles, premature ovarian failure and recurrent miscarriage. In addition to Acupuncture treatment, I encourage my clients to take charge of their health through self-care suggestions and one-on-one fertility coaching.
I do my best to share knowledge and I always try to learn. One of my teachers told me that knowledge is not proprietary it’s meant to be shared. I feel it’s important to inspire my patients through what I learn from books, other patients and fellow colleagues. I will be publishing a book this fall that is a compilation of my years in practice, sharing my knowledge of women’s health and reproduction through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
I am not a purist. I love Acupuncture and also have a profound appreciation for traditional Western medicine. I believe the two styles of medicine complement each other in the most wonderful way. I believe your body is one of the best companions you will ever have on your life’s journey. The physical issues we have can be a way to access a deeper connection to our amazing selves and expand the limits of what we think we’re ultimately capable of. I try to share my respect and awe for the body with the people I work with so they can become the healthiest and best versions of themselves no matter what brings them in to see me.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
A very dear friend of mine once told me, “your life happens for you not to you” and I truly believe that. Even the hardest moments have given me a gift or a skill. I believe you have to do your part when you embark on the new business even if you consider yourself to be a lucky person. I do believe in luck, but I also believe in something bigger than myself that reaches out a helping hand when I need one. I think I have stronger faith than I have luck.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1408 Beacon Street Suite 2
Brookline, Ma 02446 - Website: www.centerforcomplementarymedicine.com
- Phone: 617-566-1170
- Email: lynswirda@me.com
- Other: www.everydayfertility.com
Image Credit:
Liz Linder (photographer)
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