Today we’d like to introduce you to Laconia Koerner
Hi Laconia, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
People always ask me how I became an acupuncturist. Well, it was a long and winding journey with a couple twists of fate. When I was in high school I was very introverted and isolated. One night, alone in my room, I felt what I think was my first spiritual experience, which gave me the courage to do something I’d only been dreaming about, and that was to audition for a school play.
From that moment, I started my healing journey, pursuing acting, directing, writing, and eventually completed a Masters Degree in Playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School in NYC in 2005. I was nominated for the Mentor Project at Cherry Lane Theatre, but when I wasn’t selected, all my worst fears were triggered. I had no confidence, a ton of student loan debt, under-valued skills, and was totally sick of theatre by that point because it was all I had done for the past 10 years.
I left theatre and started practicing Shotokan karate instead. Gradually I realized two things: that it was always the body-based physical challenge of theatre I had loved (i.e. performing the gymnastics of Puck in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”); and that theatre had always been about healing for me; integrating body, mind, spirit, voice, intuition and instinct in connection with an ensemble (i.e. practicing Viewpoints and Suzuki methods with an independent theatre company in San Francisco). I considered becoming a massage therapist or a psychologist, but then my Sensei mentioned acupuncture. I’d never heard of it, but as soon as I began reading about it, I felt like I had finally found what I always believed in; an ancient understanding of how energy affects our spirit, emotions, illness and pain via distinct pathways in the body.
But did acupuncture really work? I had to find out. While pouring latte art on the corner of Bleeker and Houston, I asked my barista co-worker if she knew any good acupuncturists, and from the opposite end of the counter, one of our regulars chimed in, “I do!” He handed me a business card, and that began the second phase of my journey. I soon became the receptionist at that acupuncture clinic and received very helpful treatments from the practitioners there. I left NYC a couple years later to return to the midwest and earned a Masters Degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine from Northwestern Health Sciences
University.
Today I’m an independent practitioner and run my own small business, but it took me 10 years of intensive work at a variety of clinics and a very recent leap of faith to get here. Just this past spring, after a 2 year process recovering from 3 herniated discs via acupuncture, brainspotting, and therapeutic physical training, I finally abided by the ever-present voice within and launched my own private acupuncture and breathwork practice at the Lowry Rose building in Minneapolis. It is a quiet, intimate space where I can clearly attune to each patient, as well as to my own clinical perspective and intuitive wisdom, which has developed over the years, not only from my training, but from my own healing journey through anorexia nervosa, relational trauma, and chronic pain. I am indebted to many healers, teachers, and colleagues, from whom I have learned so much along the way.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I believe all the obstacles on our path are the very keys to discovering and becoming who we’re meant to be; that pain is not something to make go away, but a message from our authentic self that can teach us how to understand and meet our true needs and make necessary changes in our lives. Healing requires much courage, bravery, and surrender to the source of all creation.
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?
Using highly effective acupuncture techniques, such as Korean 4 Needle in the Sa’am Tradition, myofascial release, and Chinese herbs, I treat all kinds of conditions, ranging from sports injuries to infertility. But I specialize in helping people learn that they are their own best healer; that even a broken body can be our best friend and a working tool for recovering our sense of purpose and power if we are willing to get outside of our comfort zone and learn and practice new habits and new beliefs.
I also love imparting the profound wisdom of Chinese medicine to help people discover connections between their physical symptoms and their inner lives, where they may be navigating big life events or change.
And I’m very passionate about helping people understand the impact of modern food production on our bodies, minds, and planet. I believe the way to healing almost all the problems in the world begins with our examination of our relationship to food and how it gets to our mouth. To that end, I currently keep a small flock of backyard chickens and have just started offering their organic eggs for sale.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I think many people are aware now that we can’t keep putting off finding balance in how we live and work and connect with others. Healing is where it’s at! In the next 5-10 years I would like to collaborate with other practitioners to host healing retreats. I would also like to develop a homestead-type property to become a teaching and learning center for how to grow, preserve, and prepare food, raise chickens, build community, and empower the human spirit.
Pricing:
- Acupuncture Initial Visit $150
- Acupuncture Follow Up $85
- Individual Breathwork $120
- Small Group Breathwork $50
- Organic Pasture Raised Eggs $7
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Laconiakoerner.com
Image Credits
Jamie Shuler
