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Check Out Cami Malinski-Gillett’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cami Malinski-Gillett.

Cami Malinski-Gillett

Hi Cami, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I am Dr. Cami Malinski and I own Wild Roots Awakening. A gentle acupuncture and meditation clinic in  St. Peter MN where I work with patients on finding joy and peace in their bodies, and lives. 

To really get to know me, I’ll start with a quick synapse of my journey since I feel I’ve found myself  through my healing career. 

I grew up with a lot of internal anxieties. When I was a junior in H.S. I received a random mailer/postcard  about learning how to give a full body massage at a weekend class in the cities at Center Point School of  Massage and Shiatsu. I had never had any bodywork up to this point in my life, and can’t remember ever  even thinking about needing or wanting any, but for whatever reason I decided to go to this workshop. I  

LOVED it! I must have loved it very vocally too because that year I got a massage table for Christmas. By  graduation I was playing around with the idea of becoming an Art Therapist or going to massage school.  Guess which one won out! 

My time at massage/shiatsu school was so therapeutic for me. My anxiety decreased, I started to learn  the language of my body, and I began my own health journey- of the mind, body, and spirit. 

A few years later, I was working on my Master’s in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. For the first time  in my life I was engaged, confident, and felt happily, authentically me. I was introduced to acupuncture  through chiropractic work as I was slowly trying to figure out what “health” meant to me. 

Acupuncture opened the doors for me to explore areas of art, psychology, spirituality, neuroscience, and  really all kinds of seemingly unrelated areas of interest. I had experiences of intuition with people who  resonated deeply with how I spoke and treated them, which continuously taught me how to trust  myself- something I never did before without agonizing stress, negative talk, and anxiety. 

It was almost like the needles allowed me to breathe and reconnect with my Soul. 

I went on to get my doctorate and open my own practice, mixing meditation into each treatment to help  my patients get the kind of profound inner work that I found in the medicine myself. I use flower essences with essential oils to create a unique relaxing experience, and sometimes we add in yoga to  allow the mind to follow the body’s guidance more. 

I’ve been practicing Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine for 10 years now, bodywork therapies (massage,  shiatsu, and tui na) for almost 20. I’ve gotten certified as a yoga instructor, a meditation teacher, and  Reiki master as well. Eventually, I’ll end up with the entire alphabet behind my name. That is, if my pocketbook can keep up with my interests! 

Looking back over my life, and career so far, there are doors that I desperately wanted to open that were firmly shut despite my efforts. But the ones that did open feel like they were part of something larger to  lead me to where I am. Lessons had to be learned, I had to break and pull myself back up. I stepped  outside of my comfort to grow. 

I wrote a book and launched an online mindset program. I started my own practice. All things that require vulnerability and faith. It’s been beautiful.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ha! Heavens no and thank goodness. Failure and struggle builds will power and internal fire. I both loved  and hated it at times. 

Entrepreneurship is a special kind of lunacy. It’s passion and purpose mixed with fear. You feel yourself falling into despair and then there’s this spark in the darkness and the fire gets lit up again to keep going because there is no other option for you. 

I am an artist of healing, also a up and coming web designer, an IT google expert, queen of financial spreadsheets, social media juggler that is in a continuous state of self-growth, humor, and often, tears.  

All life blooms from darkness from seeds to babies. All self-growth happens because we don’t want to go through some type of hurt again. We become aware of autopilot behaviors or things we previously excepted, and we say no more! We adjust, we heal, and we grow into more of what we truly want to be. So, rough roads are essential to growing into our desired versions of ourselves. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

While I am a doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese medicine, I still feel like an artist. 

I will step back after placing needles in someone for a treatment and think of how beautiful the patterns they make are. 

I specialize in gentle acupuncture with guided meditation. Each meditation is specific to the goal of the patient. It allows them the opportunity to learn how to relax and calm their own nervous system in daily life, and offers a deep relaxation in their healing session for the day. While I am talking them through the relaxation and mindful meditation piece, I am also doing Reiki. 

I want to create a unique and luxurious layered approach to health. Lifestyle plays a key role, this must be a focus. And change is hard. You must really want it to change the way you think, act, and interact. It takes work. 

But what if you could enjoy the process as well? (Think Harry Potter- you’re going to suffer, but you’re  going to be happy about it) 

If you can think yourself sick, and we’ve all done this numerous times, can you think yourself happy?  That’s my goal. To teach patients how to continuously become aware of areas they can adjust in their thoughts and actions that align with their health goals. 

I wrote a book, Mending the Sacred Self, where I wanted to validate some esoteric (woo-woo) practices.  This stuff physically changes your brain, which changes the chemicals released into your body. How would life look and feel if you had more happy hormones and thoughts running the show? 

I can only take you to the depths at which I have gone. I noticed the other day how my negative internal dialogue is so automatically shifted into positive now. I’ve been doing the practices in my book and my online course 100 Days to Me for years. It doesn’t mean the stresses of life go away, or even that negative emotions and self-talk disappear. Those things are a part of human life. What tends to happen is they fade to more of a whisper instead of a siren. You start to see them as gifts of self-love and 

protection that you can have a conversation with. You have more control over responding to life than  reacting to it. 

My biggest purpose is to allow space for someone to find joy in themselves and in their life. I like the  idea that connecting to a moment of joy is like finding magic, like stepping into a prayer. Why not seek  that, magnify it, and create a life around it? An ordinary life filled with joy becomes extraordinary. 

So, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you before we go? How can they support you?

Anyone who would like to work with me in person can schedule an appointment at  www.wildrootsacupuncture.com 

My clinic is located in St. Peter, MN. 

For more independent work, you can purchase my book and/or course via the website as well. (Mending  the Sacred Self is also available on Amazon). 

Reviews are lifeblood for businesses, especially small businesses. Therefore, I would be very grateful for reviews of the clinic, book, and/or course also. 

I am in the planning phases of more online courses, in-person classes, and one-on-one coaching sessions  (either in person or online). Following on social media either IG and/or Facebook, and subscribing to newsletters will keep you in the loop!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Kovly Studio, Mankato MN

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