Today we’d like to introduce you to Raechel Ritch.
Hi Raechel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My interest in traditional medicine began from personal experience as a patient. My younger brother was ill as a child and we tried all the things, including Acupuncture. It was one of the modalities in which the whole family could get treated, not just him going to the doctor again. The best way to describe my first session was almost out of body, I immediately knew there was so much magic in this medicine. I became friendly with our family Acupuncturist in high school, or at least he generously entertained all my questions and desire to look through textbooks filled with tongue photos and corresponding diagnoses.
I went on to study Environmental Science at UCSC, which helped form a lens to see parallels between many physical ailments in the human body and disharmony in ecological macro systems. These similarities have been observed in ancient medicines throughout the world.
Years passed working in Geographic Information Systems mapping of water quality data, teaching 6th grade Earth Science, and growing up a bit. Finally I enrolled in a graduate program to study Traditional Chinese Medicine and after 10 years practicing I continue to fall in love with the magic of this medicine on a daily basis.
Alright, 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?
Post-pandemic there have been so many life changes, including in my career. I never thought I would close my clinics in Los Angeles but family changes at the time called for a big move.
The hard restarting in multiple cities has definitely been a challenge but with that has come so much learning, exposure to different patient populations, and physical ailments that you find more abundant in particular regions of the country.
I am super happy to be settled in Austin and building my practice here now.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Most people think Acupuncture is the entirety of our medicine, but really that is only one modality. Traditionally herbal medicine is the lead treatment for conditions that are not musculoskeletal pain.
So that being said, I am very proud of my herbal knowledge, diagnostic skills and enthusiasm to figure out a challenge. The ability to look at a complex case and distill it down to the basic pathological disharmonies, then know what to do. Being able to step back and see the whole picture instead of assigning labels for diseases or syndromes that further compartmentalize the body.
All medicine has an art component, and Traditional Medicines are usually pretty heavy on the art part, so it is always a work in progress but I love that part.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I think I was pretty quiet growing up. Did normal kid stuff. Girl Scouts, dressing my cats up in doll clothes, stealing stuff from the mall, spending the summer at my grandmother’s apartment pool surrounded by Aunts and cousins.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rayoflightacupuncture.com
- Instagram: @rayoflightacupuncture
- Yelp: http://m.yelp.com/biz/ray-of-light-acupuncture-and-herbs-austin?osq=Ray+of+Light+Acupuncture+and+Herbs
