Today we’d like to introduce you to Madison Ierulli.
Hi Madison, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My life has felt a bit like that of a cat on its seventh or eighth life, but I wouldn’t trade the mountains I’ve climbed or the emotions and experiences that shaped me. I haven’t hit my peak yet, but I can feel it waiting just around the corner.
To condense those first seven lives into something readable, I focus on the eras that made me who I am. I was born in Bradenton, FL, and blessed to grow up in a big, blended family—friends who became family, families who folded me in as their own. Our “crew” was often forty or fifty people strong. Most of my childhood revolved around horses, not just in the show ring (though I built incredible memories and relationships there), but out in the wild. We spent weekends camping: adults with their campers, drinks, and ghost stories; boys with ATVs, fishing poles, and questionable ideas; girls with horses and a keen ear for adult gossip. Occasionally, we encouraged the boys’ bad ideas too. Growing up with that kind of freedom in the middle of Florida’s wildlife taught me how to work with the natural world instead of against it. We watched alligators before choosing when to swim in the creeks. We knew that when the cows lay down, the air would thicken and rain was coming. We scanned the sky for vultures to avoid areas where nature was reclaiming her own through boar or other wild beasts. Fun required respect—respect for the land, the animals, and our own intuition. If something didn’t feel right, we listened to one another and ourselves.
Horses kept me grounded while life at home was loud and complicated. I poured myself into the hunter/jumper rings under the guidance of the cosmically important trainer and mentor in my life, Mari Mayberry (Business: Little Bit of Harmony). Mari was working towards her goals of becoming an equine osteopath, which required an understanding of all the different modalities, such as acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, homeopathy, and chiropractic care. My family had moved on from horses, but I hadn’t, so I was with her every weekend and several days a week if I could be. I’d find any excuse to stay over, and I signed up to be her personal assistant for weekend trips she took to further her education. In hindsight, I was a bug she couldn’t scrape off her window, but she loved me and always let me tag along. When she wasn’t teaching me how to ride horses by truly feeling each horse’s unique movement and power, she was teaching me about chiropractic care, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and homeopathy—and I absorbed every bit of it.
Eventually, I ended up in Austin, TX with my horses to join the rat race of chasing “success” after earning my B.S. of Biological Sciences from Florida State University, while Mari traveled the country doing the work she loved and becoming widely recognized for her gifts. I kept seeking her guidance over the years, especially when life got scary for the animals and people I loved. Once, when I reached out in a panic, she pushed back with, “You know what to do,” followed by a firm, “Don’t you remember?” That moment stuck with me as I pursued a career in the exact opposite direction of medicine. What was I doing? I was losing the knowledge she’d poured into me, drifting further from what I was put on this earth to do. I stopped listening to the world around me and let salary define my worth. I once was the observant young girl who listened to adult conversations around the fire and felt my heart break empathically when bad news was shared. The curious girl who watched birds to understand what was coming next. The girl who listened to horses’ stomachs gurgle before bed so I could sleep peacefully knowing no one was at risk for colic. I became the woman friends called when health challenges came up or when they feared their animals needed a vet. And when my 22‑year‑old cousin called after a diagnosis with cancer, I was the helpless family member in Texas who knew the tools that could support her through chemo and surgeries but didn’t yet have the formal training to use them. Moving to Austin didn’t make sense to anyone when I made that decision seven years ago, but now, I realize I was listening to my intuition and letting life guide me back to medicine.
So, where am I now and how was any of that relevant? Now, I am pursuing my Master of Acupuncture with a Chinese Herbal Medicine Specialization at Texas Health and Science University in the heart of Austin. I’m part of an incredible cohort and academic community, many of us planning to earn our doctorates after graduation. My hope in contributing to this article is to raise awareness that we’re here. Our student body is full of doctors, nurses, massage therapists, reiki practitioners, and so many others who are ready to serve this community—we were all once those kids who looked to the natural world and listened, and we want to listen and help you. If you are curious to know more, my line is open. We’re right off South I‑35 and Riverside, and your first session is free at our student clinic. We offer acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping, gua sha, tui na, and more—and my personal favorite is our facial rejuvenation sessions.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As lightly touched on before, the childhood and early adolescence years were difficult for me…I was a sad kid facing a lot of challenges behind closed doors, but it all was building me for this road ahead to be here for others now. My path led me to Austin where I met my incredible friends (shoutout to Bumble BFF!), my husband who has shown me what true happiness and authenticity look like, and back to my dream career.
I showed up to this city in 2019 with no idea of where life was taking me, and I discovered that horses were still my guiding light. They exposed me and opened doors early in my life to know and be curious about East Asian Medicine. If I had a perfect home life growing up, I would not have spent so much time with Mari and horses. If my horse and I had not been challenged with our own health, we would not have been treated with acupuncture and herbal medicine. If I hadn’t given myself the grace to figure myself out after college, who knows if I would have made my way to Austin. If I had never chased the highs and lows of life and the music in this city, I would have never met my husband who encouraged me to fully commit in changing my career after losing his sister to cancer in 2024. There has been a lot of lows behind my “why” in making this move for myself, but I needed them. I am thankful for them now. Now, I have the opportunity to help heal and restore peace to others through a medicine that helped me. Because of all the struggles, I see myself now as a strong, capable, kind, and determined woman and practitioner.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Texas Health and Science University?
As a student of Texas Health and Science University, I have become more involved in our student government. My role this year in supporting the President and Vice President has been to bring in speakers from our community and work on bringing more patients into our student clinic. I would say I get the opportunity in educating our community and assisting our student body in making connections. Most people have a limited exposure to Traditional Chinese Medicine, and I want readers to know that acupuncture is an incredibly effective and powerful medicine, and we are here to listen and understand the patterns of your body and support you in living better.
Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have been practiced for thousands of years, and what we offer here is both deeply traditional and incredibly practical for modern life. At its core, acupuncture is about restoring balance — helping the body regulate pain, stress, digestion, sleep, hormones, and so much more by working with the pathways your body already uses to heal itself. The needles are hair‑thin, gentle, and relaxing; most people end up taking a nap on the table, especially with our heat lamps! Everyone loves those. Herbal medicine consists of customized formulas made from roots, flowers, barks, and minerals to target specific patterns in the body. Instead of treating symptoms one by one, herbal medicine looks at the whole picture — your energy, digestion, sleep, stress, and constitution — and creates a formula that supports your system from the inside out. We would be happy to discuss if herbs would be helpful for you and your life!
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Acupuncture and herbal medicine are incredibly personal; they teach you to trust yourself and what you’re feeling. When I first found this medicine, I was in a place where I felt completely dismissed and misunderstood by the medical system. Mari was the one who reached out to my family and asked if I could get treated, and thankfully they said yes, but I was apprehensive still. I did not want to explain to another doctor what I was feeling and be told again that “everything looks normal” but I did not understand the type of practitioner I would be talking to. I was struggling mentally, and my body was showing it physically, but that day, I was listened to, I cried, and I began my journey of healing. Looking back now, I can see that my qi was under massive strain from what I was carrying in my home life and school experiences, and I want readers to know that your pain is real, your stress is real and affecting you, and your emotions coming up are valid. Each of us is different, and yet so much the same. So, when you come in for an appointment with us, know this: we will listen to you, we will hear you, we will believe you, and we will work towards a better tomorrow for you. More than likely, we have been in your shoes or helped someone similar!
Pricing:
- First treatment is free!
- After that, single appointments are $40.00.
- Package pricing exists for discounted rates.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thsu.edu/clinics/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maddyierulli/
