Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob McRae
Jacob, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
By the time I was fully enrolled in a 4 year graduate program for Chinese medicine, I’d never even experienced an acupuncture treatment or a massage. I’d never heard of cupping, Guasha or Tuina, Taichi or qigong. And I knew nothing of of the immense pharmacopeia of Chinese herbalism.
My confident pursuit of a career based in Eastern medicine was compelled by my many unfortunate experiences with Western medicine. I was a very sick child, and I was constantly in doctor’s offices, nurses offices, emergency rooms. I suffered from frequent bouts of asthma, chronic sinus infections, tonsillitis, strep throat, flu, gastritis, ulcers, IBS, fatigue, headaches, body aches, insomnia. It might seem like an exaggeration, but I’m actually being modest. Worse than the physical symptoms I suffered were the incessant emotional issues, anxiety, and depression. At that time, I didn’t even understand that a person could exist without pain and soreness I struggled with, so I just endured it. For a long time, my body, my life, felt like a prison of illness.
Even though I had all these things wrong with me, the only thing a medical doctor would provide for me is an antibiotic, which often led to more problems. I was constantly told my “blood work and levels were normal,” yet I continued to feel awful, to get sick with violent fevers and pain. I felt like my health issues were frequently dismissed, unimportant and even denied, because there was not some clear indication of a known disease to label me with. So, my journey toward this healing path started with lots of illness, suffering, confusion and frustration.
In my early 20s, I started a dedicated personal yoga practice, and it completely revolutionized my health. With lots of effort, I was feeling better than I ever had in my life. I was so impressed by yoga’s effects, (which included better respiration/energy, less pain, improved immunity) that I began fervently studying the connected philosophies like Ayurveda.
I was enchanted by Eastern philosophy’s deep connectivity between the body, the elements, herbalism and the spiritual and energetic interpretations of physiological phenomena. I didn’t know it then, but my yoga and Ayurveda fixation would be my initiation into the professional practice of Eastern medicine.
At that time in my life, I was working in administrative and public relations roles. I had completed a bachelors degree in English from the University of Texas, and I had briefly studied information science in the aspiration of becoming an archivist, but I now wanted to pursue a career in holistic medicine. It was a big jump going from a writer’s path to a somewhat unconventional career in healthcare, so I wasn’t sure where to start.
Serendipitously, I met a friend who introduced me to a local graduate program concerning acupuncture and integrative medicine. I didn’t even know such a thing existed. I was immediately magnetized to the curriculum and applied for enrollment. I started that program in 2013, and, after four arduous years of study and clinical practice, I acquired my acupuncture license in 2017. It was one of the most difficult experiences of my life, but I’m so glad I did it. Many people are unaware that most acupuncturists in the United States are required to endure an extensive education culminating in a Master’s or Doctorate, to complete four national board exams, and to perform several years worth of supervised practice before licensure is honored. Western and eastern medical courses are taught concurrently, and a wide array of practicum, clinical internships and capstones are required to fulfill approval from a national board committee and a state board, too. It’s a very rigorous process, that I was quite surprised by as I progressed through the program.
Now, seven years later I have developed a loyal client base that is constantly expanding, whom I provide thorough one-on-one treatments for. I base my entire treatment style on the experiences of the clinics I was constantly in as a child and young adult. All the things I felt I needed as a chronically ill individual, but didn’t receive, I try to provide to my clients: true empathy, intelligent compassion, undivided attention and skillful care to the body in its entirety.
If I hadn’t dealt with all those painful ailments, I doubt I would have considered Eastern Medicine, especially in a world that remains so skeptical of its mysteries. In this way, I feel that the pain I endured as a young child is worthwhile, as it helped me understand exactly what I was born to do on this earth, and it gave me the courage to pursue it proudly for the sake of others.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think if I had known how hard it is to build an acupuncture business, I may have been afraid to pursue it. I have to have a lot of confidence and faith in my ability, my passion for the medicine, and a thick skin because there are a lot of negative and skeptical attitudes exhibited toward eastern medicine. I need to be able to adapt to each individual, to tune in and figure out how each body responds at every moment of a treatment. I have to be able to let go of feeling completely responsible for someone’s health, or I can make myself overwhelmed with concern. I have to be extremely caring of my body, my energy and my physical health as the work is more demanding than it seems. Consequently, lots of meditation and self care are required.
Building a business is naturally difficult, even with a coveted product; now, try building a business where your product is putting needles in people! It can be a hard sell. It takes a lot of stars to align: you and your client need to get along, they need to trust you, and you need to help them get better in a reasonable time frame. This is why I absolutely cherish every person who pursues my work, because it’s a special privilege when all of those criteria sync together.
There are lots of challenges that the acupuncture profession faces. The federal medical system and insurance companies are slowly integrating acupuncture coverage, but, also, acupuncture is being appropriated at the same time. Instead of hiring licensed acupuncturists at hospitals and conventional clinics, many physical therapists, chiropractors, doctors and nurses do piecemeal certifications to provide acupuncture, or, as it’s now commonly called to exempt its practice from acupuncture licensure, “dry needling.” So, because of this particular ostracizing of licensed acupuncturists, our common options are typically limited to entrepreneurial endeavors, and subsequent collaborations with other practitioners.
This has been a real thorn in the side of acupuncturists. After working four years to perform acupuncture and needle based procedures, others are circumventing that process for the sake of profit. Many state agencies have tried to fight this and failed. The lobbyists for acupuncture are very limited comparatively. As an acupuncturist, this means you have to compete not only against other licensees but also a plethora of non licensees to survive commercially. This means licensed acupuncturists have to be extremely skilled to endure!
As you know, we’re big fans of CAIN Healing Arts. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My business is called CAIN Healing Arts. I chose to use Cain, as it is my middle name, and an abbreviation for my business ethos. As an acronym, Cain stands for “curing all ills naturally,” which is my aspiration and ultimate purpose when working with my clients.
The healing arts offered by my business include a host of acupuncture treatments, with styles like traditional Chinese acupuncture, Japanese acupuncture, trigger point acupuncture /“dry needling”, esoteric acupuncture, facial acupuncture, microneedling, seven star needling, auricular needling, though the list isn’t exhaustive.
Many non needle therapies are offered as well, such as moxibustion, tuina, guasha, cupping, reiki, herbal consultations, and even astrology, crystals and tarot for those who seek such spiritual methods. Out of all these holistic medicines, I feel people visit me most for my bodywork like Guasha, tuina and cupping. I am visited by many individuals recovering from injuries, chronic pain syndromes and general soreness, and the results from these therapies are fantastic, especially with consistent treatment.
Because I tend to incorporate a lot of these bodywork methods with acupuncture, my sessions are very hands on. Many acupuncturists run multiple room practices, and you will get needles, maybe cups, and then they’ll jump to another room. In the nearly 10 years of my business, I am proud to say I’ve always held space for one individual at a time, one body at a time.
When I was growing up, doctors seemed to rush through my exams, giving me barely a glance before moving on. It was so insulting to spend money on such dismissive care. I couldn’t bear to recreate that experience, so I try to give my clients a wide space to communicate about their issues, to be heard and seen completely without feeling rushed.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
In my earlier years, good luck felt absent from my life. As that dark timeline unfolded, I had to confront a deep hopelessness. In those moments of despair, I learned to dig deep in my heart for the will to move forward. Yet once I did that, I developed the spiritual stamina and motivation to breakthrough many obstacles, to overcome negative energy, and to realize, understand, and manifest my own dreams.
In adulthood, I’ve had a few bouts of bad luck that led to some severe injuries. While pursuing my doctorate, my rotator cuff was severely injured due to the negligence of two instructors. It severely altered my life plan, my relationship to the profession, academia, and what I had been working toward. My goal of being a researcher quickly dissipated, and I decided to pursue recovery, for the sake of preserving my ability to treat others. I quickly learned that my joy didn’t come from analyzing the medicine—it came from actually doing the work… and I needed my arm for that!
This misfortunate experience gave me, at least, deep insight into a major injury that many people go through. I took it as a lesson, and as an affirmation, because I have used my own skills to remedy and manage it. I’ve learned a lot, and I have a great passion for helping those recover from physical injuries like rotator cuff tears.
Nowadays, I feel very lucky. I feel even that the bad luck of my youth was actually good luck, because it was ultimately the catalyst for this destiny that is so satisfying to me. I feel especially fortunate for the support I’ve received from my family, friends and my clients who trust me.
Pricing:
- One hour treatment – 130
- One and a half hour treatment – 180
- Two hour treatment – 240
- Telehealth Herbal Consult – 85
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Cainhealingarts.net
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/cainhealingarts
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/cainharts
