Meet Becky Upchurch | Acupuncturist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Becky Upchurch and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Becky, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I wanted to create an Acupuncture clinic that reflects the balance between my formal Eastern Medicine (Traditional Chinese Medicine) education and experience and my Western Medicine /Western problem-solving education and expertise. I wanted to create an Acupuncture experience balancing “best of the East, best of the West”. I had never seen an acupuncture clinic that did quite this mix. From the moment a patient walks into my clinic, I want them to feel the calm relaxing environment of a beautiful space that is pleasing to all senses: a wall-length waterfall greets visitors, the lighting is soothing, yet professional, there are aromatherapy soothing smells in the waiting room and throughout the clinic, and there is relaxing spa music in the waiting room and in all treatment rooms. All senses are invited to relax. The treatment rooms have state-of-the-art equipment reflective of my highest quality tools and modalities. The treatment rooms clearly create a competent scientific message, while also being beautiful and luxuriously comfortable. I started my own business because I had a clear way I wanted to bring acupuncture into a biomedically-centric, health-oriented, well-educated area of DFW. Many people are nervous or hesitant about needles, so getting patients quickly into a relaxed environment paves the way for the medicine of acupuncture to perform at its best. It’s exciting owning my own business. I am so happy I started my own Acupuncture Clinic in Grapevine.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We provide integrative solutions that bring thousands of years of traditional Chinese medicine to treat not only physical ailments but also help bring the mind and body into balance. One of the things that sets me apart from other acupuncturists is my extensive background in problem-solving. I have been a successful technologist, mathematician and actuary who decided to pursue a career in the healing arts. I practice with intuition, care and compassion, treat with intelligence, insight and skill, and have a proven track record of success in healing. Some of the cases I’ve treated are nothing less than miraculous. I’m incredibly proud of my successes in taking away patient’s pain, resolving patient’s neuropathy, restoring vision to my Macular Degeneration patients, and dramatically reducing the anxiety, depression, PTSD, and stress in so many of my patients. It’s incredibly gratifying to change people’s lives for the better. This is why I went back to school for Acupuncture after a very successful career as a Research Scientist and Data Scientist.

Business-wise, starting a new business, for me, has been a labor of love. I’ve worked hard, but worked smarter, and looking back, I’m very pleased with how well the decisions I’ve made and “forks in the road” have turned out. Yes, I have also made a few mistakes, lessons learned, and I plan to vocalize these in publications once I realize fully, the implications of the mistakes I’ve made, and how I could have avoided these mistakes. I’d like to help other small businesses that are just getting started to avoid the mistakes I’ve made. The biggest mistake I made was to trust the wrong people, and find myself committed to multi-year expensive contracts for marketing that do not deliver. If I make a commitment to something of this magnitude, it’s folly to sign a 3-year contract before testing whether the strategy has merit for my particular business. Biggest lesson learned.

I would like the world to know that there is cutting-edge acupuncture “best of east, best of west” out there and it’s an incredibly successful solution to healing. No one should just “live with” pain or dysfunction in the mind or body. There is effective treatment that can end the pain and dysfunction and bring back the joy of living your best life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A must on my visitor’s itinerary is a visit to the Dallas Arboretum – just love that place and it’s changing landscapes and exhibits. Tulips in the spring, pumpkins in the fall, and the 12 days of Christmas in Dec!

The food scene is so amazing in the DFW area, I don’t really know where to start. That being said, some of my favorites are: Tei An in Dallas, Original Mexican Eats in Ft Worth, Italian restaurants (Arlington’s Piccalo Mondo and Southlake’s Stella’s), Arlington’s Sanford House, Southlake’s barbecue restaurant, Feed Store, and Arlington’s historic Mexican restaurant, Mariana’s, the site of the original margarita machine.

Now that we are the home of the World’s Series Texas Rangers, that would be on the list if a game fell during my visitor’s stay.
Strolling off mainstream DFW is Granbury, with its history, cute square, wineries, and the best German restaurant I’ve ever visited outside of Germany: Ketzler’s. I’ve only lived in the area just over a year, so I’m sure this is just the beginning, but I have no doubt I’d have happy visitors.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My partner, Steve Heyman, has been my wingman from the beginning, encouraging me when I experienced disappointments, providing love and support, as well as software engineering expertise, website development expertise, and even being my handyman! I also owe thanks to my mentor, Dr. Stefanie Dwyer, in Austin, TX. She has been my acupuncture mentor, personal friend, and professional colleague even before I opened the doors of my clinic!
My acupuncture medical school training at AOMA in Austin, and the expertise of Dr. HB Kim from books and seminars has also provided a rich backdrop of education for me. In particular, the AOMA faculty of Dr. Violet Song, Dr. Jaime Wu, and Dr. Song Luo have been particularly important to me.

Website: https://www.mindfulspiritacupuncture.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulspiritacupuncture/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-upchurch-27248439/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindfulspiritacupuncture

Image Credits
Steve Heyman was the photographer