We recently connected with Klara Furst and have shared our conversation below.
Klara, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My sense of purpose has grown over time. Different pieces of the puzzle have clicked into place at different phases of my life.
In the last few years my purpose has come into focus around the understanding that healing takes place at three interdependent and mutually generative levels: individual, community and planet.
In January 2023 I started donating to a non-profit organization called One Tree Planted. For every acupuncture treatment, I plant a tree. What inspired this? I was experiencing burnout running my own practice while simultaneously homeschooling my two kids. I felt like I couldn’t keep going. At this challenging time someone gifted me the book To Speak For the Trees by Diana Beresford-Kroeger. This book beautifully (and scientifically) illustrates how trees are our ancestors making human life possible on this planet. If trees were able to transform a toxic atmosphere into a life-sustaining environment millions of years ago, they can do it again. At the time of publishing, Beresford-Kroeger calculated that “if every person on Earth planted one tree per year for the next six years, we would stop climate change in its tracks.” This would buy precious time to make bigger changes.
This was the most hopeful and actionable response to climate change I had encountered.
With a renewed sense of meaning and clearer purpose I returned to my acupuncture practice knowing that each treatment was planting a tree, a tree that would support the health of the planet and the health of future generations.
Another breakthrough came in August 2024. I started offering a low-cost group acupuncture and meditation class. Healing at the community level is vital to the health of individuals and the planet. When people come together in-person with the intention to heal and an openness for transformation, magic can happen. This community offering is a great source of inspiration for me.
Whenever I get disconnected from my sense of purpose, I return to nature. Nature’s lessons are abundant and never fail to bring me to a place of understanding and hope even in the most challenging times.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My organization is called Yes Acupuncture Works. I am a licensed acupuncturist and board certified herbalist. I specialize in supporting individuals and communities achieve wellness through a root-cause approach that balances the nervous system. In my private practice I combine acupuncture, meditation, functional medicine, nutrition, herbs, supplements, and lifestyle support. Yes Acupuncture Works has a low-cost community acupuncture and meditation offering. This is a twice-per-month class where I provide affordable acupuncture and guided meditation for up to ten people at a time at a local yoga studio. This class focuses on seasonal balancing through the wisdom of Five Element theory. I love the community building aspect of this class. People come together in person, take time away from their phones, the hustle and bustle, to rest and find peace. Community healing is a vital component of individual health. Yes Acupuncture Works also carries a vision for healing the planet. I plant a tree for every acupuncture treatment. This is a simple, yet powerful way to combat climate change. My mission is to support health at the individual level, the community level, and the planet level. These levels are all interdependent and mutually generative. Please join me on this journey.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
For me the constants are: curiosity, connection to nature, learning through failure and adversity.
I have cultivated curiosity through reading widely my entire life. I highly recommend this practice as a way to expand perspective, cultivate compassion and the ability to stand in other people’s shoes. Meditation is also a practice that opens my mind to curiosity.
I access healing and wisdom through my connection to nature. Nature nourishes, restores and provides a broader perspective whenever I feel stuck or depleted. Being aware of the season, the phases of the moon, the seasonal activities of plants and animals – all of these teach us how to cultivate health and wellbeing in ourselves. Study nature, observe the plants and animals, go sit in the forest, walk the trails, listen to the streams and the waterfalls. The wisdom in nature is abundant and freely given.
My hardest times have led to the most growth. As painful and unbearable as these times were to live through, they have been gold as I support others on their healing journey. Success is a journey of growth and refinement. We aren’t supposed to be perfect. I wish for those just starting out to learn ways to hold pain gently, to access support, to nourish personal healing so that suffering can be transformed into the seeds of wisdom.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am looking to collaborate with individuals, practitioners, organizations and venues to expand my community-focused offerings: low-cost group acupuncture and meditation, classes, workshops, retreats and events. I am also seeking connection with folks working to heal the planet through environmental/ecological initiatives, habitat restoration and reforestation. My contact information is available on my website: www.YesAcupunctureWorks.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.YesAcupunctureWorks.com
- Instagram: @YesAcupunctureWorks
- Facebook: @YesAcupunctureWorks
Image Credits
A. McFeat, Ben Furst
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