THE HERBAN ALCHEMIST

INTERVIEW WITH DR. GABRIELLE FRANCIS www.theherbanalchemist.com

I first met Dr. G in 2013 through one of my best friends talking to another friend about getting a poop test. I asked them about it and they told me about this magical woman who was not only a Natropathic doctor, but also a Nutritionist, a masseuse, a chiropractor and an acupuncturist. I had been having recurring health issues for years, so I thought to myself, "I want to get a poop test," and I called her. A week or so later I was in the most comfortable waiting room I'd ever been in (seriously I could live there) drinking complementary tea, eating a complementary protein bar, while reading one of the many delicious books off of her library. When Dr. Francis walked in after a few minutes I was blown away by her shining smile and welcoming arms. I stayed there for three glorious hours and spoke to her about all of my ailments. She not only listened to everything I said, but she explained to me exactly what her initial diagnosis was, and which tests she would have me take and why. (yes I got a poop test) She also drew me diagrams of everything she was saying while teaching me all about my body and possibilities of why these symtoms had arisen. Then she gave me a massage, cracked my neck, stuck needles in me, and sent me on my cloud back home.

Dr. Gabrielle Francis changed my life. In the three years that I have known her she has helped me bring my body back on track, as well as helped me to see and create a better life for myself. She has become a mentor and a friend and I can safely say that I would not be doing what I do now unless I had met this fantastic woman. As I sit here in my little cabin upstate peacefully listening to Rock and Roll and transcribing our interview I am reminded of the stressed out, broken, and confused version of myself that first walked into her office, and am only truly thankful to be where I am now. Thank you Dr. G.

Please scroll down for our Interview:

Dr. Gabrielle Francis has been practicing holistic medicine for over 33 years. She utilises chiropractic, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture and oriental medicine, and massage to treat a broad range of maladies and to restore optimal health and balance to her patients.

SFM: Tell me a little bit about what you do?

GF: I am a Naturopathic doctor, Chiropractor, acupuncturist and a massage therapist. I do all of these modalities of holistic alternative complementary medicine. So people come to me and I assess them basically with a very long introductory visit and I see what their issues are, but also what their goals and interests are. Then together we put together a plan that incorporates a path towards wellness using all of the different modalities especially the ones that they are interested in.

How did you get started doing this?

Well I knew since I was about 5 that I was going to be doing some kind of medicine because I was fascinated by herbs and I was always doing massage on my family. I knew I wanted to be a chiropractor. When I graduated from high school I was 17 and I went to massage school. After massage school I went directly into chiropractic school, but I worked my way through chiropractic school doing massage. As soon as I graduated I was 23 years old, I went out to Seattle where I studied Natropathic and Acupuncture and I had a chiropractic and massage practice while I was in school for that. Whats cool is its always been building on itself. I actually probably knew since my first week in massage school that I wanted to do all of those things because that’s when I learned about all of them. I was just so hungry for that information.

Did you ever have any doubts along the way?

No, I never had any doubts, I was very driven. I had chances for excursions that I didn’t take which I was angry about, like I was asked to go out on tour with Bruce Springsteen when I was 19 and I turned that down because I wanted to finish medical school. I definitely regretted that decision, but I got a chance later on to do the same thing. I was very driven , I didn’t stop, I never even took a summer off. I went to 17 years of medical school without stopping.

You were asked to go out on tour as a musician?

No as a massage therapist. I started working in the music industry when I was 19. Bruce Springstein and the band was my first exposure to rock and roll in that world and from then on I was always working in the music business. Whenever people would come into town they would call me and ask me to do shows. When I graduated from Naturepathic school, the only doubt I ever had was after all of that school, I didn’t think I wanted to be a doctor anymore. I was just burnt out from practicing and going to school for so long. I had a little melt down, so I went to Europe to find myself and I spent 8 months traveling around Europe and I realized that yes, Medicine is for me. At that point one of the managers that I had always worked on with the band called me and said, “Hey Im coming to Europe with the band how would you like to get paid to travel?” So I spent the next 12 years traveling. my first Naturpathic, Acupuncture, Chiropractic, and Massage combo was touring with bands for 12 years on the road. I didn’t have a house for 12 years. I spent all that time going from city to city. All over Europe, US, Australia etc... I was the backstage doctor and when I wasn’t on tour with the band, I didn’t really have a home, so I would just go traveling. That’s when I did a lot of studying with indigenous tribes and healers. I would go on tour for 6 months then go to India for a few months, or wherever inspired me at the moment. Those international travels is where I learned a lot of my extra tricks.

Do you have any advice for people that feel that pull to be a doctor or healer or are going into the healing, massage, chiropractic industry?

I definitely believe that if you feel that pull very strongly that it’s something that you should follow. However, from the beginning I do believe that training is very very important. It helps make you feel grounded in the knowledge and then from there you kind of improvise and you can incorporate your own style. Then you will start to attract people that want you. But I do believe that formal training has got a lot of benefits and that it roots you in knowledge and gives you a base from where to explore. It’s also good to know that you have to start from the beginning really working on yourself and doing self healing because healing is not a glamorous thing. There is a lot of sacrifice in your personal life and in your own health. I mean, I dedicated my life to healing but I know I missed out on a chance to have my own children and I do grieve that often. You miss out on things. It’s difficult to be in relationships when you are a healer. You can only give so much energy. There are a lot of challenges that people of other professions don't have to face. And you have to look at that in reality because it’s not that glamorous. If you look at a lot of medicine women and shamanic women they are alone. That’s why it’s important to connect with communities of other healers. If It’s your destiny then it’s a good thing, but if you are just dabbling in it because you think it’s a cool thing,then I wouldn’t bother with it.

How do you protect yourself from all of your patients illnesses and energies or toxic thoughts or vibrations?

Well, I have had a lot of health crisises because I didn’t do that or because I got too carried away in the healing and not taking care of myself. I had periodic physical, mental and emotional breakdowns to help me learn how to take care of myself. Over time I’ve learned how to have better boundaries, how to create better space for myself every day. I do baths and insence and crystals and essential oils and I get treatments. I’m very very particular about the people that I get treatments from. You do learn along the way especially by being part of a community of other healers. I cant say enough how important that is. It’s not something I really developed until a little later and I wish I would have earlier because healing is lonely. Not just in relationship, but when you are with people all day and you are taking on all their stuff and then you don’t have other people to share with it can be hard, especially when you are working on your own. It’s gratifying and rewarding and it’s probably one of the most difficult professions as well.

What are the top two or three ailments that you see in your clients these days?

Being in this region I’m dealing with a lot of people with Lyme disease. As a matter of fact I was going to say why don’t we test you? Everybody that goes upstate, the Hamptons, or anywhere where there's woods is at big risk. I studied with a big Lyme doctor, Dr. Richards Horowitz, in Rhinebeck this summer. I diagnosed probably about 80 people just this summer. Now, if they have Lyme they need antibiotics, but Ive been doing a lot of other things to help support them and keep their body and their immune system strong and help to detox from the antibiotics, reduce the inflammation and the negative side affects of them. I’m seeing that it’s the underlying cause of a lot of autoimmune and neurological disorders as well as joint diseases. It’s really important if you are living in one of those regions to screen regularly, like every year when the summer is over, because it’s also being spread by mosquitos now, not just tics.

Tics don’t like me

Oh you are lucky….

Fertility is another big one because people are trying to have babies at a later age. One reason is because of all of the toxins in the environment that are causing the fish not to spawn or have babies anymore. These same toxins are affecting humans. And then I would say Gastro Intestinal Disease that leads to autoimmune disease and Cancer, is also very big in my practice. That’s why I like to start with the gut health and detoxing.

So would you say that is your main remedy right now, the gut health cleansing system. ?

My way to work is to always start with the gut and the liver. If your body can’t absorb nutrients and eliminate toxins then all the healthy food that people eat doesn't have a way to be absorbed and assimilated. I like to start with a clean slate, because then you get a clearer idea of what the real problems are. If you detox first you can resolve 60-90 % of the problems and then it just fine tunes what you have to do from there. I like to teach people how to do it on their own so that they can do it at home . I really like to teach so that people can take care of themselves and then just come to me for special things. So I teach them the detox from the beginning.

If you could manifest the desire for your own personal health, what would you change, heal, help to work better?

I have to consider whether I’m going to have surgery on my back, so, if I could manifest my own personal health then I would love to heal this herniated disk in my back. 30 years of 70 hours a week of body work takes its toll…

Who do you respect most in our field Right now?

Medically, I really like Christina Northrup. I really like her philosophy because she integrates western and alternative medicine and she really integrates the spiritual into the medical and sees the metaphor for things. Her focus with women and empowering women is only going to help raise the vibration of the planet so I really love everything she does. I’m a bit of a groupie. http://www.drnorthrup.com/

Do you think that a lot of the ailments that your clients are having are psychological or spiritual?

I think they are both. They are equally physical spiritual and emotional, and that wherever you choose as your starting point you are going to transform all the other things too. Ultimately working on all three of them at the same time is the best way to go. However, a lot of people get their entry point in one or the other. Then if they are open to it, and can see it ,and if its brought to them by a particular person who can show them the way to go that’s the most benefiicial healing for them, then all three will be working together. Most people have an entry point at one level and then they can move into the other.

What do you do when you have a client that you really see this entry point and you are giving them homework and giving them supplements and trying to work with them and they just don’t do the work?

I have to be honest that I very rarely have that happen. My basic philosophy of the "Rockstar Remedy" is that I ask them what they are willing to do. I don’t ever give them something that they are not willing to do. And I make it reasonable and I see that their lifestyle involves certain levels of partying, or that they are not going to give up working 70 hours a week. So fine, we are going to make it healthier in the context. if you make it something that they are willing to do and it’s reasonable without changing their lifestyle they will succeed. Then, because they feel better because they succeeded, they are going to be open to doing more again, The other thing that makes my patients (and I hate the word) compliant (but they really are…) is because I educate them. I don’t just tell them “take this” I really help them to understand their lab work, how their body works what the actual protocols and treatments are going to do. I show them that there is an end to it and they are going to follow it because they understand why. They are paying good money to come to you. They are going to want to get better but they aren’t going to always change their lifestyle so drastically. Sometimes they cant.

But I do find that is something that I don’t have a problem with.

If you could change one thing about the world today what would it be?

Oh I would end all of these terrible wars!

What would you say is your greatest gift?

My greatest gift is that I am able to listen really well to people and reflect back to them in a way that inspires them to be able to really want to change. I think that I have that gift of listening and inspiration .

If you had all the money in the world, and never had to worry about working again what would you do?

Well I love what I do but I'm ready to take it to the next level. My dream is to be the Anthony Bourdain of medicine. To have adventures and teach people about the healers in other parts of the world while we are on that adventure. That’s what I’m focusing on now. How can I make that happen?

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