Kathleen Ketola shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Kathleen, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Most days are routine: I drink a full glass of water on waking, followed by a cup of tea and a handful of pumpkin seeds if I’m already hungry. My favorite exercise has been calisthenics lately, so I spend 30 minutes training pull-ups, push-ups, pistol squats, or deep stretches (like splits) – none of which I’ve mastered yet!
I’m a big fan of meal planning, so the rest of the morning is usually spent filling my water bottles for the day, packing my lunch and snacks, blending shakes for me and my husband, and finally eating a fresh breakfast (ideally while watching the sunrise from our patio if the timing lines up).
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Kathleen Ketola, and my business Beachside Community Acupuncture is the only privately owned community acupuncture clinic in the Dallas area. Most acupuncture in America is private practice; community acupuncture aims to make treatments more affordable and accessible. We charge a sliding scale for appointments – meaning patients pay what they can afford within a range – and our clinic has a relaxed, tropical vibe with beach murals on the walls and ocean waves playing in the treatment rooms.
After serving the Addison community for eight years, we relocated to McKinney at the end of 2024. Since then we’ve been getting involved in our new city, joining the Chamber of Commerce, networking with other practitioners to build a good resource pool for our patients, and revamping our blog and social media to provide education about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Our world is very divided right now, and the prevailing belief seems to be if two people don’t share the same opinion, they can’t get along. Preconceived judgments and the inability to listen to those that seem different are the biggest challenges to bonding.
As a community clinic, we treat a very wide variety of people. All genders, religions, sexualities, political orientations… Patients visiting from other states and other countries… We customize our treatments to each patient’s unique health challenges, but at the end of the day, it’s truly remarkable how much we all have in common! All of us stress about relationships, work, finances, etc. All of us have the same joints that can ache, the same digestive systems that can go out of balance, etc.
Keeping an open mind and listening to others with respect is the way to heal the divide. Not everyone has to have the same worldview; hearing a person’s side doesn’t inherently mean agreeing with it. People with differing opinions can still be good friends and neighbors.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
There’s a saying in business, “Done is better than perfect.” While perfectionism served me in some areas of my life, the fear of not being perfect also held me back. As an adult, I’ve let go of a lot of perfectionism, realizing that it often keeps people from accomplishing their goals. It’s okay for things to be a work in progress, or it’s okay to complete minor tasks at a “good enough” level to open up time for bigger projects.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
While new advancements in technology and medicine have revolutionized our knowledge of physiology, biohacking isn’t the path to true health. The body does best when living in line with nature as much as possible. Drink plenty of water, eat whole foods, walk barefoot in the grass, get adequate sleep, and integrate activity into daily routines. Sure, there are supplements and other interventions that may help with longevity, but true wellness can often be achieved with very basic lifestyle adjustments.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
No one ever told me to be an acupuncturist! My passions have always been health and the environment, and I explored various professions in both before settling into Traditional Chinese Medicine as a way to guide people back to wellness by realigning them with nature. If my career takes me out of acupuncture specifically, I am fairly confident that I would still work within one of those two fields.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://BeachsideAcupuncture.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/beachcomacu
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/beachcomacu
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@beachsideacupuncture
- Other: https://pinterest.com/beachcomacu
