Women In Wellness: Clara Sage Sartor On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Pets can be therapeutic; consider adopting one. I’ve had dogs almost all my life and moving out to the West Coast away from my support system was a huge life change for me. The best thing I did for my health since I’ve been out here was adopt my pup, Hershey. This rescue has been the best thing for my mental health (especially when in the throes of medical school), my physical health with motivating me to exercise, and my emotional health with all the laughter she brings!
As a part of my series about women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Clara Sage Sartor, Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine.
Clara Sage Sartor is a doctor of naturopathic medicine and author for Fullscript currently finishing her doctorate in acupuncture. She was born and raised in Virginia where she completed her undergraduate degree with a major in mathematical biology and minor in French and Francophone studies. She hopes to return to the East Coast and open an integrative clinic that delivers individualized and community medicine.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
I’m from northern Virginia, which we call NOVA or part of the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) area. I have one older sister who chose the allopathic medicine route and is now a medical doctor (MD) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Our love of medicine started at an early age from solving mysteries as Nancy Drew. Fewer things are as interesting, complex, and yet to be discovered as the human body. Our parents worked tirelessly in government jobs, so the belief in helping others and service was instilled in us from the beginning. We had the fortune of being raised by our grandparents as well, and watching them age and struggle with difficulties and illness that can come with age really influenced me to want to be a part of that solution. As a child, I struggled with my own health, mainly with chronic back pain, joint pain, and insomnia. Often, I did not feel heard when I went to see doctors. I decided to become a naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist because I wanted to be the kind of doctor who listens, can offer a variety of modalities to patients to fit their individual needs, and to be the doctor that I felt my family deserved and everyone deserves.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
The most interesting story that happened to me was working during an acupuncture shift at my naturopathic medical school. There was a patient who desired to get pregnant and had undergone several rounds of in-vitro fertilization and other Western methods to help with fertility, to no avail. She came to us as a last resort, based on hearing good things from other people we’ve treated. She had one final in-vitro attempt scheduled in two weeks, but we were determined to help in any way we could. I’ve never felt such an immense degree of both honor and pressure. Through the use of Western methods and our acupuncture protocol, she was able to conceive, and I had the fortune of seeing her come in as a pregnant patient! Knowing that I was a part of her fertility journey was incredibly rewarding. The main lesson I have taken from that is to never give up hope and to really utilize all modalities and options, both traditional or nontraditional, to help create the best outcome for your patients.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The biggest mistake I made when I first started was not knowing my boundaries. This is something honestly I still struggle with today, but I try to improve on this however I can. For example, I had a patient arrive 30 minutes after his appointment, and the front desk and other personnel, including myself, allowed it. I was new and needed the experience and didn’t want to say no, even though taking the client meant allowing the clinic to close far later than it should since he was the last appointment. As someone who tries hard to stay on track with appointments out of respect for my patients’ time, I remember feeling frustrated that the person didn’t respect my time and was even demanding an extra-long session that day! Nevertheless, we are still close and it’s something we actually laugh about now, but I learned that for people to respect my boundaries, I have to respect myself and stay true to the boundaries that I set.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
My naturopathic medical degree was part of the community health honors track program, so I got to spend a great deal of time working in community clinics. Fewer things I’ve experienced are more rewarding, and I hope to open up my own community clinic or help out in one already established when I move back to the East Coast. Looking bigger and into the future, I want to work with Naturopaths Without Borders and see if I can volunteer in Francophone Africa to utilize my language and medical skills to help anyone in need. I’m hoping that I’m part of a movement that is demonstrating that the future is individualized care, and that a painkiller for one person with a headache may not work for another with the same kind of headache. People are unique and their treatment plans should be, too, and that’s the focus we need to shift towards: working together integratively to heal people with individualized medicine.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
- Pets can be therapeutic; consider adopting one. I’ve had dogs almost all my life and moving out to the West Coast away from my support system was a huge life change for me. The best thing I did for my health since I’ve been out here was adopt my pup, Hershey. This rescue has been the best thing for my mental health (especially when in the throes of medical school), my physical health with motivating me to exercise, and my emotional health with all the laughter she brings!
- Treat yo’ self! All my fellow Parks and Recreation fans already know about this one, but self-care is so important. Mine are candles, soap, and plants! Find out what self-care means to you and nourish yourself by cultivating that.
- Discover new hobbies; try new things. Everyone has something they enjoy, and that’s wonderful, but don’t be afraid to try something new. Stepping out of our comfort zone can help us grow socially and mentally. I started Kung Fu mid-December of 2021 (because I’m horrible at keeping New Year’s resolutions so figured I’d start one before the year started), and I am a first degree gold belt and loving every minute of it.
- Do your brain aerobics! Try to do something that stretches your brain, daily. This can be puzzles, reading, audio books, brain games like Lumosity, sudoku, or other brain games. This helps strengthen our neuronal network and make new connections, making our brain even stronger.
- Stay movin’. Whether it’s swimming every evening, jogging Saturday mornings, or just getting up every hour from the cubicle to stretch, try to stay moving. A sedentary lifestyle is one of the worst things for our health, so even if it’s just a quick walk to the water fountain, try to stay moving whenever you can.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I think my movement would be community gardening. I imagine community gardens just everywhere and people are able to actually obtain healthy produce without spending an arm and a leg. Not only does being in nature help with our wellbeing (as we see with forest bathing and grounding), but it would help bring the community together which I think is vital, particularly today. Nutrition and diet is also one of the biggest barriers to health because food deserts pose problems to many communities, buying healthful foods can be inaccessible to many, and there is a large gap in knowledge between the level of knowledge of food health in some consumers as opposed to others. Working with Fullscript, I’ve been able to write articles on health and wellness including these important topics of nutrition and diet options with the hope of practicing Docere, one of our naturopathic principles and equipping others with more information to be able to make informed decisions on their food choices. Understanding is actually healthy and
what the foods we put into our body does to our health is essential in giving patients autonomy
on their own health. So, by having these community gardens, actually being able to show people how to self-sustain and grow these foods themselves, having a way where people get to take these healthful produce home, and to educate communities on food choices would be an absolute dream.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
- “It’s ok to fail” and “Don’t let fear of failure control what you do.” I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I wish someone had told me it was ok to fail. When I moved cross country, I was so scared of failure and letting down my family and things not panning out well. All through naturopathic medical school, I was so scared of failure and falling behind my cohort. And then one day, the clinical coordinator told me to not let fear control what I do and that I’m far more prepared than I give myself credit. That day changed my life, and I only wish we’d had that conversation earlier!
- “Find or create your community.” When I first moved out to Arizona for naturopathic medical school, I really didn’t feel I had any community at my school or anywhere nearby. So, I looked elsewhere. I joined Meetup where I made friends, online dating apps to meet new people, and I adopted my dog. I’m happy I created my community and wish I had only started that earlier.
- “It’s ok to be weird; weird is good.” This is something I wish someone had told me back in grade school, but I’ve learned that being weird is a good thing. Experiences make you interesting and connect with others and have helped me so much in my ability to connect with people, from all walks of life.
- “Nourish things that help you grow; reevaluate those that stunt your growth.” When I first came out for graduate school, I was supposed to come with a partner and ended up coming alone, through a break up. It was one of the most difficult experiences for me that undoubtedly turned into a time of enormous growth. I find that with job opportunities and hobbies, I am always looking for growth and to expand my skill set, but I had never thought about if my relationships were helping me grow. Now I really ponder if those I’m with add to my life or subtract from it, and vice versa.
- “Make boundaries, and stick to them!” This is one I’m still working on but boundaries are so important in every sphere of life. I think knowing your limits and really respecting yourself to stick to that is incredibly important.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
All of those are incredibly important topics, but mental health is most dear to my heart. It’s something that affects everyone and is so important to every aspect of health. I’ve had anxiety for as long as I can remember. I know that growing up in NOVA with the intensity of the DMV and East Coast mentality has contributed to my anxiety, but I believe there is some beauty in it as well. Part of my anxiety has made me so driven to fight for injustice and take leadership roles that it helped me become president of my naturopathic medical school’s student government in the thick of COVID-19 and propelled me to keep fighting for better representation in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Part of that mentality has fueled my work ethic and conscientiousness and has pushed me to work multiple jobs while going to school full-time and going to acupuncture school part-time, which has helped me keep my loans lower. I think there is a fine line between anxiety and excitement and balancing that is key and not always easy, but seeing that and that it’s just a part of you that needs balancing has allowed me to look at all mental health in an embracing manner.
I think mental health still has such a stigma that needs to be broken and talking about these issues should be welcomed rather than shunned and avoided. I have valued my experiences with all the patients with some element of mental health with whom I’ve worked on improving. Mental health along with chronic pain, autoimmune disorders, and chronic diseases in general are areas in which I really want to focus my career.
What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?
I write wellness articles on Fullscript, so feel free to check out https://fullscript.com/ for articles I post. I’m still working on finalizing my website, but you can always friend me on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.
Women In Wellness: Clara Sage Sartor On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.