PHOTOGRAPHY by Dana McClure | @danamcclure

Meet Alexis Arvidson: an acupuncturist, herbal medicine practitioner, teacher of wellness and stylish mama of two. I met Alexis soon after moving to Ulster County through a wonderful entrepreneurial group of mama’s. I was struck by her natural beauty and calm ease of self. In time I came to have some acupuncture sessions as I was curious to explore the benefits and get to further know Alexis within her work and practice. Prior to this, my acupuncture experience and scope was limited but Alexis has opened my eyes. A session with Alexis is transformative, her very presence is a soothing tonic...she allows you to let your body and mind pause for a precious moment in time from the constant juggle of it all and after, you feel truly reset. With the turn of the year, a focus on new intensions and self-care it felt nothing more than natural to collaborate on an ELEVEN SIX Women story with Alexis to set us off on the right note...

Can you share with us your journey in wellness and how you came to practice acupuncture and herbal medicine?

my journey into health and wellness started with my own experiences as a young person that was so often not well. i was diagnosed with asthma at age five, suffered with life-long allergies into my twenties and had an operation for scoliosis at age 13. i desperately wanted a way to be more comfortable in my body and my life. and ultimately, i wanted whatever helped me accomplish that goal, to be a thing i could replicate and share with others.

the answer to my call came in layers, so many teachers and teachings have informed the way i practice acupuncture and herbal medicine today. over the course of two decades i’ve had the good fortune to meet incredible teachers from all over the world - Bainbridge Island, Tulum, Koh Phangan and NYC stick out as power places for my well-educated heart. what i love most about what i do is connecting with human beings in intimate space. allowing healing to unfold is sometimes that simple. and when it’s not, my tool box is full of ancient and modern wisdom to teach and share.

With the start of a new year, new intentions and a focus on the need for self-care, we’re curious about acupuncture and how it can be a benefit to us as a regular practice.

when i talk about my work as an acupuncturist, i’m encompassing the practice of inserting very thin and flexible needles into points along the energy meridians of the body, plus herbal medicine and an incredible cannon of lifestyle and physical practices that have spanned millennia. acupuncture is a sure way of growing a deeper connection with your inner self. this is why, as a healing modality, it is a remedy to so many ailments. when we are in close contact with our emotional, energetic, mental and physical bodies - we have the ability to navigate things that throw any of them off balance, in real time. there is an aspect of energy medicine that feels like magic, i think that’s mostly because we are, in part, made of mystery and magic. the benefits of a regular relationship with acupuncture are vast, no doubt, but the very first thing you’ll start to observe is that you’re more in touch with yourself.

Your Instagram name is ‘Love and citrine’ can you share the significance behind this?

Love&Citrine was born out of a partnership that was brief but so impactful. The name invokes a heart-centered approach to healing and wellness coupled with sunshine, empowerment and vibrant energy. These two elements are essential in all of our healing journeys. one without the other is yin without yang, or light without dark - impossible, because they rely on each other’s existence to define their own.

Have there been silver linings for you during this past pandemic year – business and personal?

gosh, i hesitate to say this because i was so deeply in love with my practice, and my clients - many of whom I’d been with for over a decade - in NYC. but it’s true, there has been a silver lining for me. the pandemic has brought me closer to home and into my community in a way that i didn’t see as a possibility before. i get to drive, walk or bike to work in this gorgeous (Fuller) building filled with so many incredible artist and local businesses. my studio is flooded with sunlight, my clients are a wonderful mix of city and country vibes, and sometimes my husband surprises me with lunch... it’s not lost on me that i’ve got something good going on in this moment.

Can you share how you manage to make time for “self-care” in to your busy working Mama lifestyle?

for me, selfcare is a non-negotiable AND, it’s not fussy. it’s a salty bath after the kids are asleep. it’s the habit of a green juice every damn day and a ton of bone broth in the evenings. it’s really good eating habits, and moments of totally disregarding them to be in the vibe of friendship and celebration. while all of this is so important, i would say my very best selfcare is a practice of regularly checking in and being honest with myself about adjustments i need to make in order to create sustainable energy input/output.

Want does ‘being grounded’ mean to you?

hmmmm... i feel grounded in my body first. it’s the absence of a buzzing zippy feeling that says i should be somewhere else, doing something else. i find it when i’m away from my phone for long stretches, reading a book i can get lost in and definitely when i’m on a walk in the woods or surrendered to being in close contact with my children.

Where are you dreaming to travel once the world heals?

i’m thinking a lot about Peru... in the past i’ve often traveled by intuition. first meeting someone enchanting that is from a far away place and then feeling a need to know what it’s like in the place they lived. lately, Peru keeps coming up in conversations, i think it might be calling me...........

Last book, movie, series you were moved by?

i love to give book and movie recommendations! i really enjoyed watching Manufacturing Consent which is a film by Noam Chompsky - he gave me the term rational libertarian socialist which i really love.

i’m also reading Die Wise by Stephen Jenkinson which was recommended to me by a friend. passing the recommendation along feels like the most responsible thing i could do at this exact moment in time.

Do you have a ‘daily mantra’?

i keep mantras all over the house, typed out on a label maker and stuck to the walls ready to pull me out of an old pattern of thought or action if i need the extra reminder. lots of them are song lyrics, some are from the Daniel Tiger (AKA Mr Rogers), and a few have come through me from something higher when i needed them most. just before i gave birth for the first time, i wanted to really remember how powerful my body’s wisdom was and i stuck the words, “i love my body, i trust my body, i believe in my body” on a mirror in our home. these words have stayed with me to this day, i call upon them like old friends, they are tattooed on my very soul.

What are you loving from the ELEVEN SIX latest collections and how would you describe our brand to your friends?

currently, i am obsessed with the cardi. i love wearing it buttoned up with jeans and good boots and feeling that perfect combination of simple and luxurious. my always and forever eleven-six favorite is the Laria pant. if you haven’t tried them.... there really is nothing as incredible to wear in the whole world.

in my experience eleven-six needs no introduction from me aside from wearing it... if i have eleven-six on, it’s a guarantee that i will be complimented on my knitwear. so much so, that my husband has been asking for the men’s knit collection for several year’s, and this year his sweater dreams came true!