Meet Darlene Zwolinski | Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist, Traditional Naturopath

We had the good fortune of connecting with Darlene Zwolinski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Darlene, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My Dad was a math teacher and the first generation in our family to graduate from college. It was always assumed that my future included a college career. The only problem, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. Math was always my best subject in school. My only guidance was with a series of career testing, which eventually pointed me toward a college major in Computer Science. I had never even seen a computer at this point, as it was 1977, but nevertheless, I pursued my future in the IT world. I graduated in 1981 with a Computer Science degree and a minor in business. The business minor was not consciously pursued. However, I found myself gravitating toward business electives. It just happened to produce a minor concentration.

I was able to thrive quite successfully in the IT world. I had never questioned my chosen path until one day in 1999 when a “random” stranger asked me if I was passionate about my career. I was seriously taken aback by this question. My parents were children of the depression. There was no talk of passion in your career choice. You did what was practical. So I had to ask myself, what would I be passionate about?

I didn’t have to look far. By this time, my firstborn son was seven years old. His young life was full of many challenges, particularly at school. There were many calls, trips to the school, referrals, and suspensions. A series of expert evaluations to pinpoint why he was struggling. He was exceptionally brilliant but had serious deficits when it came to social and emotional behaviors. We did not get his Asperger’s diagnosis until he was in seventh grade.

Through all of this, I never once took him to see a medical doctor. I somehow knew there would not be any help there. When he was seven, I took him to see a Naturopath to see if there was something she could do. She put us both through a series of dietary restrictions, along with herbal and homeopathic remedies, as she discovered pathogens in his body were the same as the ones found in mine. I experienced relief from several health issues that I had struggled with for years. It was my first exposure to an alternative medicine doctor.

In the efforts to help my son, I sought out other types of alternative medicine, from chiropractors to energy workers, cranial sacral therapists, sound therapy, classic homeopathy, and neurofeedback, to name a few. I also devoured natural health books, seeking advice on how to help my son. So in response to the question, “What would I be passionate about” the answer was ‘natural.’

I started off with an online program for Naturopathy. I earned a Doctor of Naturopathy in 2005 and decided I needed to start a business so that I could see clients. I launched Windsong Holistic Health in November 2004. I was a single parent at the time and carried a significant mortgage payment. Leaving my well-paid IT job was not an option. In 2006, I tried to launch things by seeing people in my home, but my children were not old enough to not require my attention. After one year, I gave up, dissolved the corporation, and decided to pursue an MBA instead. “Let’s climb the corporate ladder!” I said. I did not even finish the first class due to my mother suffering a major stroke in 2007, resulting in my withdrawal from the program. In hindsight, I felt this was the Universe telling me, no, no, no! Wrong path.

In 2007 I met an IT man who happened to be a Naturopath. Through his encouragement, he helped reignite my fire and helped me set up my first office in September 2008. I would see people in the evenings and on Saturdays while working my full-time job. It was not until February 2001 that I left the IT field for good to pursue my career in Holistic Health full time. My passion was to help people who could not find help elsewhere. This eventually led to pursuing a degree in acupuncture in 2012 so that I could add to my offerings. I am now 63, and I still have my private practice.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
When I started Windsong Holistic Health, the intention was to give people options outside of mainstream medicine for their health issues. Most people commonly would come into my clinic as a last resort after exhausting medical options. My primary motivation for this business was to offer options for people not well served by mainstream medicine. I started with Traditional Naturopathy, using a Biofeedback device to assist in the assessment of underlying issues. In 2009 I added an energetic form of allergy elimination called NAET, which stands for Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques. I see more NAET patients than any other service I offer to this day. Later, in 2012, in an effort to add services to treat more immediate issues, I added acupuncture training along with Chinese Herbal Medicine. This deepened my ability to assess the root causes of health issues, and I added acupuncture and Chinese herbs to my tool belt. This year I am adding Facial Rejuvenation to my offerings with microneedling services. What stands out in what I have to offer is my ability to dig in and uncover root causes of imbalance in a person’s health picture that often cannot be explained by a lab test. My toolbelt of acupuncture, western and Chinese herbs, NAET, homeopathic remedies, and knowledge to guide people to medical professionals serves the underserved.

Many of us in the holistic health field are not in it for the money. It is a profession of the heart. That said, we still need to provide. One lesson I learned is that moving my office to different parts of the metro area caused me almost to restart the business. They say a small business takes 3-5 years to reach its prime. That has proven to be true. I would advise people in this profession to plant themselves and steadily build clientele. I’ve also learned to farm out what you resist. I struggle with marketing, and just recently, I am finally paying someone to do social media.

I hope to write a book about my journey to find my passion career someday. Someone told me long ago that if you are on the path in your passion, you cannot fail. This has been my foundation to persist. Even when I had to take out substantial student loans and drain my retirement savings to make it happen, I found a way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to Estes Park, CO. It’s only a 1.5-hour drive to this quaint mountain town, nestled next to Rocky Mountain National Park. The majesty of Rocky Mountain National Park inspires. Then I would stop at the historic Stanley hotel for tea and a tour and hear of the ghost stories. We would then explore Estes Park and the quaint mountain town. We could end the end with a stroll around Lake Estes, where you can safely observe the Elk. It would be the total Rocky Mountain experience.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Thank you to my son Tyler for being the catalyst for helping me to find my purpose in this life. Thank you to the ‘random’ stranger, Darryl, for asking that pivotal question about passion in my career. Thank you to Ram for being in the right place at the right time in my life to encourage me to start the business. Thank you to my family, especially my late father, for always believing in my dreams, however unconventional, and never once discouraging me. And thank my friend Dave for being there in the very beginnings of building my practice. You always believed in what I did, even if you did not understand it.

Website: www.windsonghh.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/windsonghh/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dzwolinski/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/windsonghh

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/windsong-holistic-health-lakewood