Meet Dr. Amber Hollis: Doctor of Acupuncture & Herbal medicine

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Amber Hollis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Amber, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
My favorite quote was delivered to me while sitting in a classroom in Chinese medical school by my favorite teacher of all times, Dr. Caylor Wadlington. His words were often poetry. He captured my attention like a flow state so easily reached. My mind didn’t wander when he spoke. One day he said, “Wisdom is the ability to see the connectedness in anything.” Boom! He just described the essence of Chinese medicine and what conventional medicine is so profoundly lacking. Which confirmed my choice to take the Eastern route of medicine. Our culture has erroneously given so much credit to the conventional system and considered some of the wisest doctors to be “woo woo”. I don’t entirely discredit our much needed Western medical system. They excel in emergency medicine. But when it comes to seeing the connections in the body, to our surrounding environment, health, prevention and chronic disease, the conventional model has little to offer except a bandaid to cover symptoms. That is not what patients need. People need a practitioner to partner with; someone who will take the time to listen to their story- there is so much information there. Listening is the best medicine. They need someone to examine the body’s functional relationship to all of its systems, as well as the mind and emotional health and its connection to the body. Exploring to find that connectedness Caylor so beautifully spoke of is the essence of a good doctor. I love this quote and it has stuck with me for all these years. It is what I strive for- to become wise in my ability to see the connections, not only for finding the root causes of issues for my patients, but in all things and all people. Too often we forget that we are all connected.  

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business revolves around helping amazing women feel amazing. I do work with men, but one of my main interests is women’s health- physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I wholeheartedly believe you can not treat any one of these without addressing the others. They are deeply intertwined. Our negative thought patterns can literally make our bodies sick. The easiest way to explain this mind-body connection is if you think about biting into a sour lemon. What happens? Your mouth starts to water. Or, have you ever been so nervous about something like a speech or a presentation that you felt sick to your stomach or even felt like you were going to crap your pants?! These are a couple examples that illustrate how strong of an effect our mind and our thoughts can manifest physically. Usually it’s not that obvious and this accumulates over time developing issues and illness in our bodies. My goal is to give women the tools to feel better about themselves, learn to be more playful and free. I work with people from a Whole-istic and functional approach which means we have conversations about the whole person, not just your stomach pain or your headaches that brought you in. It’s never as simple as stomach pain being directly caused by a stomach issue or headaches coming from the head. Digging for information is my primary job. I don’t function like a typical doctor or even another practitioner in my field. When I work with someone, they are agreeing to a partnership and we work together for a period of time to get outstanding results – resolution and resurrection! Some of the people I work are struggling so much and feel trapped with no answers. It is a great joy to see people come back to life. I am proud of my partnership model. It’s not for everyone- you have to want or at least be willing to do the inner work, the lifestyle and nutrition changes. It’s not always easy, but it is always worth it. This is lifestyle medicine. I support each person I work with by practicing what I preach, never judging, being totally open hearted and humble. And most importantly, we have fun!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Denver is full of food gems! My absolute favorite coffee shop and paleo bistro is called mmm…coffee. The owners are great. My favorite restaurants are ones that focus on quality of course! Some would say I am picky but I am 😊. I vote with my fork and choose farm to table restaurants. Some of my favorites are Root Down, Barcelona, Duo, El Jefe, Work & Class and Acorn.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My sweet and amazing husband Rob deserves some recognition for allowing my never ending passions to shape my life and my business. He has supported me and been award winningly patient with me. Mostly 😉

Website: www.vitalitycenter.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vitalitycenterdenver/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-hollis-97946825/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VitalityCenterDenver
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-vitality-center-denver