Rising Stars: Meet Kara Zajac of Dawsonville, GA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara Zajac.

Hi Kara, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was a cross-country runner in high school who developed high pain after several years of ten + mile training days. My parents took me to doctors who x-rayed, scanned, MRI’d my body for months. When they didn’t find a fracture, a tumor, or any other reasonable offender to cause this debilitating symptom, their suggestion was to put me on anti-depression medicine because I was obviously faking. No one considered the skeletal system’s relationship to the muscular system and the fact that I was running so many miles. Finally, someone suggested going to a chiropractor, who also said, “I’m not sure what your diagnosis is either, but I know when a bone puts pressure on a nerve, the body doesn’t work correctly.” He released a muscle spasm and gave me an adjustment and I was better in five minutes. Not completely gone but noticeably better. I was so thankful that he analyzed my entire system and how it worked as a whole body, not merely searching for brokenness. His “healing from the inside out” approach changed the trajectory of the rest of my life. I’m also a musician and attended music school for the first year of college. On Christmas Day of my freshman year, I sat down at my family’s dinner table and heard a deep, direct voice that no one else seemed to hear. You’re going to chiropractic school the voice said. No, I said back. I’m a rock n roll drummer but the more I thought about it I realized I’d always had an innate ability to help people towards their path of healing, even as a child. If I got a direct message from God, I’d better follow it. I went back to school and immediately switched my major to biology. I moved to Georgia in 1994 to attend Life Chiropractic College and graduated in March of 1999. Because I was still actively drumming in a band that was shopping record labels, I decided to stay in Georgia instead of moving back to my native state of Massachusetts and eventually opened my own private practice in Dawsonvillle, Georgia. Today, 24 years later, Nature’s Way Chiropractic’s mission is to help more people thrive instead of merely existing, helping people heal naturally from the inside out. We offer individualized chiropractic care that is tailored to what your body needs, not a cookie cutter approach. Our office also offers Braincore Neurofeedback Therapy, to assist in the brain’s role in health, Trifecta Red Light Therapy for inflammation and healthy tissue, as well as shock wave therapy for long term tissue damage repair. As for my musician status, I still play drums with the Jessie Albright Band and Randall Davis Revival a few weekends a month. My first memoir, The Significance of Curly Hair: A Loving Memoir of Life and Loss, was published July/24, and can be found at your favorite independent bookstore or online on Amazon in Kindle, Audible, hard, and softcover formats.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
A few years into practice, I went through a devastating divorce. It was financially and emotionally draining, and I wondered how I was to be able to promote health and happiness during such a dismal time. The divorce ultimately became another of God’s most important lessons, a secret blessing that freed me to practice and live my life the way I felt led. The practice I had built from the ground up was filled with people who loved and cared about my health as much as I cared for theirs. They supported me through my difficult time, and I realized that by being honest and transparent with them, our doctor/patient relationships had more trust and depth. Patients supported my divorce, found me a house to buy, and eventually set me up on a blind date with my current wife. My practice/life went full circle: I took care of people while they also took care of me. I never would have felt that kind of love and support from my community without the struggle preceding it.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Chiropractic is a science, art, and philosophy. I love that as a chiropractor, helping guide patients on the path to health is like starting with a blank palette that we paint with individualized therapies and ideas along the way. Besides running a successful wellness practice, I am also a musician who tours the Southeastern United States with The Jessie Albright Band and an author. As a memoirist, I am passionate about providing true stories of love and resilience that make us remember that there is still good in this world and that we are all connected. In this divided climate fueled by hatred, it is important to remember the loving, supportive connection we have to each other as human beings. That is what really changes lives.

What does success mean to you?
Giving what you have to offer, taking what you need to thrive, and sharing the part of yourself that will make something or someone else shine.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.natureswaychiropractic.com and www.karazajac.com
• Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/karazajac
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/KaraZajacAuthor and www.facebook.com/natureswaychiropracticcenter
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kara-zajac-author-86b5b2242/
• Twitter: @DrKaraZajac
• Youtube: @KaraZajacAuthor