Though she studied it for years, Sam Willits still considers acupuncture magic.

She’s seen it solve sleep issues and digestive problems, chronic pain and depression.

“What can’t it do, really?” she said. And the Ridgway native is excited to be back in her hometown, able to share that magic with others where she started learning about kinesiology, the study of human movement and holistic wellness.

“Moving back to Ridgway and having something to offer the community was always the goal,” Willits said.

She opened Onda Integrative, an acupuncture and integrative medicine practice, out of her home at 377 N. Laura St. in July.

Willits grew up being treated by her mentor, local kinesiologist Colleen Gardner, who practices a hybrid, holistic type of kinesiology blending Chinese medicine with modern physiology to address physical and mental health.

Willits always wanted to serve others in the same capacity as Gardner. Though she was unsure if she could, she decided to go for it after finishing college.

“I think that it takes a certain type of person to be able to hold space for so many different people’s pains and suffering and joys, all of it,” Willits said.

Willits said she was able to get herself to a point where she felt she could become that person for others.

She became a practitioner of two types of kinesiology, studied massage and became a yoga teacher — all skills she combined when opening her first Onda Integrative location in Jackson, Wyoming, in 2018.

There, her practice largely focused on physical ailments. After a couple years, Willits wanted to continue studying healing arts, so she turned to Chinese medicine and acupuncture and earned a master’s degree in classical five-element acupuncture.

That style of acupuncture looks at the body as an ecosystem.

“You’re using it all as a metaphor to understand what’s going on in a person,” Willits said.

She uses acupuncture — small hairthin needles to puncture energetic pathways — to realign the body. Often the needles’ pricks are barely noticeable.

Now a certified acupuncturist, Willits feels she’s able to help clients in new ways at Onda Integrative in Ridgway.

She wants her practice to be a catchall for people and problems, from those seeking help with both physical and emotional pain.

She understands that some people are skeptical about acupuncture but said she’s open to meeting people where they’re at.

“I think that people either believe that this is something that can work for them, or because it’s not something the Western mind can really understand, it’s easy to reject,” Willits said of the Eastern medicinal practice.

The practice is especially helpful for women’s health issues, aging people and immune problems, she said.

“Acupuncture just accesses the root cause so precisely and effectively,” Willits said. “I feel like I have this superpower tool now where I can touch ailments that I would have never been able to before.”

She also noted that her degree required her to become trained as a primary care practitioner, so she’s able to understand when a client may need care from a hospital.

Knowing Western medicine also allows her to better understand what type of care or health issues someone approaches her with.

“They can come in with their Western diagnosis, their medications they’re taking, and I know what they’re talking about,” Willits said.

She’s already thrilled about the spectrum of people she’s been able to touch in the community, including Gardner, who now comes to Willits for treatment.

“That feels like the ultimate honor,” Willits said.

For more information visit ondaintegrative. com.