Good Neighbor Podcast: Orange County

Family-Run Wellness: How Two Siblings Are Changing Healthcare in Laguna Beach

• Rachel Fyffe & Dr. Alexis Francis

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Looking to reclaim control of your health but feeling lost in a sea of conflicting advice? Dr. Alexis Francis offers a refreshing perspective on wellness that bridges science and holistic care at Ashara Wellness, a family-run naturopathic clinic in Laguna Beach.

Dr. Francis dispels common misconceptions about naturopathic medicine, explaining that naturopathic doctors undergo rigorous four-year programs and board certifications using the same medical textbooks as conventional physicians. The difference? They layer additional expertise in nutrition, lifestyle interventions, and preventative approaches onto solid medical foundations. "Our ideal client knows something is off in their health but doesn't know what it is," she explains, highlighting their focus on addressing root causes rather than just treating symptoms.

As second-generation entrepreneurs with parents from India and Mexico, Dr. Francis and her brother created Ashara Wellness to provide care on their own terms. Their offerings span cutting-edge treatments like stem cell IVs and joint injections alongside holistic pelvic floor therapy and fertility support. What truly distinguishes their practice, however, is their commitment to human connection. "There's never any judgment in this medicine," Dr. Francis emphasizes. "What matters is that you want to change, and we will help streamline that." In an era dominated by generic social media health advice, they provide science-backed, personalized guidance tailored to each individual's unique needs.

Ready to begin your healing journey with practitioners who combine medical expertise with genuine care? Visit asharahealth.com or call 949-464-4770 to schedule a free 15-minute consultation and discover how naturopathic medicine might transform your approach to wellness.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Rachel Fyfe. Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Now. Are you looking for comprehensive care for your mind and your body and ready to begin your healing journey? Well, this source might be closer than you think. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Dr Alexis Francis, with Asharo Wellness. Alexis, how is it going?

Speaker 2:

It's going so well. We live in Laguna Beach, so it doesn't really get much better than that. Thank you so much for having me, Rachel.

Speaker 1:

I'm so excited to be here. Well, we're excited, we're really excited to learn about your business. So tell us about your company.

Speaker 2:

Yep, so it's me and my brother. We're both naturopathic doctors. I stayed in school a little bit longer, became an acupuncturist as well, and we both run it together, so it's a family business. We do anything from stem cell IVs, joint injections to holistic pelvic floor therapy, so each of us have our own little techniques and affinities. He's more musculoskeletal athletes and I'm like ladies in fertility, ivf, so we have quite a range of what we offer. But yeah, mainly it's just amazing that we get to create this warm environment because it is our family, it's just the two of us. So, yeah, we love it.

Speaker 1:

Wonderful. Well, how did you get into this business?

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh, I think growing up. So my dad is from India and my mom is from Mexico, and growing up we had this entrepreneur mindset. Both of our parents both of our parents came from other places and immediately became business owners. So when my brother and I were going through medical school, we just thought you know, we don't want to have to answer to somebody else, we want to do the things that we want to do, treat people the way that we want it to be done properly. And we decided to create this business together and we've been open now for two years.

Speaker 1:

Wow, that's great. What are some maybe myths or misconceptions in your industry, do you think?

Speaker 2:

I think, to be honest, one of the harder misconceptions in this field is that people often think of a naturopathic doctor as somebody who might not have too much credibility or too much knowledge. Year long program, we take two boards. We study pharmaceuticals, men or surgery, chiropractic manipulations, all of the diagnoses. When we study for our NPLEX, our board exams, we are using the same textbook that a medical doctor is as well. So we do have that deep understanding of Western medicine drug interactions, dosing schedules. However, we add this extra layer of nutrition diet well, same thing.

Speaker 2:

Lifestyle nutrition, stretching, homeopathy there's so much more that we add to the basis of knowledge that a Western medicine doctor possesses. We just go a little bit deeper more for preventative medicine, rather than you came in with a broken arm and I'm going to fix you up and send you out the door. No, our ideal client is somebody who they know something is off in their health, but they don't know what it is and they just want to dive in a little bit deeper, take a little bit more control of their lifestyle, their diet and prevent things from happening when they're in their 50s, 60s, 70s. So I hope that answers a little bit.

Speaker 1:

It, does, it, does you know? So we know that marketing is really the heart of every business. So how are you targeting your customers? How are you attracting people to your wellness center?

Speaker 2:

We just started working with a marketing team called Raise AI and they've been helping us generate meta ads, so through Facebook, even Instagram, and that's been going quite well. We've had that going for the past two weeks, but prior to this it was all word of mouth, it was simply people having great experiences and then sending in their mom, their kids, their relatives, friends, to us. So just now we're getting into the marketing, but it's been organic for the past two years for the most part.

Speaker 1:

Have you ever thought of doing your own podcast?

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh, I would love to and that's been something we've been thinking about adding into our social media, just starting even like a YouTube channel and posting either a monthly talk about a certain topic or a podcast that we bring other doctors into and ask these common questions. And I think also in Western medicine I don't think they get enough credibility as well, because there are amazing, fantastic doctors that seek out so much knowledge and we can learn from them as well. So I would love to have a podcast that is getting the best brains in medicine together and answering really common questions.

Speaker 1:

Wonderful. Okay, now, outside of work, what do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 2:

Well, of course it involves the beach because why else would I be here.

Speaker 2:

So every morning I wake up around 6am and I take my dog on a walk Salt Creek beach. We go for about an hour and a half and that is my ritual. It makes the rest of the day go so much better and I know my dog has pooped, I don't have to worry about him being all crazy at home. So walking is a big one. I love cooking. You know my grandma traditional Ayurvedic medicine and then my other grandma was this Latina. She loved cooking. So I have strong chefs in my family and it's the thing that I do when I'm missing home is I will cook a meal that I shared with somebody in my family and just kind of bring them into the space. So I love cooking.

Speaker 1:

That's lovely, that's lovely. So, alexis, tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Ashar Wellness.

Speaker 2:

Oh, our biggest thing is connection. Here at the clinic, we value the importance of human to human. We all have stuff going on, including us doctors, and it's not about being right or wrong or that. You you know, there's never any judgment in this medicine. In this medicine, if anything, every time somebody walks the door and wants to take control of their health, I don't care what you've done, I don't care about all of that. What matters is that you want to change and for somebody who wants to change, you will change and we will help to streamline that.

Speaker 2:

In social media today, there is so many people giving advice and saying eat this, don't do this, but it's still not specific for each individual person. There is a lot of value in going in to see a naturopathic doctor and really having it explained to you why you need to be doing certain things and why not to do other things, rather than just being influenced by people around you. So main things I want people to take away about our clinic is that we are so inviting, we're so welcoming and we really, truly want to work with every person that comes in the door. No judgment, and we will also be medical doctors. You know, we're gonna use the science, the research, find things that will help you for years and years to come, rather than just these quick solutions wonderful.

Speaker 1:

How can our listeners learn more about Ashara Wellness?

Speaker 2:

So we have a website asharahealth. This is a great place to find. If you are looking to call us and that's another thing I would just say, call us. Our phone number is 949-464-4770. There is always somebody manning the front desk and if somebody calls and wants to just chat with one of us doctors, really quick, no problem. We'll schedule a free 15 minute consultation just to get an idea of what's going on.

Speaker 1:

What do you need support with, so that you can at least begin to think about how that might look for you Wonderful Well, Alexis, I really appreciate you being on the show and we wish you and your business the best moving forward.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much, Rachel. I very much appreciate you and I love what you're doing here. This is awesome. I love the Good Neighbor podcast.

Speaker 1:

Wonderful. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnporangecountycom.