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

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.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Rachel Fyfe.
Welcome to the Good NeighborPodcast.
Now.
Are you looking forcomprehensive care for your mind
and your body and ready tobegin your healing journey?

(00:22):
Well, this source might becloser than you think.
Today, I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Dr Alexis Francis, with AsharoWellness.
Alexis, how is it going?

Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's going so well.
We live in Laguna Beach, so itdoesn't really get much better
than that.
Thank you so much for having me, Rachel.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
I'm so excited to be here.
Well, we're excited, we'rereally excited to learn about
your business.
So tell us about your company.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yep, so it's me and my brother.
We're both naturopathic doctors.
I stayed in school a little bitlonger, became an acupuncturist
as well, and we both run ittogether, so it's a family
business.
We do anything from stem cellIVs, joint injections to
holistic pelvic floor therapy,so each of us have our own

(01:17):
little techniques and affinities.
He's more musculoskeletalathletes and I'm like ladies in
fertility, ivf, so we have quitea range of what we offer.
But yeah, mainly it's justamazing that we get to create
this warm environment because itis our family, it's just the

(01:38):
two of us.
So, yeah, we love it.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Wonderful.
Well, how did you get into thisbusiness?

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Oh my gosh, I think growing up.
So my dad is from India and mymom is from Mexico, and growing
up we had this entrepreneurmindset.
Both of our parents both of ourparents came from other places

(02:06):
and immediately became businessowners.
So when my brother and I weregoing through medical school, we
just thought you know, we don'twant to have to answer to
somebody else, we want to do thethings that we want to do,
treat people the way that wewant it to be done properly.
And we decided to create thisbusiness together and we've been

(02:28):
open now for two years.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Wow, that's great.
What are some maybe myths ormisconceptions in your industry,
do you think?

Speaker 2 (02:41):
I think, to be honest , one of the harder
misconceptions in this field isthat people often think of a
naturopathic doctor as somebodywho might not have too much
credibility or too muchknowledge.
Year long program, we take twoboards.

(03:02):
We study pharmaceuticals, menor surgery, chiropractic
manipulations, all of thediagnoses.
When we study for our NPLEX,our board exams, we are using
the same textbook that a medicaldoctor is as well.
So we do have that deepunderstanding of Western

(03:23):
medicine drug interactions,dosing schedules.
However, we add this extralayer of nutrition diet well,
same thing.
Lifestyle nutrition, stretching,homeopathy there's so much more
that we add to the basis ofknowledge that a Western

(03:44):
medicine doctor possesses.
We just go a little bit deepermore for preventative medicine,
rather than you came in with abroken arm and I'm going to fix
you up and send you out the door.
No, our ideal client issomebody who they know something
is off in their health, butthey don't know what it is and

(04:04):
they just want to dive in alittle bit deeper, take a little
bit more control of theirlifestyle, their diet and
prevent things from happeningwhen they're in their 50s, 60s,
70s.
So I hope that answers a littlebit.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
It, does, it, does you know?
So we know that marketing isreally the heart of every
business.
So how are you targeting yourcustomers?
How are you attracting peopleto your wellness center?

Speaker 2 (04:32):
We just started working with a marketing team
called Raise AI and they've beenhelping us generate meta ads,
so through Facebook, evenInstagram, and that's been going
quite well.
We've had that going for thepast two weeks, but prior to
this it was all word of mouth,it was simply people having

(04:54):
great experiences and thensending in their mom, their kids
, their relatives, friends, tous.
So just now we're getting intothe marketing, but it's been
organic for the past two yearsfor the most part.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
Have you ever thought of doing your own podcast?

Speaker 2 (05:12):
Oh my gosh, I would love to and that's been
something we've been thinkingabout adding into our social
media, just starting even like aYouTube channel and posting
either a monthly talk about acertain topic or a podcast that
we bring other doctors into andask these common questions.

(05:34):
And I think also in Westernmedicine I don't think they get
enough credibility as well,because there are amazing,
fantastic doctors that seek outso much knowledge and we can
learn from them as well.
So I would love to have apodcast that is getting the best
brains in medicine together andanswering really common

(05:56):
questions.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
Wonderful.
Okay, now, outside of work,what do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 2 (06:05):
Well, of course it involves the beach because why
else would I be here.
So every morning I wake uparound 6am and I take my dog on
a walk Salt Creek beach.
We go for about an hour and ahalf and that is my ritual.
It makes the rest of the day goso much better and I know my

(06:27):
dog has pooped, I don't have toworry about him being all crazy
at home.
So walking is a big one.
I love cooking.
You know my grandma traditionalAyurvedic medicine and then my
other grandma was this Latina.
She loved cooking.
So I have strong chefs in myfamily and it's the thing that I

(06:51):
do when I'm missing home is Iwill cook a meal that I shared
with somebody in my family andjust kind of bring them into the
space.
So I love cooking.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
That's lovely, that's lovely.
So, alexis, tell our listenersone thing they should remember
about Ashar Wellness.

Speaker 2 (07:12):
Oh, our biggest thing is connection.
Here at the clinic, we valuethe importance of human to human
.
We all have stuff going on,including us doctors, and it's
not about being right or wrongor that.

(07:33):
You you know, there's never anyjudgment in this medicine.
In this medicine, if anything,every time somebody walks the
door and wants to take controlof their health, I don't care
what you've done, I don't careabout all of that.
What matters is that you wantto change and for somebody who

(07:53):
wants to change, you will changeand we will help to streamline
that.
In social media today, there isso many people giving advice and
saying eat this, don't do this,but it's still not specific for
each individual person.

(08:14):
There is a lot of value ingoing in to see a naturopathic
doctor and really having itexplained to you why you need to
be doing certain things and whynot to do other things, rather
than just being influenced bypeople around you.
So main things I want people totake away about our clinic is

(08:35):
that we are so inviting, we'reso welcoming and we really,
truly want to work with everyperson that comes in the door.
No judgment, and we will alsobe medical doctors.
You know, we're gonna use thescience, the research, find
things that will help you foryears and years to come, rather

(08:57):
than just these quick solutionswonderful.

Speaker 1 (09:01):
How can our listeners learn more about Ashara
Wellness?

Speaker 2 (09:05):
So we have a website asharahealth.
This is a great place to find.
If you are looking to call usand that's another thing I would
just say, call us.
Our phone number is949-464-4770.
There is always somebodymanning the front desk and if

(09:26):
somebody calls and wants to justchat with one of us doctors,
really quick, no problem.
We'll schedule a free 15 minuteconsultation just to get an
idea of what's going on.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
What do you need support with, so that you can at
least begin to think about howthat might look for you
Wonderful Well, Alexis, I reallyappreciate you being on the
show and we wish you and yourbusiness the best moving forward
.

Speaker 2 (09:52):
Thank you so much, Rachel.
I very much appreciate you andI love what you're doing here.
This is awesome.
I love the Good Neighborpodcast.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
Wonderful.
Thank you for listening to theGood Neighbor podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tognporangecountycom.