Dr Alyshia Ripia
Senior Doctor Of Chiropractic
Dr Alyshia Ripia, also known as Dr L to her patients, is a Senior Chiropractor and Māori body-practitioner. She's a mother of 3 and is incredibly passionate about scientific brain-based chiropractic care, holistic health and indigenous health.
She has experience in various areas such as performance care of some of New Zealand's top musicians and performers, children's neuro development, special needs, pain rehabilitation and using somatic/body approaches to mental health and stress reduction.
She has a bespoke, gentle and effective approach to care, providing various techniques to achieve results. Dr L wishes to one day undergo her masters in neuro.
On her days off, you can find her spending time with her family, dancing, in nature, writing and performing music, or watching stand-up comedy and UFC.
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Q: What's one simple wellness tip you swear by?
Movement is life, a moving spine and body is vital to holistic health, so I walk, dance, gym or do physical activity every day to maintain my brain, physical and mental health.
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Q: How do you like to de-stress after a busy day?
Music music music! music changes brainwaves and the brain's chemistry responsible for mental health such as dopamine.
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Q: What is one thing you do for your mental wellness?
Gratitude practice, I take regular moments to reflect on what I'm grateful for, especially when I wake up and before I sleep.
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Q: What's your favorite way to prioritize your wellness on a daily basis?
Somatic breathing. Making purposeful moments to do physiological breaths. This helps and targets the body and mind in so many ways, such as the vagus nerve, various brain centres, spinal mechanics and the cardiovascular system
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Q: What's a book, podcast, or resource that has positively impacted your wellness journey?
I love listening to podcasts like The Hubermann lab or Dr Amen's "Change your brain everyday". Being a parent and having a mum in the mental health field, I'm a big fan of learning holistic psychology, conscious parenting, emotional intelligence, attachment theory, trauma healing and neurodevelopment.
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Q: What's a healthy habit you're most proud of?
Self-care, life is busy, burn out is real. I schedule small self-care moments daily and bigger ones weekly.
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Q: What's a small change you've made recently that's improved your well-being?
Presence practice. Being here, now, and in my body.
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Q: What activity makes you feel most energized and alive?
Dancing or family time.
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Q: What is something that makes you laugh?
Children, I love their non-filtered honesty, curiosity and innocent view point.
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in wellness?
I wanted to do something profound in the world that helped people live a truly fulfilled life.
I saw a man on a mission trip unable to move, with crippling pain and depression. After one adjustment the light and life returned to his eyes, he jumped up, pain free and ran off to go play bowls, it was his passion and he hadn't been able to do it for years. I knew after that I wanted to serve that special spark in life. The spark that animates the living world.