Tatum Fjerstad

Tatum Fjerstad is a trauma-informed acupuncturist, craniosacral therapist and personal trainer based in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis, on the ancestral lands of Očhéthi Šakówiŋ and Wahpekute people. She supports people who want to be active participants in their well-being as they navigate acute or chronic physical and emotional pain, including the impacts of personal, intergenerational and cultural trauma. She describes her care as compassionate, adaptive and anti-oppressive, grounded in curiosity, transparency and a little bit of silliness.

Her path has meandered through work as a performer, educator, writer, editor, personal trainer and acupuncturist, with one steady goal: that people leave her presence in better spirits than before they met her. She holds a bachelor's degree in print journalism and theatre from the University of Minnesota, completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training at Minneapolis Yoga Center in 2012, and was teaching yoga in New York City in 2014 when an encounter with an acupuncturist changed how she understood her body. She went on to earn a craniosacral therapy certification from Heartwood Institute and a master's degree in Chinese medicine from Northwestern Health Sciences University. She is a licensed acupuncturist in Minnesota and a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer.

Her acupuncture practice draws on Chinese medicine, and her craniosacral work is a light-touch bodywork aimed at bringing the nervous system into deep rest. Her personal training, offered online and in person, prioritizes form, function and embodiment, helping clients build an elder version of themselves who is strong, mobile and energetic. She also teaches a practice she calls MOVE SIT WRITE, which fuses movement, meditation and writing as a ritual for reflection, awareness and growth.

After fifteen years in wellness, Tatum centers her work on trauma-informed care as a way of pushing back against an industry that profits off insecurity, shame and scarcity. She acknowledges that she is a white woman practicing a medicine with Indigenous roots dating back thousands of years, and says she is committed to doing so with cultural awareness, reverence and sensitivity. Writing is her first love, and she also writes about her work and approach to care.