Martina Skenderova, better known by her peers and patients as Mishe, has been working in the realm of holistic wellness since 2007, obtaining her acupuncture license in 2014 and practicing ever since. In addition to acupuncture, Skenderova incorporates Eastern medicine and has worked as a grief and death doula, with over 18 years of experience. She recently opened her business, Zelena Medicine, on Market Street in Basalt, where she offers services focused on pelvic floor health, women’s health, aging, peripheral neuropathy, emotional well-being and holistic cancer support.
Skenderova, who has lived in the Valley for over a decade, was born and raised in Bulgaria and spent time in South Korea in her youth before making it to Colorado — the Front Range, initially. She discovered her passion for holistic medicine at a young age.
“I had a sprained ankle, and I was hobbling around on crutches. My parents took me to get acupuncture. After the treatment, I got up and walked out and forgot my crutches,” she told The Sopris Sun. “That stuck with me.”
“As I went through my undergrad program, I realized I cared about health care and a way of healing that’s more than a cure — something that’s more relational [and] a little bit different than … the standard medical practice,” she continued.
Skenderova began practicing in the area at the end of 2016, taking a job as an acupuncturist in a cancer center of a regional hospital. Now that Zelena Medicine has opened its doors, she looks forward to welcoming patients into a healing environment the moment they walk in. She added that a supportive community plays a big part in the healing process.
“We heal when we’re seen as full and complex beings,” she said. “ I’ve seen and learned a lot of incredibly challenging things while working in health care, incredibly inspiring and beautiful things. For me, it’s an honor to walk alongside people through very challenging experiences.”
This philosophy is rooted in her own healing journey. Skenderova is a breast cancer survivor, and said that while she had an amazing team of medical providers focused on the “life-saving part” of her treatment, she struggled with the internal battle of needing to be seen as more than just her illness.
She shared that this experience not only gave her firsthand insight into what it’s like from a patient’s perspective, but also shaped her approach as a provider.
While getting to know a patient, Skenderova collaborates with them to come up with treatment and wellness planning that fits their situation and wishes. She added that patients don’t have to stick to one form of medicine over another, and that both traditional and alternative approaches can coexist through treatment. In fact, she wouldn’t advise a cancer patient to only undergo alternative treatments.
“In all the years that I’ve worked in health care, I’ve never seen an alternative method cure cancer,” she stated. “I think it’s wrong to encourage people in that way.”
“Some misconceptions I encounter with people [are that] they feel they have to pick one route or the other — standard traditional Western medicine or the so-called alternative route. I don’t see health care in that way,” she concluded. “I think all of the philosophies and approaches are necessary, both Western and Eastern, both holistic and allopathic. I love working as part of someone’s whole treatment team.”
For more about Zelena Medicine, visit their website at www.zelenamedicine.com