As Featured In CanvasRebel
Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Darrien Jamar. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dr. Darrien, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.
Before and immediately after graduating Chiropractic school, I didn’t have a job in my field lined up and ready for me to begin. I struggled to find clarity on where I wanted to practice. However, I was aware of this burning desire to return back to the fine dining restaurant I had worked in throughout undergrad and Chiropractic school. I had a three week break until my Masters in Positive Psychology program would begin. Despite the clarity I had to return to the restaurant, I was conflicted. I was now, officially, a Doctor. How would that look? It seemed right and wrong. Going into the last week of working at the restaurant, that weekend before, I was visiting a friend in Washington, D.C. It was while walking around in the city that I felt so deeply that this was the place I’d be called to begin practicing. When I returned to work that Monday, my last week there, the last table of the night came in 10 minutes before closing. Our conversation led to me revealing that I’d just graduated Chiropractic school with the intention to practice in D.C. As it turns out, the individual I was serving lived in D.C. and he offered to connect me to his Chiropractor. The next day he sent the email connecting us and what do you know: he was looking to hire a Chiropractic Associate.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
The healing arts chose me. I had my own grand plans and intentions of what my life would look like and who I needed to be in it. It was during the lowest point in my life that I found myself the most open and receptive. That’s when I received the “call” to begin Chiropractic school and eventually my Masters in Positive Psychology. Yes, I am a Chiropractor, Reiki Practitioner, and Life Coach. But what’s most dear and true to my heart are the titles student and teacher; student being the most important role that I assume. Through the wisdom born from my own life experiences, packaged most of the time in a story, I guide others to discover their own truth and strengths. I believe the most important relationship we have is the one we have with ourself; and if that relationship is not healthy, stable and secure—we will experience disharmony on some or many levels. Much of my work centers around nurturing and healing our inner child; because truly, that’s the most vulnerable part of who are and will always be.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
For many years I identified as being shy, an introvert. It became the very essence of who I was and how people identified and saw me. When I started my healing journey in 2014, after a few years of meditation and journaling, I began to remember a time in my life when I was loud. My aunt likes to tell the story of me at my preschool graduation, how I was the loudest kid up on the stage singing “I believe I can fly” by R. Kelly. I remember a time before I was old enough to sing on the choir at our Church; I’d sit out in the pew with my grandma while my aunt and older brother were up on the choir. I’d be in the congregation singing along, just a loud, often times louder. My Grandma Brenda would tap my legs, “not so loud D.J.” For many of us, our childhoods hold the key, the antidote for our healing. Doing inner child work has played a crucial role in helping me open my heart and throat chakras to much deeper understandings of who I truly am. Slowly, I have divorced the belief and underlying fears that kept me trapped in the energy of being shy; I have stopped running away from what I have to say and share with the world. Ultimately, I am finding the authority to trust my own perceptions and what that leads me to say and do.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Perhaps this is the case for every field/industry, but especially in the healing arts, you must be willing to work on you first and foremost. You must come first and last, I have found. To lead others, we must lead and serve ourselves—it’s often the hardest part of what we do.
To access the full article + pictures from CanvasRebel click the link below:
https://canvasrebel.com/meet-dr-darrien-jamar/