Today we’d like to introduce you to Nam-Thư Trần.
Nam-Thư, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The American War in Vietnam ended in April 1975, and my parents relocated that summer, which meant they were some of the first Vietnamese refugees in Houston. I watched my Dad work tirelessly to reinstate his dental license in a new language and culture. Together, my parents worked in family dentistry for over 30 years at their clinic in Alief. With all the blessings they received, they always gave back to organizations locally and abroad to build schools and orphanages. They instilled in me the value of taking care of cộng đồng/community. During a time when the violence of war and capitalism scattered our family to different parts of the world, I saw my parents rebuild a new community through the practice of group economics. The first few Vietnamese friends they made became family, and they supported each other in building culturally relevant businesses, like Saigon Radio which taught me the importance of owning our own media and having the power to tell our own stories.
Tran’s Formations began with this concept of recreating community. After graduating from UT Austin, I moved to South Los Angeles and worked with the SOLA Youth Collective, an intergenerational youth-led organization. There I learned about the violence of inadequate social services and the lack of access to quality education. In collaboration with Threads of Truth, I learned about the violence of police terrorism within Black and Brown communities and was inspired by the story of Black Panther and former political prisoner Sekou Odinga who liberated Assata Shakur. At VEGGI Farmer’s Cooperative in the Vietnamese community of New Orleans East, I witnessed the violence of unequal access to land, how communities were sacrificed during Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill, how our unjust American food system slowly poisons families, and the innovative solutions created by youth and elders who lived these daily realities. As a waitress in the hotel and restaurant industry in the French Quarter, I saw how labor was exploited for corporate greed.
In 2014, my Dad lost a swift battle to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and it crushed my world. I turned to acupuncture to help with my anxiety, depression, and paralysis from grief. It was also around that time when I was educated of the real history of community acupuncture in America. During the ’60s, China invited a delegation of Black Panthers to visit. Dr. Mutulu Shakur (as in 2Pac’s stepfather and current political prisoner) was one of the leaders who traveled to China to study acupuncture. In the ’70s, methadone treatment was the standard of care for those fighting opiate addiction, and the community had no say in their own healing. Continuing the history of resistance to structural violence, a collective of folks including the Black Panthers, Young Lords, White Lightning, Health Revolutionary Unity Movement, and doctors literally walked into the Lincoln Hospital of the South Bronx, took over and formed the Lincoln Detox Center aka The People’s Drug Program. They offered effective, comprehensive healthcare services, which included treatment of withdrawal symptoms with ear-based acupuncture. Eventually, a protocol called NADA (National Acupuncture Detoxification Association) was developed, and it can help alleviate stress, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
All of these experiences inform my current work today as a doctoral student at the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. I chose Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as a stepping stone to lead me closer to my own ancestral lineage of Thuốc Nam/Traditional Vietnamese Medicine, as a way to honor the sacrifices of those who came before me and give back to the community that raised me.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Before choosing to study acupuncture and TCM, I spent over two years trying to get into dental school, struggling for a competitive score on the standardized entrance exam. I was convinced that was the path to carrying on my Dad’s legacy and believed that I could change the system of inadequate access to dental care that exists in communities of color. The exams sent me into panic attacks, and as I practiced interviewing for dental schools, advisors silenced me from expressing my excitement about holistic healthcare, herbal medicine, and non-toxic healing solutions. Essentially I had to compromise myself to work in this field. When I realized that dentistry failed to align with my values, I made the difficult decision of leaving this path and felt devastated for disappointing my family and community.
Looking back now, I see that my spirit was in conflict. These standardized systems of testing cannot adequately or accurately assess our capacity or ancestral wisdom, and I had fallen into the trap of allowing this system to define my sense of self-worth. I’m grateful for the lesson, for all the love and support from my family and community who continue to stand with me now that I’m more fully in alignment with my purpose.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Tran’s Formations – what should we know?
Along this journey, I tapped into memories of myself as a young child massaging and caring for the elders in my family who suffered from physical pain. That’s when I began to develop my sense of touch, paid attention to the ways violence, trauma, unresolved emotions get stored in our bodies and started listening to the Qi/vital energy of the body to guide me. Last year, I decided to expand Tran’s Formations and pursue an education at Avalon School of Massage. I grappled with this decision and questioned- if I truly believe that we are born with gifts to fulfill our purpose, why do we keep running to these institutions to validate our work? Isn’t our Ancestors’ blessing enough? In the end, I concluded that our ancestral wisdom is more than enough. But learning how to navigate these systems to benefit our community is equally important, so I completed the program and am now a Licensed Massage Therapist.
Tran’s Formations offers a pop-up herbal apothecary and massage services rooted in the body’s innate ability to regain equilibrium and heal itself. I offer deep tissue, Swedish, Thai, acupressure, traditional techniques like giác hơi /fire cupping, and cạo gió/coining with stone medicine such as aventurine and rose quartz. I currently rent a studio from Avalon and offer mobile services for those who want the convenience of a relaxing restorative massage at home. Because I don’t believe that self-care should be a luxury for the elite few, Tran’s Formations also offers bodywork at community events on a sliding scale basis or by donation. I love to share about the theories of TCM to help others incorporate wellness and balance into their daily lives.
In addition, Tran’s Formations collaborates with Acupuncturists Without Borders volunteers to provide free NADA treatment to migrants and refugees legally and peacefully seeking asylum, stranded on the ports of entry bridges between Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas. We also offer this treatment to the highly stressed border communities of the Rio Grande Valle, like Angry Tías y Abuelas of the RGV, Team Brownsville and Good Neighbor Settlement House, who are delivering humanitarian aid and experiencing secondary trauma symptoms from witnessing the violence of unjust immigration policy. We serve the Carrizo Comecrudo tribe of Texas who are enduring generational trauma and risking their lives to defend the land from unjust border wall construction.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Thank you, Creator and Ancestors- my Dad and grandparents guiding me. My Mom, older sister Mimi, and family members have been my biggest support throughout all my endeavors. My best friend, partner, and founder of Threads of Truth, Tiel has been my sounding board, visionary, and maintains a constant critical analysis to keep me rooted in my ethics. I’m grateful for all my teachers & spiritual elders Nana Yvette, Abuela Tupina, Grandma Bea and Anh Quang who have believed in me. For all my chosen-family who have loved me to today. Thank you to all my clients and friends who put their trust in me, to Cecile, Mindy and Robert for encouraging me to go for it. Thank you Ms.Carmen of NuWaters Co-Op and Farm for all your support. And a shout-out to whoever nominated me to share our story with Voyage Houston- I’m honored!
Contact Info:
- Email: transformationshealing7@gmail.com
- Instagram: transformationshealing
Image Credit:
Billie Roche, Nick Martino, Nguyet Nguyen
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