GURUS ARE D!CKS.
Unmasking Hypocrisy in Alternative Medicine
and
How to Find an Excellent Practitioner
From the desks of Vaughan - von Stein
In the Insta-Wellness era, life coaches playing spiritual mentors, yoga teachers playing trauma therapists, and energy workers playing MD’s prey on the 122 million Americans seeking alternative medicine every year. A fierce, protective rage that the field has become a narcissist's playground propel this scathing, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction safety net of alternative medicine savvy.
Filled with disarmingly relatable (and sometimes embarrassing) personal stories, laughs, and just plain insanity, Gurus are D!cks ultimately arms readers with the essential techniques and resources to finding an excellent practitioner.
So you can get better. Without getting f*cked over.
Co-Authors
Heather Vaughan & Leila von Stein
Gurus Are D!cks’ authors, Heather Vaughan (Licensed Acupuncturist, Master of Science in Oriental Medicine, Certified Ayurveda Practitioner, Certified Yoga Teacher) and Leila G. von Stein (Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Certified Yoga Teacher, Certified CranioSacral Therapist), compose a scathing, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction safety net of alternative medicine savvy. The authors met as students at the Ayurvedic Institute in 2008, and each began a career in holistic medicine. They came together professionally in 2018, collaborating with their combined tactical and marketing experience to widen the reach of the Peirsman CranioSacral Academy through virtual, international summits, dramatically growing the email list of prospective students to consistently sell out classes, rebranding and adding social media, and ultimately securing funding with the State of New Mexico’s Early Childhood Education and Care Department to establish CranioSacral Therapy as an intervention for high risk babies and mothers/birthing parents at no cost to recipients. It was a massive win for complementary and alternative medicine.
Having both been inside the Health and Wellness Industry for 25+ years each, as students, clients, practitioners, clinicians, therapists, program directors, business owners, authors, marketing directors, business consultants, web designers, and teachers, they’ve worn all the hats and covered the whole gambit. They’ve witnessed and experienced remarkable results. Conversely, they’ve been duped just as many times by those masquerading as “gurus,” “shamans,” and “masters,” ranging from sincere-yet-unqualified to full-on toxic. And they’ve seen this heartbreakingly happen to countless people. Over the years, hands-on experiences of insanity and wild lack of professionalism accumulated, followed by shock and dismay. Rants ensued. And then, the answer emerged from the madness: Gurus Are Dicks.
