Dr. Christina M. Slyter, L.Ac, DACM, MSTOM, Dipl. OM

About Dr. Slyter

Christina M. Slyter, DACM, graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Acting at the College of Santa Fe where she fell in love with the mind body connection. Soon after she moved to Chicago in 2011, she became a licensed massage therapist. After working with Chiropractors as a massage therapist for two and half years she wanted more tools in her healing toolbox and was introduced to Chinese medicine theory. After learning about the metaphors and systems of TCM, she felt at home and knew she had found her life’s work.

Christina specializes in treating the musculoskeletal aspect of chronic pain as well as the mind body aspect. She deeply believes sleep is a vital part of healing the body and the mind. Being present is another aspect. Often pain can come from a difficult event or period in our life. Christina is skilled in helping people walk out of their past into their present.

Q&A with Dr. Slyter

What are you most passionate about professionally? Personally?  

Professionally I am very passionate about creating a no shame environment and helping patients feel empowered in their bodies. Even falling in love with parts of themselves they used to hate.

Personally, I am passionate about meditation and the wisdom of compassion. It is not easy to know the compassionate thing to do in every situation. Sometimes people need to be held or pushed or even left to their own devices. I try to stay diligent in staying humble enough to see the needs of others and confident enough to provide when I can and step away when its not my time to help.

What three traits define you? 

My love of philosophizing, my belief you get more bees with honey than vinegar, and creativity. I’m a military brat so we moved a lot. As a neurodivergent person I’ve had to find ways to do things in a way that works for me and other people – which never came with an instruction manual.

What would you do even if you didn’t get paid to do it? 

Paint, make stuff, sing, thinking about five phase connections in nature and psychology

What are you surprisingly good at? 

Trash can basketball

What’s one thing you couldn’t live without? 

Self expression

What’s the biggest proof that you’re good at what you do? 

Patients coming back and feeling comfortable opening up to me

How long have you been working in your field? 

Fresh out of school where I spent five years in clinical training

What’s your biggest accomplishment? 

Passing the Herbal boards and writing a one woman show that had two runs in Albuquerque NM

What’s the weirdest job you’ve ever had? 

Janitor for a Barnes and Noble the summer the last harry potter book came out.

How does your education connect to your professional career? What about personal experiences? 

Although I have no desire to act anymore the skills I learned in my method acting training really put me in touch with how the mind can affects the body’s experience. I also moved from one side of the country to the other my junior year of Highschool and that cemented in my mind that reality is more about where you are and who you are around than anything else. I believe that my understanding of this helps me see people from different walks of life more clearly.

What problems do you consistently solve for your clients? 

Sleep and mood regulation

What are you complimented on most in your work? 

Being able to hit the right spot and my ability to make people feel cared for, seen, and heard.

Who is your ideal client and why should they connect with you? 

Ideal client is endlessly curious and wants to partner with me for their healing. Empowerment is key! Connect with me to feel stronger in your unique self and what you know you need to be your best self. Asking yourself which habits are serving you rather than asking which habits are good or bad.

In your work or creative process, what concepts are sacred? Which rules have you made, which ones do you follow? 

No shame! For my creative process I hate to already know where I’m going when I start because I probably won’t get there and will miss out on where I could have gone. I like to practice gratitude and believe meditation flourishes off the cushion.

What is your grand, audacious goal? What do you wish people would know, believe, do? 

Oh dear. To become enlightened? I’d love for people to be kinder to one another and consider their truth may not be their neighbors. And that’s what makes life exciting!

Where do you live? 

Right at the edge of Uptown Andersonville and Edgewater.

Do you have any family members or pets to include in your bio? 

I have two beautiful cats.  I wish they cuddle each other but am happy they cuddle me often. My best friend has a dog named Franky who I carry around sometimes and pretend she is my Nephew Zahir.

Do you have any other passions of personal goals that you would like to share? 

I’d like to do Sharon Wisemboms herbal fellowship. To visit London again. I studied abroad there for a year and miss it still. I also love tarot cards and have a cat deck. I technically don’t know how to play the piano but if one is around you can’t stop me from futzing around on it.

What do you do for fun in your spare time? What are your hobbies? 

I talk to myself a lot 😊. I’m a little addicted to television, love artful stand up comedy, abstract expressionism, and dancing!

Share something unique that most people don’t know about you. 

I was in a Japanese car commercial when I was two years old. I had a mohawk and even breathed fire at the end… with the help of movie magic of course.