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Gudrun Wu Snyder, D.Ac., MSAc, LAc, is a Doctor of East Asian Acupuncture and is passionate about her wellness sanctuary and community. She completed her East Asian medical training at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, Chicago, after studying General Management at Stanford University and EMT training at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Gudrun graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Economics and a minor in Neuro-Psychology. She is board certified by the NCCAOM as an Acupuncturist and specializes in a root-cause resolution approach to treatment.
What was life like before Moon Rabbit?
Decades ago, I was in the Assistant Training program at William Morris in Los Angeles [now WMEING]. I worked in the charitable department helping our clients develop nonprofits and also worked for the head of motion picture talent. I’ll never forget my first day on the job: running down Rodeo Drive with dress options [for the Oscars!] for my boss in one hand and my phone in the other hand, attempting to calmly talk to my client’s manager. It felt straight out of Devil Wears Prada and it was an amazing adventure.
Fast Forward: How did Moon Rabbit come about?
My grandmother was from Shanghai so Chinese culture was a part of my life growing up. My Grandma was an otolaryngologist, ear nose and throat doctor, but acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine were a part of her culture and we were super close. Each morning she did tai chi at sunrise [might be why she lived to be over 100 years old?]. I was and continue to be very inspired by her dedication to health and wellness.
In 2008, while I was working in Hollywood, I left for a period of time to be with my grandmother. After being away from work, I realized that my heart wasn’t really in my current career. I had a job that everyone wanted, but it wasn’t important to me. I thought it was cool and certainly a great experience for my 20’s, but it wasn’t my dream. Instead, I wanted to do something that made me feel connected to my family and my legacy so I jumped on the healthcare track to become an acupuncturist.
I graduated from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in 2017. School took a long time because within those nine years, I had two babies and battled breast cancer at age 32, when my first child was only 1 years old. I used both western medicine (thank you to my wonderful doctors and entire staff at Northwestern Hospital) as well as eastern medicine, acupuncture and chinese herbs to get me through that time. After the completion of my initial treatment, I was able to use the combination of eastern and western medicine again to go through IVF and have a second child.
What has happened in 3 years @ Moon Rabbit?
In June of 2020, during the height of Covid and the riots, Moon Rabbit opened in Chicago’s West Loop. A lot of people told me that opening a brick and mortar storefront wasn’t a good idea during a time when almost all services were being offered virtually. But, I knew that I needed to stay true to my vision which was to make in-person wellness services accessible in a safe environment.
I’m a naturally curious person and am drawn to research and details. So, as I got ready to open, I emailed other local business owners with in-person spaces that were open [in my same industry and others] and I asked things like: What did you do to open your space? What mistakes did you make? What things do you recommend? Asking questions was one of the most helpful things. Through this outreach, a sense of community developed naturally - many of these contacts became my first customers! Over the last 3 years, my business has grown from just myself to over 20 staff members. I’m also very excited about opening our 2nd location on December 1st in Lincoln Park!
What’s the vibe of Moon Rabbit’s space?
When I was talking to my designer about how I wanted the space to feel, I described it as a California, bohemian, Japanese garden - minimal yet lush and green. Our space looks and feels warm — this was an important design element because it’s so cold in Chicago for a lot of the year. Moon Rabbit is a sanctuary that has a calming, positive energy - as much as we worked on the beauty of the aesthetic design, the major focus was on the energy. We want people to simply feel good.
Thank you to all those who believed in this dream and who continue to support Moon Rabbit today.
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