×

More seek alternative health options

Alternative health practitioners in Marshalltown say their forms of treatment are on the rise.

“We’ve been crazy crazy busy, and it’s been a wonderful thing and I’m very grateful,” owner of Nourish Healthy Weight and Wellness Center Rhonda Spellman said.

In August 2020, Nourish relocated from their building near Center Street to their new spot in the 13th Street District. The new facility takes their operating space from 1,500 square feet to 3,500 square feet. Spellman has gone from leasing two rooms at the old location to now having seven others leasing space.

“We just kept getting busier and busier, and just outgrew that space,” Spellman said.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she was easily putting in 14-hour work days. Her alternative forms of treatment include cold laser therapy, meant to treat physical and emotional pain, and lipo laser therapy, aimed at shrinking fat cells and inflamed cells.

A recent addition to her treatment repertoire is a flavored oxygen bar, which pumps 92 percent flavored oxygen into the nose. With 16 different aromas to choose from, Spellman says an oxygen bar session can decrease stress, anxiety, pain and muscle spasms while increasing energy, digestion, concentration, focus and memory.

As well as focusing on physical needs, Nourish also has a focus on alternative approaches to mental health.

Brittany Maxon and Lea Wallen are meditation instructors who have partnered up to rent space at Nourish. Wallen works with adults while Maxon works primarily with children.

“I teach them how to take that deep breath,” Wallen said. “I can go for a five minute meditation that says, ‘When you’re feeling that anxiety and you’re feeling that stress that isn’t good for your heart, isn’t good for your blood pressure, isn’t good for anything, this is what we can do and here are the breath techniques.'”

Maxon became interested in meditation for children two years ago after her son Christian was killed after being hit by a vehicle near Franklin Elementary School.

“One thing that really troubled me was thinking of all the kids that witnessed it and the trauma they’re going to have to work through for the rest of their lives,” she said.

While meditation is meant to be calming, meditation can also help work through inner fears, traumas and reduce overthinking caused by anxiety,” she said.

“As you do it more and more, just like any other muscle in your body, you’ll get used to it,” Maxon said. “This is my quiet time. This is my peaceful time. This is where I slow down and evaluate these thoughts running through my head and find out what the core problem is, and now you can address it.”

Chiropractic is another form of alternative health service, which shares a similar philosophy and objective to the practitioners at Nourish.

“One of the things that got me into chiropractic was because of the philosophy of allowing the body to heal itself without the use of drugs, surgery, shots,” Dr. Ozzie Lindquist of Lindquist Family Chiropractic and Acupuncture in Marshalltown said. “It’s inside out healing rather than outside in.”

Chiropractors are trained to find and remove interferences in the nervous system by adjusting parts of the body. The nervous system is what allows the body to heal itself, such as when you get a cut, and also is what allows the body to self regulate, such as maintain body temperature. When there’s interference in the nervous system, the body’s ability to heal and self regulate is compromised.

Beginning full time in Marshalltown three years ago, Lindquist said he’s definitely seen an increasing trend in people looking for alternative health services.

“People nowadays are more into being proactive with their health, whether it comes to exercise, eating right,” he said. “The chiropractic philosophy fits in right along with that. It lets people be more proactive and then also get to the cause of the problem rather than just covering up with medication.”

Contact Trevor Babcock at 641-753-6611 or tbabcock@timesrepublican.com.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today