Photos courtesy Michelle Ladd
Within the past several years, the concept of a holistic health lifestyle has become increasingly relevant. People are learning that just working out is no longer enough; taking care of the entire body on a nutritional, mental and spiritual level can allow many people to live a more balanced and healthier lifestyle.
Thankfully, holistic health options exist in the Tri-Village area. In addition to offering a variety of services that range from strength training to in-depth counseling, it’s safe to say these facilities all share one goal: helping clients connect their body, mind and spirit to reach optimal health.
Michelle Ladd is the co-founder of The Human Form.
The Human Form – Exercise and Nutrition
For the past twelve years, The Human Form has offered the community an alternative to the typical gym. Clients partake in a clinical assessment that measures flexibility and posture, get a customized workout, and receive coaching on nutrition and overall wellness.
“I think the results are just better long term when you address the whole body,” says Michelle Ladd, co-founder of The Human Form. “We’re not really about today’s work-out kicking your butt. We’re more about today’s work-out being the small piece of the journey to better health.”
The facility focuses on exercises that mimic life activities, or routines that require entire body strength. Ladd says replacing work-out machines with strengthening bodyweight work-outs can help decrease potential injury since the whole body is exercised.
Nutrition, or fuel as Ladd calls it, also plays a major role at The Human Form.
“There are so many unconscious actions that happen in your body all day long like digestion, pumping blood or brain function that your fuel is responsible for,” she says. “When people think about getting healthy, they can think about… looking a certain way, but for us, that’s not the first thing. We want to be healthy on the inside.”
Ladd says combining positive exercise with good nutrition can result in higher hormone levels, which can improve stress management, sleep patterns and more.
The company strives to make a holistic lifestyle accessible to everyone, its client’s range in age from 21 to 87.
“It’s just a nice place for anyone who feels uncomfortable in the gym environment. … We really want it to feel like home,” Ladd says. “We’re a very eclectic mixture of people, but I really feel it’s unique that we have a place where any age, any size, any goal can come and feel cared for.”
To learn more, visit www.humanformfitness.com.
Renew Wellness – Counseling and Therapy
Discussing mental health is no longer taboo, and understanding and strengthening the mind is vital. Renew Wellness provides clients the opportunity to improve their physical health, but its options for improving emotional and spiritual health are vast.
The company specializes in more than 15 counseling topics including addiction and compulsive behaviors, anger management, eating disorders, relationship issues, and more.
According to its website, “The therapists at Renew Wellness utilize a variety of modalities to provide you with well-rounded and holistic treatment so that you can find your best self.”
Examples of Treatment Modalities:
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, which helps with past traumas, stressors and significant life events through bilateral stimulation – a rhythmic left-to-right pattern created through auditory, visual or tactical stimuli.
- Dialectical behavior therapy combines cognitive and behavior therapy, while incorporating Eastern mindfulness techniques.
- Mindfulness helps clients experience the present, good or bad, in a non-judgmental and effective manner.
Plus, clients who partake in the counseling receive free unlimited yoga to the open yoga classes.
To learn more, visit www.renew-wellness-center.com.
The Reiki Center – Energy Healing
Classified as “the oldest and largest natural wellness center in central Ohio,” the Reiki Center for Healing Arts offers therapy, yoga, massages and, of course, energy healing.
Developed in Japan in 1921, reiki is a technique of light touch which can help find and maintain balance in body, mind and spirit. According to the center, the “technique is based on the belief that there is an energetic flow in and through all living things. When this energy is low or blocked, we are more likely to get sick and feel stressed.”
The areas touched are typically energy centers known as chakras, a term coined in Indian culture that separates the human body into seven spiritual powers. According to Reiki Center clients, the process helps reduce stress and increase well-being.
Apart from the reiki technique, the Reiki Center provides several other energy healing services.
Examples of Healing Services:
- Crystal healing involves placing crystals on the body that are belieived to have universal healing energy.
- Sound healing utilizes tuning forks at a specific frequency to help open personal energy channels.
- Reflexology is the therapy of applying pressure to the feet or hands with specific hand techniques.
To learn more, visit www.thereikicenter.net.
Lydia Freudenberg is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at lfreudenberg@cityscenemedigroup.com.
