Spring Wellness Day at The Healing Arts Collective & South Philadelphia Community Acupuncture

By CT Liotta for the Passyunk Post

The Healing Arts Collective and South Philadelphia Community Acupuncture will host Spring Wellness Day at 519 S. 9th Street in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 21 from 12 to 4 p.m. Registration is free at www.healingartscollective-pa.com.

The day will feature food and drinks, community acupuncture, massage and bodywork, sound healing, reiki, yoga, pilates, Gyrotonic and meditation. Guests can win free services and classes and receive discounts good for future visits.

Adrian King, a licensed massage therapist and certified yoga instructor, founded the collective to offer holistic medicine and wellness services in South Philadelphia. “The focus of the collective is CAM, or complementary alternative medicine,” said King. “It’s not meant to replace going to the doctor, but to be part of an overall wellness plan.”

Heidi Lengel, a certified counsellor specializing in maternal mental health, agrees. “Many of us specialize in issues across the perinatal spectrum, treating everything from fertility difficulties to postnatal obstacles. It’s wonderful to work with other doctors and practitioners, and cross-refer and collaborate. Mental tension leads to physical tension. Fostering wellness in the mind fosters wellness in the body. We have to look at the holistic picture.”

Since its early days, the number of practitioners in the Healing Arts Collective has grown. Each practitioner brings a different service. Often, those drawn in by pilates or massage discover Gyrotonics, Sound Journey, or meditation services less-known to Western customers.

South Philly Community Acupuncture

The Healing Arts Collective recently welcomed South Philly Community Acupuncture. Founded in 2007 by Lauren O’Brien Buckley, a licensed Acupuncturist, the group has been a part of South Philadelphia since 2007 when it opened offices on East Passyunk Ave. Buckley and her associates offer both private and community acupuncture sessions. “The private sessions are longer, but the community sessions make acupuncture affordable to people of all income levels – one goal of South Philly Community Acupuncture,” said Buckley.

Sessions begin with a 15-30 minute health history, after which Buckley and her team evaluate imbalances and determine treatment points. The acupuncture needles then signal the body to correct and heal itself. The needles are painless and used only once before disposal.

Susanna Satten, a Doctor of Acupuncture who works alongside Buckley, adds stone medicine to her therapeutic repertoire. “It’s a wonderful adjunct therapy, or a treatment modality for people who fear or are not yet ready for needles.”

Asked about the three most common reasons people seek treatment at South Philly Community Acupuncture, both Satten and Buckley agreed. “Pain is the number one reason – back, shoulder and knee. Stress and anxiety and prenatal/fertility are also common reasons – though not necessarily in that order.”

Satten added, “People should not think of acupuncture as a simple cure to individual symptoms, but as a process. The body is a root-and-branch system, and we have to see the body as a complete picture.”

First-timers, skeptics, curiosity-seekers, and people looking to establish themselves in a professional holistic practice are all welcome to attend Saturday’s event.