After years of suffering from migraines and getting no relief from traditional medicine, Lauren Smith decided to turn to alternative healing practices. That decision was one of the best she ever made.
“I saw a tremendous change in my health,” said Smith. She experienced so much of a positive change that she decided she wanted to help other people.
Smith, who has operated the Art Party Place in Mountain Top for 10 years, became a health coach in 2020. She is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where she learned innovative coaching methods, practical lifestyle management techniques, and over 100 dietary theories.
“My education has equipped me with extensive, cutting-edge knowledge in holistic nutrition, health coaching, and prevention,” Smith offered. “Drawing on my expertise, I work with my clients to help make lifestyle changes and choose health-promoting ways that produce real and lasting results.”
After becoming a health coach, Smith saw a need for a health food store in Mountain Top. So, on April 23, Smith held the grand opening of Healings by Nature at 176 S. Mountain Blvd., which she described as Northeastern Pennsylvania’s “uniquely organic health and wellness shop.”
“We are dedicated to sourcing the highest quality herbal supplements, spices, herbs, botanical products, fresh vegetables, food and organic products that are naturally sourced and made in the USA,” Smith offered. “We’re driven by a simple purpose: to do good by our people, planet, and support the health and wellness of our local community.”
Healings by Nature, she related, offers a wide selection of health and wellness products including supplements, herbal teas, powders, and vitamins, along with local baked goods and a limited supply of seasonal vegetables and eggs. Healings by Nature also plans to offer health and wellness classes.
At Healings by Nature, Smith is joined by her mother, Emily Terrell, along with a team of certified Integrative Nutritional Health coaches and holistic practitioners.
“We have joined together to create a space where we take a foundational approach to health, focusing on nutrient-dense nutrition, stress management, toxin removal, and connection to nature,” Smith said. “Together, our team has extensive training and expertise in holistic healing, herbal remedies supplements. We wanted to create a shop that gave our community and our clients a place to shop all for all their health and wellness needs.”
A foundational approach to health, Smith explained, involves looking at all aspects of a person’s life to help determine the root cause of any health problem they may be experiencing.
“We look at their career, finances, relationships, exercise and spirituality,” she said.
One of the practitioners at Healings by Nature is Sara Werner, a board-certified Integrative Health Practitioner.
Like Smith, Werner began a deep dive into her own health journey after being misdiagnosed and consistently let down by conventional healthcare while in her late teens and early 20s. She began seeking alternative approaches in search of what true health and nourishment looked like.
Werner is certified in multiple integrative health modalities and how to use functional labs and blood chemistry to find root causes of health concerns. Healings by Nature offers a variety of functional labs aimed at assessing bio-individual needs.
Werner emphasizes she is not a doctor and does not diagnose or treat diseases. Rather, she is certified to interpret blood chemistry from a functional lens and utilize labs to understand potential imbalances and patterns.
Terrell complements the holistic service at Healings by Nature by offering intuitive readings. Terrell describes intuitive reading as a self-discovery tool to help someone get in touch with the voice of their soul and their heart’s true desires. It will allow someone to see and feel things they might not be conscious of in their day to day life. For more information on Healings by Nature, including hours of operation, call (570) 472-5659 or visit their website at www.healingsbynatureshop.com.
