Woodbury Wellness Alternatives

Photo: Tate Carlson

Denise Wills, a registered nurse and healing touch practioner, performs her craft at Well Within.

Back in the day when Eastern influences like Beatles’ guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi entered American culture with transcendental meditation and holistic healing, most Western medical professionals dismissed these methods. So much has changed. Clinical studies now prove that alternative healing philosophies and practices can actually help improve overall patient outcomes and reduce care cost. Today they are being integrated into standard patient treatment plans across the nation.

Woodbury residents are fortunate to live in a community where integrative medicine programs are setting new national standards. These include acupuncture/acupressure, therapeutic massage, healing touch, essential oils, meditation, healing music, guided imagery and yoga, along with traditional chiropractic treatments. Local highlights include:  

HealthEast Woodwinds Health Campus

When Woodwinds was on the drawing board more than a decade ago, the staff was determined to create a new and different patient experience. Focus groups made it clear that access to holistic integrated services was a must. 

Woodwinds’ specialties—orthopedics, orthopedics, oncology and prenatal/maternity care—are well suited for healing arts therapies that reduce stress, pain and nausea while increasing relaxation and rest necessary for recovery. Patient rooms have CD players and many healing music options. Essential oils are offered to sooth anxiety. Acupuncture used post-delivery helps stimulate lactation for better breastfeeding experiences. It also encourages first post-op urination, which decreases catheterization and risk of infection. Beautiful outside healing gardens feature an ancient symbolic labyrinth walking path.   

All RNs are trained in holistic nursing techniques, and the Natural Care Center of Northwestern Health Sciences University is onsite at Woodwinds (an exclusive partnership). “I encourage people to get advice from their primary physician about integrative care options, then do their own homework before selecting credentialed experts with proven successes in their area of expertise,” said Val Lincoln, PhD, RN, ANH-BC, integrative services leader at Woodwinds. 

Faith-Based Health & Wellness Network

In 2006, Dee Lindblom, director of pastoral care at Trinity Presbyterian Church, started a support group for congregation members who were experiencing mental health struggles, either personally or with a close family member or friend. “Mental health problems always seem to get swept under the rug . . . just not talked about,” says Lindblom. “We are physical, mental and spiritual beings. One cannot fully resolve anything when the three are separated. We started talking about it.” 

Monthly meetings (free) created a buzz, and soon people from the broader community began attending because of the uplifting spiritual support and hope they felt. In 2009, Lindblom contacted other area pastoral directors about collaborating, and the Faith-Based Health & Wellness Network was born. Topics now go beyond mental health to include bullying, caring for caretakers, grief and loss, Alzheimer’s, autism spectrum challenges and much more.

Network church members currently include Trinity Presbyterian, Crossroads, Woodbury/Peaceful Grove United Methodist and Woodbury Lutheran in Woodbury; All Saints Lutheran and United Church of Christ in Cottage Grove; and Community United Church of Christ and St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul Park.

Well Within

The new kid on the block in the local holistic wellness scene is Well Within, a nonprofit wellness organization. “The expanding healthcare corridor surrounding the Woodwinds Health Campus made Woodbury the perfect location for our new holistic wellness center,” says Well Within president Mary Treacy O’Keefe. “We serve Woodwinds’ outpatient referrals and all who desire holistic approaches to healing, recovering and healthy living.”

Founded in 2004, Well Within opened its new facility next to Woodwinds in May 2011. The organization offers classes in yoga, therapeutic massage, healing touch, grief and a variety of instructions for life’s journey.

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For a directory of area services that connect health care consumers and caregivers with local resources specializing in integrative or complementary medicine and other resources to help them get healthy, stay well and accomplish daily tasks, visit becomingwell.org.        

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