Here we stand at the eleventh day of February, the month designated to celebrate, recognize and remember the outstanding achievements and contributions African Americans offered and continues offering, not only to America but the world. With numerous leaders spearheading movements from civil rights to social justice, education to false imprisonment, the doorways to exploration, improvement and even greater contributions avail themselves in this new era of living for African Americans. This article focuses on one such person, Dr. Stephanie Reid, ND. She is a woman committed to facilitating health with the use of new age technology and the historic foundation, wisdom and knowledge of natural healing of the mind, body and spirit.
Dr. Reid received an undergraduate degree in Exercise Physiology from Temple University, later attained licensing for massage therapy, onto acquiring a Masters in Human Services specializing in gerontology and finally obtained a Doctorate from Kingdom College becoming a Doctor of Naturopathy.
Natural concepts of healing have always been a part of Dr. Reid’s life. She began her practice over five years ago. Her current establishment Your Healing Place, located at 213 E. 25th St. in Baltimore Maryland, has evolved over time. “As my passion changed and my knowledge base expanded I felt the need to create an integration of all the curriculums I came to know” stated Dr. Reid. Thus, Your Healing Place is a combination of expertise in various areas of study as well as her desire to assist in the facilitation of healthier bodies through healthy lifestyle cultivation up to this point in her life and career.
As we reminisce celebrating Black History month and those who paved the way for us, Dr. Reid too remembers her father, a Philadelphia Pastor who worked with a lot of herbs and was a Martial arts master in Taekwondo. She says it was her father’s practical approach that inspired her, leading to a strong curiosity and eventually exploration of the science of how things worked opposed to approaching healing based on intuition alone. Although she also admits healing requires a lot of listening to the spirit to know what the body requires.
“Natural medicine is not about herbs but its mind, body and spirit medicine. You can have a lot of book knowledge but you have to learn how to apply it and you do that by listening not only to your spirit and how the spirit speaks to you but you have to be able to communicate with the spirit of others.
I have a great reverence for the human healing condition. Naturopaths are facilitators of helping the body do what it could potentially do if placed in the right environment. I guide the patients, giving them what they need to start the process of healing but ultimately God does the work” Dr. Reid explained.
Each patient spends an hour and twenty minutes up to two hours with Dr. Reid which means she sees an average of twenty-five patients a week. She further authenticates the time she spends with patience saying, “This time is necessary in order to reach the root cause of disease states.”
Your Healing Placeaddresses many health concerns but some of the most common are gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, diabetic, hypertension, anxiety, food disorders, skin problems and kidney problems. According to Dr. Reid, Your Healing Place’s patient demographics include people in chronic disease states ranging from age one to eighty-two. These persons grow weary and fed up with the normal practice of medicine, taking more medications without relief, finding themselves in search of alternatives which lead to Dr. Reid and naturopathic medicine.
Dr. Reid believes stress and cultural mindsets contribute to sickness and disease. Reid describes the process of how stress functions in our bodies saying,
“It causes adrenal functions to overwork. Adrenal glands pumps out more salt which keeps us agitated with the fight or flight mechanism ready to work but nothing to do. Over time that sodium pooling in the tissues and the body but not being used causes transient hypertension. The Adrenal gland also controls hormone production. Hormones drive other aspects of who we are. As a response to the extra sodium the skin dries out, more problems with eyes, hair follicles, pre-mature aging of the skin – it goes along a continuum, later the stress causes thyroid dysfunction and then that causes calcium deposits which causes osteosclerosis – it’s a never ending spiral.
Most of us give our power over to someone else without taking stock of who we are so when doctors gives us information we take it although in our gut we feel we shouldn’t. We have to take the initiative to know and listen to ourselves – our spiritual connection” explains Dr. Reid.
Dr. Reid provides up-to-date, in-depth information so patients make choices based on the reality of how the body works. “Allopathic doctors are those we know as primary care physicians. They treat at the time of illness but this does not make what they do less important”, Dr. Reid informs. Education for naturopaths and allopath’s are similar but the treatment process and assessment tools for allopath’s and naturopaths differ. Your Healing Place utilizes Nano scan technology that is a biofeedback system approved by the FDA. Dr. Reid also provides hair tissue analysis (HTA) which gives additional information about any break downs in the body. Together, the Nano scan, HTA along with other resources give credibility to interpretation and health recommendations provided by Dr. Reid.
Most people consider the twenty-one day bowel cleanse as a viable process for ridding the body of toxins. Dr. Reid educates of the true process of detoxification stating, “We detox starting with the cell, then the organs and the organ systems (bladder, liver, lungs, etc.) which a twenty-one day cleanse is not able to do.”
Exposure to toxins is inevitable; with every breath we inhale them. When we eat denatured or unnatural foods our bodies struggle to figure out how to process the parts it does not need. With a buildup of toxins our bodies begin to break down. Dr. Reid also shares information regarding diets stating,
“In order to say what a good diet is I have to know what your thyroid gland is doing and without knowing that I would simply share erroneous information. If you are eating foods but don’t understand the properties of those foods than you could potentially be contributing to the decline of your health.
You must look at the bio-chemistry to know precisely what’s going on in the body before adjusting diets. The hair analysis tells me what your thyroid is doing.”
Many are simply unaware of history’s contributions to deteriorating health. After years of studying, experts agree that many sicknesses and diseases are hereditary. However, Dr. Reid says otherwise, referring back to earlier statements about our environment, exposure to toxins and stress as factors that work against our body and overall health. She says her patients fill out forms that ask about hereditary diseases but the reason is to look for cultural and environmental connections for failing health.
Educating people that natural medicine is viable and worth the money spent is a challenge. Your Healing Place does not accept insurance and this too often presents itself as a challenge.
“I would not accept insurance even if I could because insurance billing is about CPT coding and that would take away time I need to spend with patients who deserve my attention as well as optimal care. To add on another thing that is unrelated to health would be counterproductive as to why I am in practice and do what I do” urged Dr. Reid.
What is most rewarding to Dr. Reid is the number of great reports she receives from past and present clients. She remembers her work is not in vain when she sees them get back on track, leading and living healthier lifestyles. In past times Dr. Reid worried about her ability to facilitate the process of healing based on the state of the patient.
“I had to remove myself, remind myself that I know what I am doing and then facilitate what needs to be done by working the plan” Dr. Reid stated with sincere assurance and a smile as she remembered one of her patients visiting Your Healing Place with a gift and a card.
“I smiled when I saw him walk in the door but when he left I cried – not out of sadness but because I saw he was better, healed, changed, different, on his way to being whole. I said, yeah, I’m doing this. His case was challenging. I just worked the plan and let God do the rest!” Dr. Reid expressed with a deep sense of peace, gratitude and joy.
Dr. Reid is the only practitioner in the state of Maryland with Nano technology, making her a wonderful asset, trail blazer and contributor to this new era of living and inducting her amongst the ranks of influential African Americans leaders. She is a woman of great faith, possessing wisdom, compassion and determination. She works with a high level of moral and human concern as well as strong work ethic and sincere conviction to facilitate overall health, mind, body and spirit. We salute Dr. Reid for outstanding commitment in the field of naturopathic medicine.
To learn more about Dr. Reid and Your Healing Place visit www.yourhealingsite.com
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