New wellness business aims to demonstrate the benefits of crystals, oils, other therapies

SPRING HILL — Lisa Arrington is the first to admit that some people solidly committed to Western health protocols might think she's a "fruitcake." But her soft-touch approach, congeniality and professional-school knowledge of nature's healing materials will at least open a skeptic to hearing her message.

Arrington, practicing physical and emotional fitness through various pursuits over 22 years, talks of the healing benefits inherent in crystals and herbal oils, and also special massage therapies, at her clinic/shop, Body Mind Spirit Wellness, which opened this month.

"We're different in that we're using all natural products, crystals from the earth, oils from tree barks and flowers," said Arrington, 48. "It's amazing how fast they work — in minutes, seconds, like that," she said with a snap of her fingers.

"Their molecules are so tiny, they absorb through the skin immediately," she explained, adding, "and no side effects."

"I molded my business to convince the skeptics," Arrington said, pointing out that nature has been the basis of Oriental medicine for thousands of years.

Science has long known the basic relationship between plants and animals. Humans exhale carbon dioxide, which plants absorb; plants give off oxygen, which humans breathe. Why then not consider, Arrington suggests, that materials in the earth emit energies also useful to the human body?

Studies of crystals over centuries have pinpointed particular energies that many of them possess. Among those Arrington and her staff of four utilize in therapies and offer for sale are black tourmaline for relaxation and optimism, rose quartz for heart ease, labradorite for awareness and healing, and amethyst for mental clarity and calming.

In therapies and with cranial massage, Arrington places crystals on significant parts of the body, similar to an acupuncturist targeting pressure points. Or a patient may carry a stone in a pocket, tuck it in a pillow case at night, or wear it as a pendant, on a bracelet or in earrings.

Plant oils, usually combined in blends, also are touted for specific qualities, Arrington explained: wintergreen, camphor, menthol, sweet almond with blue tansy and chamomile for muscle aches and pains; clove with cinnamon, rosemary, eucalyptus and wild orange for fatigue; wild orange, cinnamon bark, clove, eucalyptus and rosemary for virus protection.

Oils can be smoothed onto the skin or inhaled, the latter through a nasal inhaler or diffused in the air via an atomizer.

Arrington's clients/patients come from throughout the Tampa Bay area, many who were therapy patients in her massage business that evolved into her current pursuit. Their ages range from newborns to 92 years.

"Treating seniors is huge," she said. "The older they become, the more needy.

"These are normal people. They're not fruitcakes, not nuts," she added. "They know they can feel this, and they love it."

For skeptics and those wanting to learn, Arrington offers free, once-a-month classes on both crystals and oils, to be announced on her website.

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As for costs and fees, personal crystals sell for $3 to $20, crystal jewelry for $6 to $25, vials of essential oils for $35 and massage therapy from $45 and up, with add-ons available, including a day spa for $100.

Arrington, a New York native who moved to Florida 18 years ago, studied at the New York College of Natural Medicine and the Upledger Institute, a massage therapy teaching clinic in Palm Beach Gardens.

Contact Beth Gray at graybethn@earthlink.net.