It’s time to take a step back from life’s biggest stressors to focus on health from a holistic view.
Each provider at The Wellness Collective in Sioux Falls is specialized and dedicated to giving each person the proper care to improve their health and wellbeing.
“The Wellness Collective is a multidisciplinary clinic. We focus on ‘whole person health,’ so we have disciplines for treatment of mental health, physical pain, and wellness,” said owner and mental health therapist Amanda Briggs Davis.
To achieve their goal, they offer chiropractic care, counseling, nutrition therapy, gynecology, and more.
The 605 team suited up in some athleisure attire and headed to the Collective. With me, the editor, for the adventure were lead multimedia designer Cailyn Patterson, marketing and events intern Kelsey Sutton, and multimedia editor Emily Swan.
The team experienced a massage session, a body composition assessment, and a vinyasa yoga class.
Services Offered at The Wellness Collective
+ Chiropractic
+ Counseling
+ Functional Medicine Health Coaching
+ Functional Medicine with Alternative Therapies
+ Gynecology
+ Massage
+ Nutrition Therapy
+ Physical Therapy
+ Primary Care
+ Yoga
Body Composition Analysis With Dr. Cheryl Bones
As part of functional medicine, Dr. Cheryl Bones offers a bioimpedance analysis (BIA) to assess health through various factors of the body.
“The BIA can tell you how much fluid you’re retaining, how much muscle mass you have, how strong your bones are, and how healthy your cells are,” said Bones.
To perform the assessment, Bones attached a few sticky pads to one hand and foot to run electric current through the body. She was removing them again before I even knew the test had begun.
Into her algorithm, she added my height, weight, age, activity level, and the numbers from the test to load in the results.
“A lot of times, if you fix the gut, you fix everything.” – Dr. Cheryl Bones
She talked through the chart with me, discussing what all of the results meant and what our goals would be for continued care.
“A lot of these give guidelines of where we want to be but not exactly what’s wrong. So that’s what I have to figure out—then how to fix it,” said Bones.
A few of the things she emphasized were the importance of gut health, physical movement, body fat percentages, possible hormone imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, blood pressure issues, and more.
Massage with Heather Wilde
When she heard she would be getting a massage, Cailyn was all in. She booked 30 minutes with Heather Wilde, a massage therapist.
“Once the massage began, she clarified what kind of pressure I’d like (soft, medium, firm), asked if I wanted the background music to play anything in particular, and reaffirmed what’s off limits or needs extra attention,” said Cailyn.
At the Collective, the massage therapists also offer cupping and hot stones which aid in pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation, and deep-tissue massage.
“We opened in August of 2020. In 2021, we added four more providers and expanded our physical space.” – Amanda Briggs Davis
“I was at peace during the whole experience,” said Cailyn. “We talked most of the time, which won’t be everyone’s recipe for relaxation, as I assume others would prefer the quiet and maybe even fall victim to a quick nap.”
Cailyn says the experience was just what she needed.
“The staff was attentive to everyone’s needs and capabilities, soft spoken, and incredibly knowledgeable. I’m already looking forward to my next massage,” she concluded.
Gentle Vinyasa with Colleen Schurrer
Next the four of us headed to yoga class with Colleen Schurrer.
The Wellness Collective aims for yoga to be more than striking poses and pulsing to the music—the instructors encourage each yogi to flow at the rate of their own body and find what feels best for them.
For some, this is the best kind of yoga, as it allows them to connect with their breath and process how they can improve the integrity of the pose.
Benefits of Yoga
+ Improved connection to present thoughts and feelings.
+ Improved strength, balance, and flexibility.
+ Improved sense of community with inclusive group support.
+ Improved relaxation and sleep.
After a few months of hiatus, I’ve recently gotten back into doing yoga as part of my routine. Kelsey has done high intensity hot yoga. As for Emily and Cailyn, however, it is a whole new beast.
While Schurrer guided the team and other students through the gentle vinyasa flow, each yogi sunk into the moment and focused on quality movement from downward facing dog to forward fold and warrior.
Fact
Feel overwhelmed with all of the services? Try the Discovery Assessment. This asks questions about depression, anxiety, women’s health, pain, and more.
The Collective will review responses during the next staff meeting and decide what the best care options may be for each patient. That could mean mental health services and physical therapy, nutrition advice and health coaching, or any other combination.
I caught myself settling into each form with a smile on multiple occasions as Schurrer gave options for simplifying poses or making them more advanced. Emily definitely let out a few giggles when she found herself losing her balance. Escaping the office for this relaxing excursion was a blast.
The practice ended with yoga nidra, which is a meditative state between wakefulness and sleep—essentially “resting your eyes.” Through the instructor’s guiding words, a couple students dozed off a bit or got lost in our thoughts. The entire experience was gratifying.
Namaste, all.
For more information, visit WELLNESSCOLLECTIVESD.COM.
