WOOSTER – The Rev. Brooke Winkler understands these last two years have been stressful for many.
Pandemic, domestic bickering and international threats aside, many of her clients have expressed their anxieties with everyday life.
For eights years, Winkler has provided mind and body wellness services to individuals and programs in Wooster to help with everyday stress via her business: Engaging the Spirit. This includes yoga and belly dancing lessons and meditation and reiki practice, she said.
Now she hopes to give everyone in Wayne and the surrounding counties a taste of what mind and body wellness has to offer.
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Winkler will host the first-ever Wellness, Holistic, Alternative Treatment and Therapy (WHATT) Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 26, at the Shisler Center in Wooster.
Tickets can be purchased at the door and are $10. Debit, credit and cash are accepted upon entry.
A smorgasbord of wellness activities and area vendors
Winkler spent nearly five months organizing the event. In that time, she wrangled over 35 vendors from Wayne and nearby counties and got the support of mental and physical health services like NAMI and OneEighty.
Starting at 10:05 a.m. are 13 half-hour classes and presentations for anyone to join that range from hypnotherapy to pelvic health and complementary treatments for mental health, according to EngagingTheSpirit.com.
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Classes are taught by guest instructors who are experts on each subject, Winkler said.
Cabin Cakes, the Curry Pot and Unleash Your Health with Anne, Access Consciousness Bars will offer food options for those in-between presentations.
Other vendors will supplement the 13 courses with information on topics like chiropractic care and the health benefits of herbs.
An indoor meditation room and labyrinth will be available to practice mindfulness while reiki sessions are open for anyone to participate, Winkler said. Therapy dogs will also be available for pet-oriented support.
Labyrinth walking is a form of meditation that allows the individual to focus only on their steps and breathing, she said.
“Reiki is a form of energy healing,” she said. “You place your hands over someone and you allow your energy to support them,” which reduces stress and anxiety.
For more information about the fair, visit her website.
From mental therapy to body and mind wellness
After 20 years as a mental health therapist, Winkler decided to make a change. Helping people was her calling, but she wanted to do something different, so she researched mind-body medicine.
“When I was in private practice, many of my patients were looking for medical alternatives,” Winkler said.
In short, mind-body medicine emphasizes mental health improvements to strengthen physical health — and vice versa.
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What she learned propelled her to open Engaging the Spirit in 2016 as a part-time business. Four years later, she dropped mental therapy to go full time.
Winkler’s wellness business offers lessons and activities like chakra balancing, laughter yoga, self-care and hypnotherapy.
In her personal experience, she has used mind-body medicine to address her digestive issues and to help process secondary trauma, she said.
With her business in full swing, Winkler is working on her doctorate in mind-body medicine. She hopes to use that knowledge to further her goal of helping others.
Reach Bryce by email at [email protected]
On Twitter: @Bryce_Buyakie
https://www.the-daily-record.com/story/news/2022/03/21/wellness-holistic-alternative-treatment-therapy-fair-set-wooster/7074754001/