By Carol Stiffler
A new naturopath practitioner has established a wellness center in Paradise, and she’s just now hanging out her shingle. Cindra Moore, formerly of Honor, Michigan, has been a professional gardener, and is certified in yoga, acupressure massage, aromatherapy, and more. She’s also a skilled herbalist and a minister in the Unity Church. She’s uniting all those skills and abilities in her new practice, called Heartsong Wellness Center.
“I’m a naturopath practitioner,” Moore said. “It rounded out all my education, doing holistic healing work.”
A naturopath doesn’t diagnose, Moore said, but seeks the root cause of the problem. She used the example of stubbing your toe on a rock. The pain and injury is the result, but not the cause. The rock is the cause; Moore would help the injured client move the rock.
Her practice is open daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from May through September. She plans to spend the winter traveling.
While practicing, Moore limits herself to one or two clients per day. “It’s because it’s a deeper work,” Moore said. “It’s spiritual work.” Appointments can take an hour or 90 minutes, with a fee structure that varies based on services rendered. Prayers, though, are free.
Moore begins and ends each appointment with prayer. Clients may be prescribed herbal remedies–never marijuana–to help nurture their bodies back into balance. She may also recommend they read positive affirmations daily for 30 days to change one’s mindset.
“You can think yourself sick,” she said.
Moore recommends arriving to appointments in comfortable clothing, like yoga pants or sweatpants. Clothes remain on during massage appointments.
She works in unity with conventional medicine, combining treatments prescribed by a doctor with her extensive variety of knowledge to bring a body back into balance. That can be a slow journey – it took time to become unwell, and it takes time to become well. By the time an illness or disease manifests in the body, its cause has been present for a while.
“That’s kind of like the end of the road,” Moore said. “It has to start somewhere.”
Moore recently taught a class at the Whitefish Township Community Library, which she said was well attended and well received. She plans to hold more classes in the future.
That’s the phase of life she’s in now, she said: Teaching. “The original meaning of the word ‘doctor’ was ‘teacher’,” she said. The word “doctor” comes from the Latin word “docēre” which means “to teach”.
“When you’re ready to heal, here I am,” Moore said.
