50th EARTH DAY TAKES

Stretch Rx Offers Natural Solutions to Chronic Pain and Tightness

Stretch Rx Founder Ronda Musca wants the community to be feeling wonderful in 2020. From adolescent to senior citizen, health benefits abound at Stretch Rx. After noticing that people were experiencing chronic pain with limited options for pain management, Musca opened Stretch Rx to fill a void and offer an alternative approach to feeling better—no prescription required. With a degree in Physical Science and Health Management and years of fitness and wellness expertise, Musca opened Stretch Rx (her third fitness company) to provide alternative solutions to chronic pain, muscle tightness and poor balance. Open seven days a week by appointment, with locations in Palm Harbor, Westchase and Naples, Musca and her team stretch their clients back to feeling great in private rooms filled with soothing aromatherapy and soft music. Using a far-infrared heated ionic BioMat (endorsed by the Pope) that helps release serotonin, practitioners stretch the client’s body to improve range of motion and flexibility. When done correctly, therapeutic stretching and exercise can improve circulation, reduce muscle tension, decrease pain, help with menstrual cramps and eliminate toxins, among others. Musca states, “Negative ion therapy is perfect for cell regeneration. People with fibromyalgia, arthritis and generalized pain feel amazing when they get off of this mat.”

As a complement to these stretching and exercise services, Stretch Rx offers reflexology, massage therapy and ionic foot baths by professionals having at least ten years of experience. During a reflexology session, the practitioner stimulates pressure points on the client’s feet that target various organs of the body to promote by Deborah Bostock-Kelley

Tampa Bay Edition NATampa.com blood circulation and detoxification. While clients relax in a massage chair, ionic foot baths pull out toxins from the body during a 20-minute soak, and at the close of the session, the color of the water indicates which toxins were removed from within the body. If the client wants a massage, Musca and her team advise the massage therapists where the most work is needed.

In November 2019, Musca further advanced her services, working with a manufacturer to perfect a small-batch CBD fullspectrum (.3 percent or under THC) topical salve that combined the benefits of essential oils, menthol and arnica with the pain and inflammation relief of CBD that can be incorporated into a therapeutic stretching, reflexology and massage session instead of lotion. New CBD products created are Joint Jam topical salve, Salt Buzz bath salts, Bubble Buzz bubble bath and Spa Jam topical salve available for purchase on JointJamCBD.com or in the Stretch Rx offices in Palm Harbor and Westchase. The bubble bath and bath salts make excellent gifts for parties and showers. Customers can choose a decorative bag that matches the occasion.

“We use organic essential oils, CBD made in the U.S. grown in small batches, third-party tested, which makes us different from what you’d find in stores,” Musca explains. “Those have added chemicals in them. Ours is natural, without synthetic fillers—the real deal—and it works.”

An added benefit of the product’s use for pain and inflammation is skin relief. Musca’s clients have seen dramatic reductions in psoriasis, splotched skin and crepe skin. Testimonial client photos are showcased on Joint Jam and Stretch Rx’s Facebook pages.

Client Douglas Palamara said that his feet caused him extreme pain. Using the topical CBD in reflexology treatment gave him intense relief. “Between the ionic foot bath and CBD foot reflexology, it’s great. I used to have plantar fasciitis. I put my shoes on and walked out of here. I didn’t even notice any problems with my foot. Before that, I was going for about a year and a half getting cortisone shots from the foot doctor, and it didn’t help. This worked.” To schedule an appointment, clients call and briefly explain any issues they are experiencing. A comprehensive health assessment form is completed by new clients. When they come to their first appointment, the practitioner reviews their health history, pain, accidents and metals in the body and zeroes in on the client’s specific issues to create a wellness plan customized to their individual needs. “What I’m finding in combining modalities—traditional like exercise, stretching and massage with non-traditional BioMat, reflexology, ionic foot bath and CBD—is just amazing. I want people to feel better, and I want it to be done healthily,” Musca shares. “I love hearing what people say, to hear that I changed lives makes me feel such joy. I love giving my clients a way to feel good.”

For more information about the Palm Harbor, Westchase or Naples location, visit Stretch RxFlorida.com. Though Stretch Rx does not take insurance, its affordable rates are structured much like an insurance copay. Cost: $35 for 30 minutes and $65 for an hour. Package rates are also available at a discount. To order CBD products or make an appointment seven days a week, email StretchRx@gmail.com or call 813-382-2363, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. See ad right.

Stretch your body, Improve your life Stretch your body, Improve your life

Stretch Rx offers therapeutic stretching, massage therapy, reflexology, ionic foot baths and personal training with practitioners who have over 15 years of experience. Unlike many massage and stretching centers, Stretch Rx caters to the individual needs of each client in a private setting. Looking for a way to reduce your aches and pains? e BioMat has been shown to help boost immunity and reduce pain associated with arthritis and fibromyalgia. Reflexology is another great way to relieve body pain, improve circulation and promote relaxation. Stretch Rx offers BioMat sessions, CBD ionic foot baths and reflexology to decrease pain and boost immunity. Seeking natural pain relief and immunity boosters?

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Joint Jam® pain salve Bubble Buzz® bubble bath Salt Buzz® salt soak Joint Jam® pain salve Bubble Buzz® bubble bath Salt Buzz® salt soak

Locations in Palm Harbor, Westchase & Naples. Call 813-382-2363 to schedule an appointment or purchase Joint Jam® products. Visit JointJamCBD.com to purchase Joint Jam® products. Visit StretchRxFlorida.com to learn more.

Tampa Bay Edition NATampa.com O n April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans—10 percent of the nation—took to the streets and campuses to protest environmental degradation so severe that rivers were literally catching on fire. That groundswell was followed by the passage of landmark environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, laws soon adopted by many other countries.

Half a century later, as temperatures approach 70 degrees in Antarctica, catastrophic wildfires race through Australia and species die off around the world, the planet’s status seems anything but golden. On this Earth Day, the climate crisis that precipitated these events and trends take center stage: The goal is to mobilize millions, perhaps billions, of Earth’s human inhabitants to rise up in its defense. “The urgency has never been greater and the stakes have never been higher,” say the organizers of the Earth Day Network. “We are now in an environmental emergency and a climate breakdown. The world needs you—and your actions—for Earth Day 2020.” 50th EARTH DA Y TAK ES ON CLIMAT E CHANG E Golden Anniversary Marks Call to Action To learn about personal actions, including step-by-step instructions on how to organize an event, consult EarthDay.org. Participants can join in a cleanup of trash from rivers, beaches, streets and forests; host a teach-in; take part in a climate strike or campus rally to show united action; join the world’s largest citizen science initiative to document declining environmental conditions and participate in social media campaigns to raise awareness.

Help celebrate victories and support future progress by participating in local Earth Day 2020 events. Due to the recent mandatory cancellations of events in our area please visit NATampa.com for an updated Earth Day Event Calendar, and note some events are going virtual as below. Virtual Online Currently Planned Earthday Wed.-Fri, Apr. 22-24 People across the country are mobilizing for climate action in this largest youthled climate mobilization ever; taking the movement to the next level. USF, 140 7th Ave. So., St. Petersburg. FMI: events.greenpeaceusa.org/events/earthday-climate-strike; Greenpeace St. Pete.

Six Oak Wellness Apothecary

Carolyn Zinober, clinical herbalist, massage therapist and aromatherapist, opened the doors to Six Oaks Wellness Apothecary, in Largo, three years ago. She, along with Debi Castonguay, a licensed massage therapist and clinical herbalist, are the heartbeat of the apothecary, a unique world class herbal dispensary that prides itself on a standard to quality “lost in time”.

Trained in both Western and Chinese Medicine, Zinober and the apothecary offer visitors an opportunity to indulge in self-care products that allow the body, mind and spirit to heal. When someone has a complaint, Six Oaks applies their twopronged approach: address the immediate concern while concurrently finding the root or underlying cause of the concern. A typical consultation takes up to 90 minutes. Zinober is also an educator offering workshops and classes on herbal medicine making. Guided medicinal plant walks are held regularly. Hugging the oak trees (especially Moses) is encouraged. Clients are invited to stroll through the garden, home to more than 80 medicinal herbs and 50 orchids among the 11 oaks trees that grow at the apothecary.

Zinober’s holistic journey as a complementary health and mind-body practitioner began more than 25 years ago. Her formal studies include Trichology,

Massage Therapy, Aromatherapy, Chinese and Western Herbal Medicine. Her keen interest in natural healing stems from her upbringing with her Italian mother and grandmother as guides. Growing up on a two-hundred-acre farm in the Midwest, she was encouraged to use common sense along with common herbs for common illnesses. For that reason, she is able to see the world with a can-do approach to whatever crosses her path; she uses this same approach at her practice at Six Oaks Wellness.

She also holds certifications in Manual Lymphatic Drainage, Aromatherapy, CLAS Therapy, MPS Therapy, Chinese Cupping, Neuromuscular and Auricular Therapy.She completed extensive self-study and training in the areas of meditation, light therapy, color therapy, Ayurveda and indigenous American culture. Zinober is the Vice President of the American Herbalist Guild (AHG) West Coast Regional chapter, a member of American Botanical Council (ABC), United Plant Savers (UPS), American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) and the World Trichology Society (WTS). Zinober shares how she long held a vision of where and how her wellness business would appear, and how it took more than three years of searching and planning to find the right property to buy and restore. “I was afraid this was never going to come to fruition, but because I think an herbal wellness apothecary is so needed in this area, my dream came through.”

When queried as to her intestinal fortitude, Zinober shares, “My inner strength after all these years I would have to say is my passion because I still love the job and all of its complications. And I feel it is the position of “service” that has made me feel most like I am in some small way giving back.”

When queried as to a major challenge, she responds, “Surprisingly, it is the name of my business—Apothecary. It means an old-fashioned pharmacy (before allopathic medicine came along) and so many people do not know how to pronounce it or what it means. I find it interesting that people between 25 to 35 years of age are the ones most familiar with the term. So, in a way, it helps me because I get to explain to the unfamiliar what I am doing!”

Six Oaks Wellness Apothecary’s mission is upgrading the quality of people’s lives by providing a place of relaxation, peace and well-being through the healing power of complementary medicine. Their goal is to design a specific treatment protocol specific to each client seeking wellness and a better quality of life.

Wisely, Zinober is not about growing more and bigger but rather continuing to concentrate on individualized, dedicated service to each client. “I don’t want to expand at this point of my career—just continue to give oneon-one service to anyone who walks through my doors. It’s a simple business model…so much of what we really need is less not more.”

Six Oaks Wellness Apothecary is located at 607 1 st Ave. SW, Largo. For more information, call 727-501-1700, email Carolyn@SixOaksWellness.comor visit SixOaksWellness.com. See ad page 47.

Qigong and Meditation Six Oaks Wellness Apothecary 6:30 - 7:45pm The ultimate mind-body practice. For beginners, or to deepen your practice, experience lessons in the ancient art of syncing breath with movement and focus to cultivate the circulation of vital life force energy. Paired with guidance and support to help develop your personal journey within through mindful meditation. $14. $60/5 classes. Info, Mark Hayward 727-519-8786•CreatingChangellc.com every tuesday