By Brooke Curley
brooke@gilavalleycentral.net
THATCHER – A local massage therapist has expanded her business horizons and has brought multiple new therapies to the Gila Valley.
Hannah Keir is the owner of Touch of Heart Therapies located at 3481 W. Main St. in Thatcher. A licensed massage therapist for 13 years, Keir is now also a life coach, holistic wellness, and nutrition coach, and Auriculotherapist.
Keir told Gila Valley Central that she loves holistic wellness. By returning to nature and listening to the body’s natural needs, Keir said nature aids in healing. Keir also appreciates the fact that the therapies are inexpensive and gives individuals the chance to take charge of their own health.
“By returning to the ways of nature and its wisdom, we become more in tune with the healing process,” Keir said. “These forms of therapies are inexpensive. It’s a way to take your health into your own hands. When people are not finding the relief that they’re seeking through doctors, then sometimes all you need to do is go back to the most basic and simple things in life.”
Brooke Curley Photo/Gila Valley Central: Touch of Heart’s new sign is located on U.S. Highway 70.
Life coaching is a type of therapy that sounds pretty basic. However, many individuals in the Gila Valley probably have never considered going to a life coach to help them deal with whatever emotional or physical situation they might be dealing with in their life. Keir likens life coaching to having someone on the sidelines of life to help us find the answers to the huge question of what happens next. Nevertheless, life coaching is not counseling.
Life coaching differs from counseling in that counselings primary focus is on healing emotional or behavioral problems and helping the patient come to terms with their past. Life coaching is about moving the patient forward from where they are in life to where they want to be, according to Keir.
“If you don’t like where you are at in your life we can change that,” Keir said. “I can help you create a vision of what you want and how you want to move forward. Together We will find a tool that gets results.”
Usual techniques for life coaching include a variety of powerful questions to help the client to understand their own thoughts and wants. Keir said that she helps her clients bring their thoughts down to the table and clarify them, as well as organize them and turn them into goals. Also, Keir stresses the importance of the small goals and step by step actions to prepare for a happier future today.
Unlike the traditional counseling, life coaching is much more friendly to the individual without health care. Instead of costing more than $70 per session as many counselors charge, Keir charges a fee of $40 per life coaching session.
Holistic wellness focuses on holistic nutrition. Keir’s coaching explores all areas of the client’s life and brings everything into balance with self-care, routine, and a healthy diet. Keir told Gila Valley Central that through these practices, a client can make lifelong positive changes to health.
“My special approach is intuitive eating and SOUL (Seasonal, Organic, Unprocessed, Local) food,” she said. “Intuitive eating is when you ditch the diet mentality and learn to listen to your body. Listen to what makes you feel good and healthy and strong and honoring your body by learning how to take care of yourself so as to bring about health and wellness. This focuses on self-care and what a healthy diet means for you, as it’s different for each individual person.”
Keir told Gila Valley Central that she does not promote any specific food products or diets. Instead, Keir individualizes a nutritional plan specifically for her clients. According to Keir, proper nutritional and intuitive eating can bring a body into balance, aiding in solving weight problems, such as being underweight or overweight. Keir said that holistic wellness can aid in solving multiple health issues by bringing the body into its natural harmony. Throughout the wellness sessions, Keir acts as a cheerleader and a nutritional educator.
Lastly, one of Keir’s latest therapies that she is putting to use in the Gila Valley is called Auriculotherapy. Auriculotherapy is the practice of using reflexology with the ear. By stimulating various pressure points in and around the ear through gentle massage, auriculotherapy may be used to reduce and/or alleviate multiple emotional and physical conditions.
“I’m not piercing the skin, (but) I do use a small tool to stimulate the reflexology points and a little bit of ear massage,” Keir said. “I use essential oils and then I apply either gold or silver pellets to continue to stimulate those points throughout the whole week. Auriculotherapy can bring balance to your whole body. It can help you with weight loss, and it can help with any change in your life that you’re having difficulty with. There’s a lot of emotional work that happens with auricular therapy. It can be used for chronic pain, headaches, insomnia, addictions, and to promote a prosperity mind set.”
Due to her expanding business and high demand, Keir is bringing the highly qualified Earl Dusky to work alongside her as a massage therapist. Dusky has taught massage therapy and yoga at Southwest Institute of the Healing Arts since 2003 and will be working strictly on Friday and Saturday afternoons
Keir also provides hypnotherapy, Reiki, Raindrop therapy, cranial unwinding, myotherapy (therapeutic massage), prenatal and labor massage, reflexology, and lymphatic drainage.
To get in touch with Touch of Heart Therapies call (928) 322-7368.
For more information on massage therapist and yoga instructor Earl Dusky visit www.earleduskey.com.
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