“I remember thinking ‘I’m too young to be sitting in a chair all day or lying in bed,’” Cundiff, 67, said. “I used to be able to take long walks, but for years I could barely get through the house.”
That all changed after Cundiff made an appointment with Misty Brown, a holistic mental health therapist.
“When I met Misty, I knew she was my person,” Cundiff said. “And I was right, it has absolutely been life changing.”
Brown, a licensed therapist, is also an artist and community wellness advocate. In her practice, she provides services such as sound healing, energy work and vibrational medicine in addition to counseling. Her commitment to healing only intensified after tornadoes tore through the Dayton area in 2019.
It was then that Love Shack: A Traveling Community Outreach Collaborative for Dayton began with three wellness practitioners offering their services in a parking lot to people whose lives had been turned upside down by the natural disaster.
“Since the first Love Shack, we have grown exponentially, addressing the growing needs in the community and also gaining the interest of many community partners,” Brown said.
Just in time for the hectic holiday season, Love Shack will return to the PNC Arts Annex on Nov. 30 with as many as 30 local wellness practitioners, musicians, artists and community partners coming together for an afternoon of free fun, education and self-care.
Yoga demonstrations, sound healing, reflexology, healing touch, plant medicine education, massage, intuitive readings, somatic healing and movement demonstrations are just a few of the many practices available to sample. Other activities will include therapeutic art tables, drum circle and music jam.
“Love Shack is created to be a safe and inclusive space for healing, community, play, education and resources,” Brown said. “This event is meant to empower individuals to take control of their own healing journeys and find holistic ways to address unmet needs and health concerns.”
While these practices are not considered traditional Western medicine, the value of complementary and alternative medicine has been acknowledged by the Mayo Clinic as helping people “manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.”
“We teach people how to heal their bodies through food, plants, movement, art and many other lesser-known healing modalities that are backed by science,” Brown said. “Our focus is addressing the whole person and helping our community to understand that balance is needed in all aspects of the self in order to be well.”
Learning, experiencing and healing, Community Wellness Day checks all the boxes.
“It’s an opportunity to receive, slow down and press the reset button,” Brown said.
And Cundiff can attest to the value of these methods.
“It’s worked wonders for me,” she said. “My body and spirit are happier.”
HOW TO GO
What: Love Shack Community Wellness Day, a free family-friendly event created to encourage self-care and connection. A variety of services available to sample including massage, chakra screenings, energy work, sound healing and more.
When: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 30
Where: PNC Arts Annex, 46 W. 2nd St., Dayton
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