Rise & Shine Wellness Center owner, Kelly White (center) cuts the ribbon for her recently opened health and wellness center at 420 South 4th Street in downtown Gadsden.
By Katie Bohannon, News Editor
Improving health just became more convenient for residents of Gadsden and surrounding areas. Located on 420 South 4th Street in Gadsden, Rise and Shine Wellness Center, LLC offers visitors access to unique resources and tools that might result in a greater sense of wellness overall.
Rise and Shine Wellness Center offers a wide variety of healing modalities including an ionic foot detox, bemer mat, float tank, chi machine, salt cave, WellnessPro Plus and infrared sauna. Owner Kelly White noted that the benefits individuals may experience vary from person to person, depending on each individual’s needs, goals and history. She shared that some of the most common health benefits visitors experience are a boost in energy, pain relief and better sleep.
White determined the services she included on several factors, considering the treatments she felt helped her most during her health journey in relation to the results of scientific studies and her budget. As the wellness center grows, she hopes to add more services for visitors.
White described each treatment available at Rise and Shine.
“The Ionic Foot Detox is designed to detoxify the whole body through a process called osmosis. During the session, the client places their feet in a clean tub of water. The Ionic Foot Detox comes with a piece of equipment called an array. This array generates ions into the water of the foot bath creating a greater concentration of ions outside of the feet. A very slight electrical current is then used to help pull the toxins out of the pores of the feet, by osmosis.
“Bemer is a PEMF therapy that targets the body’s micro-circulation. The majority of our body’s blood vessels consist of micro-blood vessels. Blood vessels deliver nutrients to all of the cells in our bodies. They also supply the cells with oxygen, hormones and immune cells. Toxins and waste are also removed from the cells via micro-circulation. Bemer is designed to improve the efficiency of the body’s micro-circulatory system. This means the cells in the body receive more nutrients and oxygen. The body’s ability to remove toxins is also improved. When micro-circulation is improved, the body’s tissues and organs are able to function at a higher level because they are receiving more oxygen and nutrients.
“The body can heal itself much more effectively when the cells, tissues, and organs receive adequate nutrients, oxygen, hormones and immune cells. Bemer stands for Bio-Electric Energy Regulation. The Bemer mat is a mat that you lay on. The mat is then plugged into a small machine that allows a signal (Waveform) to be transmitted into the body. Waveforms diffuse at the speed of light. The waveform used in the Bemer mat are thousands of kilometers long, resulting in the wavelengths permeating all forms of matter including your body.
“A float tank is also known and as sensory deprivation tank. Most tanks are about 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 5 feet tall. The tank contains about 10 inches of water and 900 pounds of Epsom salt is dissolved into the water. The amount of Epsom salt allows you to float safely and effortlessly on your back. The lid of the tank can be closed resulting in an environment that is nearly light and sound proof. The temperature of the water is set to match the temperature of your skin, thus after a few minutes in the tank you feel as though you are floating through space. Because your body does not have the normal sensory input to process, it can now focus some of that energy on healing other parts of your body that it might not normally get a chance too.
“Because many environmental distractions are removed in the tank, it provides an optimal environment for rest, allowing the body to go into a state of regeneration. As you relax, the spine strengthens and elongates taking pressure off of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. Nearly everyone is deficient in magnesium, as you sit in the tank your body absorbs the magnesium relaxing the nervous system and aiding in a quicker recovery. This can result in a great amount of pain relief. This therapy also allows for the mind to learn how to relax. Sensory deprivation allows for our stress hormone, cortisol, to naturally decrease. The Epsom salt naturally relaxes the body.
“The Chi Machine is a Passive Aerobic Exerciser. To use the Chi Machine, one lays on a flat and sturdy surface (usually the floor). The person using the machine places their ankles on the top of the Chi machine where the ankle grooves are located. The Chi Machine then moves in a figure eight or goldfish like pattern. This figure eight like movement allows the most movement of the body, without any excessive pressure being placed on the spine. Fifteen minutes on the Chi Machine is equivalent to one and a half hours of walking. The figure eight movement also temporarily relaxes the muscles.
“The machine oscillates at a speed approximately 140-144 cycles per minute. This oscillation speed was found to be the most efficient and beneficial to the circulatory system. When circulation is improved, the body can function better and heal more efficiently. When circulation improves, the body is oxygenated at a more advanced level. The cells of the body also receive more nutrients and detoxify more effectively. People who use the Chi Machine may experience a wide variety of results. The Chi Machine is a great fit for people who lack exercise, have trouble exercising, are injury/accident prone, have poor circulation, have poor digestion, have general aches/pains, are overweight and many more.
“A salt cabin is a type of salt therapy or halotherapy. Halotherapy involves breathing micro salt particles produced by a halogenerator. A salt cabin is a small room where a halogenerator emits micro salt particles into the air. When the salt particles are inhaled, they fill the respiratory tract. Salt particles are extremely absorbent causing the mucus in the airways to thin which in turn results in the airways widening. Salt particles also stimulate the cilia of the airways. Cilia helps to keep the airways clear by moving the mucus and other unwanted particles out of the airways. Salt particles accelerate the movement of the cilia increasing the amount of mucus and particles removed from the airways. The salt particles that are not inhaled can be absorbed by the skin. This may improve the protection properties and health of the skin.
“The WellnessPro Plus is a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) device. Decades of research have been put into developing the WellnessPro Plus and it is the leading solution for delivering pain relief in a professional care setting. This TENS unit is specifically built for treating muscle pain, injuries and connective tissue problems. The WellnessPro Plus incorporates the largest range of frequencies compared to any other TENS device in its class and because of this, it can manage the largest number of ailments and injuries.
“An infrared sauna uses light to create heat. The sun produces a combination of different types of light, some visible and some invisible. Infrared light is an invisible spectrum of light that the sun produces. These infrared waves are easily absorbed by the body and provides a number of health benefits. Because the infrared waves are easily absorbed by the body, it is the body that is being heated rather than the sauna itself. Heating the body produces reactions in the body similar to that of moderate exercise, including sweating and increased heart rate. Infrared waves stimulate the lymphatic, immune and cardiovascular systems. Stimulating these systems helps the body to detoxify.
“There is now an affordable option to help improve your health and wellness,” said White. “Being tired, in pain and feeling unwell is not a lifestyle. Although Rise and Shine Wellness Center, LLC, can’t promise any results, very good results are seen often! The first consult is always free, so we encourage you to stop by and see what we have to offer.”
White became interested in wellness when she began experiencing severe health conditions at 18 years of age. White described transitioning from an active, professional stunt woman to being almost completely disabled within the course of a few months. At one point in her wellness journey, White spent seven months in a wheelchair, unable to walk. She shared several of her diagnoses, which included Lyme disease and thyroid cancer. After Western medicine left White with little options for recovery, she explored natural and alternative therapies, which she said ultimately reversed many of her conditions.
White recognized a need for wellness services in the Gadsden area. Inspired to help others achieve wellness as she did herself, she opened Rise and Shine to provide residents with tools and services that could potentially transform their lives. Since its initial opening, the community response to Rise and Shine has been paramount, with positive customer reviews pouring in.
For White, wellness is more than diet and exercise – it encompasses one’s entire person. Rather than focus on one area of healing, she considers how both external and internal factors affect individuals’ health, envisioning the achievement of wellness as a continual process to reach a prime sense of potential and enriched quality of life.
“I describe wellness as optimal well-being – physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, socially, environmentally and in other important areas of one’s life,” said White. “Wellness is an active process and approach of making changes to provide the body with the tools it needs to heal, resulting in an enhanced quality of life and maximized personal potential.”
Rise and Shine’s mission is two-fold. While White strives to empower people through providing them with services that enhance their wellness and quality of life, she also understands that affordability plays a major role in individuals participating in wellness practices. She shared the inspiration behind her mission and business’ name, Isaiah 60:1, which states, “Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”
White’s wealth of knowledge concerning health filters into her center, where she commits herself to encouraging and support others on their personal wellness journeys. Through her generous and caring nature, White extends services to all who walk through her doors, inspiring others to take the first step towards wellness, one treatment at a time.
“Wellness services can add up to a lot of money in a short period of time,” said White. “This often results in many people not being able to afford potentially life-changing services. I was very fortunate to have the ability to afford and have access to these often expensive services to heal. At Rise and Shine, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to provide people with affordable options and access to the same services I used to reclaim my life and continue to maximize my potential.”