The founders and owners of the North County Wellness Collective in Amboy want to provide a different option to health that isn’t found outside the city too often.
With the goal to connect members of the north Clark County community through a holistic approach to health and wellness, Heather Croteau and Natalie Olson, founders and owners of the North County Wellness Collective, opened their natural health business in March, but continue to expand offerings and welcome new practitioners to the collective.
Whether it's herbal medicine through the apothecary, yoga and meditation, Kangen water, sound healing and more, residents of Amboy and the surrounding areas are welcome to try the natural health options close to home rather than in the urban setting.
“One of my biggest passions is to have the availability to maybe turn to something that doesn’t have to be pharmaceutical,” Olson said, “to have a place or someone who might be able to help bring in natural remedies, things that are going to be more treating the whole body, going down more to the root of the cause, rather than just masking symptoms. From finding the right energetic signature of an herb to a person, it’s kind of like going back to our roots, going back to what medicine was before the pharmaceutical industry came about.”
She added that the pharmaceutical industry practices have a time and a place, but a lot of ailments can be treated with natural remedies and holistic approaches. When using plants for herbal medicine, the entire plant can serve a purpose, instead of just a single active ingredient, Olson said.
“You go into herbalism, it’s a lot less harsh on the system,” Olson said. “It’s not just the active constituents. It’s the whole plant. There’s things that help support the body in the whole plant, and yes, there’s an active ingredient that might help someone with a specific illness, but then these other pieces come in and there’s this holistic effect on a person.”
Croteau, a practitioner of yin yoga, also provides Kangen water, among other things. She distributes the water, as well as the machine itself. The Kangen water machine can adjust the PH and/or alkalinity of the water through a process called electrolysis. She said drinking the Kangen water consistently helps her cognitive ability and energy.
Some people may be skeptical of how the natural wellness items and treatments can actually benefit them. Olson and Croteau both said the natural remedies and wellness treatments help boost and regulate the immune system, along with providing a different care option for illnesses.
“If we’re boosting our immune system or regulating our nervous system with these natural remedies, we’re doing so many more better things for ourselves,” Croteau said, adding she does turn to Western pharmaceutical medicine when needed. “We’re just offering these things so people know that there is another way to nourish their body holistically. Right?”
Along with natural remedies and treatment, North County Wellness also has gift items, seasonal organic produce, houseplants and more.
North County Wellness Collective currently has a team of eight on-site practitioners, each with their own specialties. Croteau and Olson said they welcome more natural wellness practitioners joining the collective. Practitioners can choose how often they want to be at the location, they said.
“It’s something where we wanted to build this so that people can sustainably grow their skills, their business, find clients and have a space where they can see them in a professional way,” Olson said.
Along with their regular slate of services and products, they host a wide range of events, from gift making, talks and more. For more information, visit spiralintowellness.com.
North County Wellness Collective is located at 40600 NE 221st Ave., in Amboy. It can be contacted by emailing northcountywellnesscollective@gmail.com and by calling 360-247-5128. Business hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and by appointment only Fridays and Saturdays.
