By Liz Moomey
liz.moomey@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — As alternative health care continues to grow in Rowan County, Nye Hartwick and Cara Effinger wanted a way to introduce wellness to the community.

For months, they have been organizing a Wellness Expo to bring professionals together and answer questions about what the community offers in alternative health care.

“Anybody is going to benefit from this — really and truly,” Effinger said. “Everybody’s got something going on, some aspect of their life that needs to be healed. And I feel like we have a very wide range of professionals that are going to be at this expo, and so there’s going to be someone for everyone there.”

From 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 12, professionals who work in massage, reflexology, yoga, life coaching, auyerveda and natural products will gather at the Stanback Auditorium at Rowan County Library. Effinger said the timing of the expo is to coincide with healthy lifestyle goals many people set at the beginning of the year.

“A lot of people set those new year’s resolutions, and so this is something for people to be able to say, ‘OK, well if I want to get healthy, you know, here are some great ways to do that,’” Effinger said. “Most people think, ‘I’m going to go to the gym.’ And, of course, that is very good. But then there’s other ways to get healthy and increase your quality of life than just going to the gym.”

Effinger said the expo will also be an opportunity for wellness professionals to meet and improve the services provided countywide.

“We’re trying to bridge that gap and build a sense of community within the wellness professionals as well,” Harwick said. “Everyone (can) start working together. Me as a massage therapist, if I can’t help someone but I think someone with another modality can, it’s great to know other professionals so then I can say, ‘Hey, you know what, this person would be a great fit for you.’”

Hartwick added that as they began contacting other professionals, they were equally excited to bring together the wellness community, especially those who are new to it.

“Everyone was excited that there is a community here, and instead of just being so separated, everyone was coming together in a spirit of, ‘This is about bringing wellness to our community.’ It’s not so much about our personal things or what we do but about working together to promote it and kind of help people out,” Hartwick said.

The two said they considered hosting an expo several years ago. But the time felt right with the ease of sharing information through social media and the opening of the yoga studio.

“People are looking for, ‘I need more help,’” Effinger said. “Everybody is selling essential oils now. I just feel like people are really starting to branch out a little bit more and really take their health into their own hands instead of just relying on a quick fix.”

Hartwick said she wants the Wellness Expo to be a no judgment zone where people can come with questions and be able to talk to the professionals and even watch a demonstration.

“It’s a great way to gather information,” Hartwick said. “There’s a lot of things offered in Rowan County that people have heard of and they’re curious about and they don’t know and they’re afraid to ask. So this is a perfect opportunity if you want to find out what energy work is or vibrational healing or what reflexology can do for you. Any of these questions you may have, you’re going to have the people who offer them right there able to answer your questions.”

The expo is open to everyone.

“I hope that people come out and check it out,” Hartwick said. “Maybe some of this isn’t for you, but it’s a free event. Some people are going to have free samples. There’s going to be demonstrations. You can try different modalities out. You can ask questions.

“Maybe you don’t have a need for any of this now, (but in) six months maybe you will. You never know. You might find someone might be of value to family or friends who’s struggling through something that’s not sure where to go.”