Today we’d like to introduce you to Ramona Reid.
Hi Ramona, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My professional and personal life took a turn in tandem soon after moving to Nashville in the summer of 2003. After 6 years in corporate middle management and Loss Prevention, and decades of work in healthcare and retail, I made the choice to do the thing I’d always, somewhere in the back of my mind and my heart, known I was here to do. I completed massage school in 2006 with a focus on Myofascial Release, Neuromuscular Therapy, Deep Tissue and Lymphatic Drainage, which was balanced with the more energetic modalities of Reiki and Craniosacral Therapy. While building a mobile massage and Reiki practice for 7 years, I recognized that alternative and complementary healthcare modalities did not have the same network of education and referrals as western medicine practices, and I longed to have a connected network of practitioners to help address some of the issues that typically arise in clients when getting bodywork. After living here for 11 years, I had become a part of a community of bodywork practitioners, as well as skilled people in the adjacent fields of mental health, functional medicine, somatic stress release modalities, nutrition and more, and could see the benefits of creating a hub for these modalities to interact and consult on client cases together. In June of 2014, My partner Yvonne Constancio, L.Ac, and I created Nashville Center for Alternative Therapy and we soon found the first location we would practice from, on Gallatin Pike in East Nashville. Nashville Center for Alternative Therapy (NCAT) quickly grewn into a true center for the community, hosting weekly meditation, community Acupuncture, group classes including yoga, movement, essential oils and EFT/Tapping. Our practitioner base included energyworkers of all backgrounds, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Chiropractors, coaches and more, and we helped many practitioners start their businesses with low overhead and a growing number of dedicated clients. A core part of NCAT was our Holistic Health Initial Intake, an affordable hour of listening and creating an alternative therapy treatment plan to help the client achieve physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness, based on financial resources and interests. For many clients, this one hour was the first time they had focused on all of these aspects of their lives in one place and been truly listened to, and while they could only afford that one appointment, they left with free resources and a lighter energy overall.
In the summer of 2016, I started Holistic Revolution, a weekly radio show on the newly created FM Radio station WXNA.. Over the course of 5 years, I interviewed hundreds of people about their experiences with holistic health across the spectrum of practitioners, doctors, researchers, and patients, as well as everyday people’s unique experiences with wellness. This show became an invaluable archived resource on our website, that clients still access to gain more information about specific modalities. Nashville Center for Alternative Therapy relocated and restructured a bit after Covid, and now includes Massage, Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Reiki and other forms of energywork, Sound Healing, Enneagram and Adult Chair Coaching, and Past Life Regression/QHHT, with an online referral resource for mental health and functional medicine support.
In 2021, I founded The Frequency Center, a 501(c)3 church nonprofit to bring services and spiritual connection to our community. Our monthly Soundbath Meditations are open to the community on a donation basis, and we bring Mindful Sound Sessions to MNPS students throughout the school year, and offer mutual aid resources to our community members.
My most recent focus has been on facilitating retreats and workshops, including inner child play retreats, Telepathy Camp this summer in Wisconsin with Jumpsuit Agency, and facilitating private and corporate Enneagram Teachings and Sound Therapy sessions.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Creating a Holistic Health and Wellness business in 2005-2014 had its struggles. A large part of our first several years was in providing education of what these words even meant; holistic health being conflated with New Age concepts that weren’t as readily accepted in Nashville as they are now. Hosting informational classes and discussions helped bridge that gap, and a large influx of people migrating to Nashville from larger progressive cities like LA, Seattle and New York in the mid 2010’s helped that message to be assimilated in our community. To date we have dozens of wellness collectives now spread throughout the city.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We offer Acupuncture, Massage, Reiki, Intuitive Energywork with Sound Therapy, Certified Enneagram Teaching and Coaching, Adult Chair Coaching, Past-Life Regression (Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique) and various workshops.
I think what sets us apart is the length of time that we’ve been in practice and in this community. I’ve been practicing Reiki for 20 years, and massage for 18, and Yvonne (Acupuncturist) has been in practice over 14 years. We pioneered Holistic Health in East Nashville and have a large network and dedicated clients, through a reputation for integrity and community connection.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up an independent, adventurous, latch-key kid in the bustling 1970’s/80’s northside of Chicago and then moved to Santa Fe, NM in the mid 1980s, which was a drastic difference. The indigenous culture of New Mexico had and has a huge influence on my spirituality and personal values, and definitely created and informed my interest in environmental and social justice issues. I pitched boys baseball in the summers in California before that was technically allowed, rode horses and spent a lot of time on my bike, creating whole worlds in my head, and little animal shelters/oasis in the desert dunes. Played trombone in middle and High School Marching Band and Orchestra, and worked as early as allowed, doing the fast food circuit and working at my family’s flower shop. I loved writing and hated math, and that still applies.
Pricing:
- $135/hr for Reiki, CranioSacral, Lymphatic Drainage
- $135/hr for Coaching
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mynashvillecenter.com and www.thefrequencycenter.org
- Instagram: @nashvillecenter @thefrequencycenter @rooreid
- Facebook: Nashville Center for Alternative Therapy
