HEALTH & WELL BEING - December 2007

The Evolving Phoenix Rising Center Celebrates 9 Years of Community Service

Phoenix Rising Center (PRC) was established in 1998 as a community-based educational organization offering classes and seminars with a focus on bringing awareness to the internal energy to facilitate harmony and balance in all areas of life. It was founded by Dr. Don Leathers, Naturopathic Physician and Catherine Shank, Ortho-Bionomist and also included their individual client practices.

Moab Qigong Family

Like the mythological phoenix bird who rises out of its own ashes, The Phoenix Rising Center keeps evolving and changing.

In addition to our current classes in qi gong, tai chi, martial arts, and meditation, the center will expand in January to include classes and workshops on a variety of topics such as creative movement, Chi Walking and Chi Running, food and nutrition, and other magical offerings TBA!! Our classes will continue at the MARC, Castle Valley community center, Blanding, Bluff and other locations. Dr. Leather’s and Catherine Shank’s individual practices continue to be an integral part of the Center, as is their networking with practitioners of other healing modalities.

Dr. Donald Leathers is a Naturopathic physician (N.D.) and is a general medical practitioner trained as a specialist in natural medicine. He is educated in the conventional medical sciences, but is not an orthodox medical doctor (M.D.). A Naturopathic physician has a Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine (N.D.) degree from a four- year graduate level naturopathic medical college.

In practice, Dr. Donald Leathers, performs physical exams, laboratory testing, nutritional and dietary assessments, metabolic analysis, allergy testing, x-ray examinations and other diagnostic tests. He facilitates the restoration of health using therapies from the sciences of clinical nutrition, herbal medicine, homeopathy, exercise therapy, body work, counseling, hydrotherapy, Chinese medicine, etc.

Naturopathic Medicine is based on a cogent philosophy that acknowledges the patient as a participant. It is effective in treating most health problems, whether acute or chronic. Naturopathic physicians cooperate with all other branches of medical science, referring patients to other practitioners for diagnosis or treatment when appropriate.

Dr. Donald Leathers associates true health with the balances of body, mind, and spirit. He encourages his patients to take an active role in their own healing process. To facilitate this process, he utilizes a variety of conventional and integrative treatment modalities and considers each individual’s unique qualities.

Ortho-Bionomy
Ortho-Bionomy is a comprehensive healing system that allows integration of physical, emotional, and mental experiences. It helps break the cycle of pain without causing pain, and effectively speeds recovery from injuries, surgery, and stress. It uses gentle movement, preferred body postures, isometrics, and compression to correct structural imbalances and bring clients into ease. Many clients refer to it as magic because of its gentle way of healing from the inside out. One client said recently, “ It’s so subtle and yet I feel profound comfort and relief in my body. My pain is much less and I feel taller than when I came in.”

Consider a stiff neck with limited range of motion. The neck may have forgotten how work with in harmony with the individual cervical vertebrae and shoulders so that it expresses limited functionality. By resourcing these other areas through the self-corrective reflexes in the nervous system, the neck will find its structural integrity that will allow it to move out of pain and into greater strength and mobility. Magic??

Clients report sensations on the mental, emotional, and physical levels. This feedback guides the session and becomes an integral part of the healing process.

Each session is tailored to the client. I encourage clients to take and active role by sharing self-care exercises and visualizations to continue the re-education process, reduce stress, and continue integrating the session.

Phoenix Rising Center is located above the Red Rock Bakery at 76 South Main Street Suite # 10. Visit or call us at 259-8123 and be sure to mention you read about it in Moab Happenings.