a life of its own:healing innovations
by barbara marlowe

Healing Innovations is a business that conceived itself. It was ushered into this world by Penny Bond and Kathy Austin, two women armed with a solid business plan, enough inspiration to impassion the universe and a willingness to take a giant leap of faith.
Healing Innovations is the “culmination of a long journey; we weren’t always sure where we were going but when we got there, we knew it,” explains Penny. They envisioned creating a tearoom and garden shop; instead they opened a pain clinic-one specializing in the use of a new biofeedback device called the SCENAR (Self Controlled Energo Neuro Adaptive Regulator). The SCENAR involves no drugs and no surgery.

How do two women get from a tearoom to a pain clinic? It was a circuitous route, full of twists and turns. They started out on opposite ends of the country: Penny is originally from Baton Rouge, Kathy from Long Island. Although they both dropped out of college to get married, and each have three children, Penny became a hippie earth mother and Kathy, a Mormon housewife. Yet they both ended up as single moms, went back to college and coincidently both became social workers. Kathy moved to Asheville in the early eighties and Penny eventually moved to Asheville in the mid 90’s. Soon after meeting, they became fast friends.

Their friendship and deep respect for each other is obvious and provided the fertile ground for Healing Innovations to grow. Why these two women, both of whom had no prior interest in business, decided to enroll in the Western Carolina University’s new Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship remains a mystery. “Because we disagreed with so many things about Big Business, we thought of business as the evil empire or the other,” remembers Kathy. “We couldn’t ever see ourselves being a part of it.” Yet when they learned of an introductory talk about the Entrepreneurship program, “We were really drawn to it somehow.”

The founders of the Entrepreneurship Master’s program, Jim and JoAnn Carland believe that small business is one of the greatest creative forces in the universe. During the introductory talk, Penny and Kathy were enchanted by the vision of the Carlands. This was very different from an MBA. The program offered an atmosphere where they would be encouraged to dream and learn the skills necessary to pursue and successfully create those dreams. They applied right away and were accepted for the Fall of 2003.
It was a twist of fate that set Healing Innovations into motion. However, at the time, it seemed more like fate was dealing a cruel blow to Penny.

When Penny was two years old, she contracted polio and developed paralysis in her left foot. As with many people with a Polio Personality, Penny was driven, ambitious and conscientious. All her life, Penny had to deny her body in order to accomplish anything.
In 1993, she was diagnosed with Post Polio Syndrome, a condition that affects polio survivors anywhere from 10 to 40 years after recovery from an initial attack and is characterized by fatigue, slow progressive muscle weakness and pain. Penny experienced a psychological whiplash. Instead of pushing her way through discomfort, she now had to take care of herself in new ways. Fatigue became a huge challenge for Penny; she learned to pace herself and when necessary she had to not work.

Mid-way through the Master’s program, Penny’s condition began to deteriorate. She was in increasing pain, so much so that she told Jim and JoAnn Carland that she needed to quit the program. This was right before summer term, and her professors suggested that she hang in there because “you never know what can happen.”

Once again, fate took another twist. Over the summer, in increasing pain and feeling depressed, Penny agreed to see a friend’s daughter who is a massage therapist and was trained to use a pain management device called the SCENAR. Penny’s results were nothing less than AMAZING.

According to an article entitled “From Russia With Love: Eastern Medicine Meets Western Technology”, by Ellen Hodgson Brown, J.D., the SCENAR was “dubbed the Star Trek Device”, after the all-curing energetic medical device used on that popular science fiction series that is entirely non-invasive.

“The SCENAR was developed in Russia and combines Western electrical biofeedback with Eastern energy medicine, and its technology was a product of the space race. Astronauts and cosmonauts could not take along pharmaceuticals for every possible malady due to restricted storage space. Another form of treatment was needed.
“The technology for the SCENAR was developed by a team of Russian doctors and scientists at Sochi University led by Alexander Karasev in the late 1970s. The team sought a method of treatment that was energy-efficient, portable, and non-invasive. The solution they devised was a repeatable therapeutic treatment using electrical signals to stimulate the immune system, the body’s own healer.”

Penny was “stunned” with the results. She was pain free for the first time in 15 years!! Kathy was amazed the first time she saw Penny after her treatment: “She looked so different. I wanted to know what this was all about.” Penny decided to buy the machine for herself and continue with treatments.

When Penny returned to class after the summer, her teachers asked her to stay after class. They wanted to know what she had done. “She looked twenty years younger!” recalls Jim Carland. After hearing the story, Jim and JoAnn suggested, “this could be your new business.”

Healing Innovations was well on its way to being born!

Penny was so excited by her own pain relief that her social service nature wanted to help others. “I could hardly keep it to myself!” exclaims Penny. One of the first people Penny worked on was Bud Hipp, former banker and current VP with Carolina Finance. “I couldn’t believe it!” relates Budd when describing the results of his first treatment. “I have terrible knees and I experienced relief almost immediately.” He was so thrilled that he not only referred several of his friends but he also helped find the perfect office space for Penny and Kathy to open their new business.

“Jim and JoAnn came with us to visit the space. It was much more room than we had previously imagined,” relates Penny and Kathy. “It felt like the universe was opening doors, and we decided to just keep going through them. The process was filled with synchronicity. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.”

Jim and JoAnn suggested that for their next class, they write up a business plan. They did—and after their presentation, they had enough offers from investors to start Healing Innovations!

Kathy and Penny opened the doors to Healing Innovations in January 2005 and they haven’t looked back! “It is wonderful to be able to help people like I’ve been helped,” says Penny. Kathy agrees. “We have such fabulous clients, and it is a blessing to be able to help people in such a real, practical way.” Kathy officially owns the business, as Penny still needs to tend to her own healing.

They are a wonderful team. “Penny and Kathy wouldn’t have gone into business unless they found a venture where they could help people,” remarks Jim Carland. “You know they care about others. The money is nothing compared with seeing the faces of people who are helped with SCENAR.” And Jim and JoAnn should know. Upon seeing Penny’s success, they too sought treatment. “If you are older than fifty, you have aches and pains. We were so convinced, we bought a machine for ourselves,” says Jim. In fact, due to repeated client requests, Healing Innovations now sells a home model and provides training for their clients who want to use the device at home.

Vicky Goodridge, a North Carolina Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist who has a Certification for Clinical Neuromuscular and Structural Bodywork was so impressed with the results of the SCENAR that she now works with Penny and Kathy. “I hurt my shoulder and although I had three competent massage therapists work on me, it wasn’t until I tried the SCENAR that I actually got pain relief.” In fact, experts on SCENAR indicate that positive results improve by a factor of three when combined with massage therapy.
About 80% of people are helped with SCENAR. “We don’t want to mislead people into thinking SCENAR performs miracles for everyone. Most of the people we treat do respond with good or even great results, but not everyone does. Why this happens is still unclear, but people can usually tell after one or two sessions whether the treatment is going to help them.” The SCENAR is a hand held device the size and shape of a TV remote control and it operates on an ordinary 9-volt battery. It is approved in England for pain relief, and has been accepted by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a biofeedback device in the United States. In the 25 years of worldwide use, there have been no unwanted side effects demonstrated from SCENAR treatment.

The treatment involves placing the SCENAR directly on the skin and moving it over relevant areas of the body. Computerized impulses send information about pathology to the brain, which responds by activating biochemical recovery mechanisms. The SCENAR interrupts repetitive nerve signals that cause dysfunction and replaces them with signals that prompt the body to actually repair itself. The device itself does not heal the body, but rather alerts the body to mobilize its own healing forces.

By releasing endorphins and other neuropeptides (chemicals produced and released in the brain) the body begins undertaking the task of self-recovery. Clients can experience rapid restoration of functions previously lost to pain and illness.

Acute conditions often resolve after only one to three treatments; chronic problems may require 5 to 15. During treatment, recipients may feel gentle tingling sensations and often experience a sense of well being as the SCENAR clears the nervous system and reopens blocked nerve pathways. The body continues to heal itself once neural pathways are reopened, so effects are usually lasting.

“Our vision is always changing and we continually seek ways to improve our clients’ ability to manage pain,” say Penny and Kathy. “We started off as a free standing SCENAR Pain Clinic and now we are offering other pain management.” In addition to neuromuscular and massage therapy, Healing Innovations provides the advanced treatment of the Therapeutic Healing Blanket. The Healing Blanket can be used pre & post therapy. With it, the body’s natural infra-red or IR energies stimulate the circulatory system and increase the metabolic rate, thereby speeding up carbon dioxide exchange with oxygen in the hemoglobin. And it relaxes and re-energizes the muscles. All these activities help the body to function more efficiently, reduce the effects of stress, and therefore increase its potential for tissue repair.

Among other physical problems, SCENAR is helpful for: sprains, knee injuries and complications, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, pain associated with Osteo- and Rheumatoid arthritis, lactic acid build-up from sports, chronic pain from old injuries, acute pain from recent injuries, and Fibromyalgia. Each clinician has been extensively trained in the operation and usage of the SCENAR.

Penny Bond and Kathy Austin may be unlikely business entrepreneurs but they are remarkable and kind women who truly want to help people by offering a treatment that they believe in. “Your Needs Come First” is the operating principle, the heart and soul of Healing Innovations. As Jim Carland put it, “The skeptic in all of us needs to go have a SCENAR treatment from Healing Innovations.”

 

Healing Innovations of Asheville, Inc is located in Arden Square Shopping Center, 2270 Hendersonville Rd. Suite #3, Arden, NC 28704. The daytime phone number is (828) 684-9299. Office hours are: Monday - Friday: 12:00pm - 8:00pm; Saturday: by appointment. Closed Sundays.

Barbara Marlowe and Imagine Possibilities blend traditional psychotherapy approaches with mind-body awareness, creative improvisation, movement, quantum imagination and a little bit of magic.