Today we’d like to introduce you to Devada Rammell, Holistic Health Practitioner.
Devada, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My journey to wellness and what ultimately led me to become a Holistic Health Practitioner actually began a little over 30 years ago. As a young woman in my late twenties, while visiting my parents out-of-town, I fell seriously ill and ended up in the hospital for five days. I developed a fever of 104 and my kidneys were failing. The doctors said that had my fever not broken by that fifth day, they would have had to perform surgery to remove one of my kidneys! Thankfully, my fever broke on the fifth day and I did not have to have surgery.
Through it all, the doctors could never figure out what was wrong with me and sent me home with the advice to “drink more water.” Really? I nearly died and their only advice was “drink more water?” It was a mystery to me why I even fell ill in the first place because there was really no logical reason for what happened. I was not overweight. I didn’t smoke, drink or take drugs. So, in my mind, I surmised that it must have been my diet and lack of exercise. Up until then, I had always pretty much eaten whatever I wanted, yet I was blessed to not be overweight as a result of my poor nutrition habits and lack of exercise. It was after spending those five days in the hospital and nearly died that I decided to get serious and learn as much as I could about getting healthy and staying healthy.
That’s when my life-long best friend, Laura Vincent, introduced me to Chinese herbs. She taught me about the difference between vitamins and herbs. I had taken vitamins for years but never felt like they did anything. And vitamins didn’t work for good reason. She explained that vitamins are isolates and are synthetic and man-made; whereas, herbs are grown in nature (unlike vitamins created in a laboratory) are harvested in their WHOLE form and with its synergistic effect are far more medicinally beneficial than vitamins. I was intrigued and fascinated to learn this! This one simple concept was truly the beginning of my new mindset shift about wellness.
You might be interested to know that my career at that time was that of a health insurance broker. I was in the business of providing health insurance to companies and their employees. I went on to do this for another 23 years, but I became increasingly dissatisfied with the “system.” Being on the inside of the health insurance business meant I saw the dynamics at play from all angles: the doctors, the insurance companies, and the consumer–with everyone pointing their fingers at each other as the reason for rising costs. As a health insurance broker (the middleman between the insurance companies and the employers/employees), I had the dutiful task each year of delivering the news to employers and their employees about their increased premiums. Not fun! I had to listen to the grumblings and outright anger of the employees whose message was always the same: they wanted MORE benefits and to pay LESS. Well, it doesn’t work that way. Insurance was originally created in the early part of the last century as a means to mitigate unforeseen, catastrophic expenses–not to cover every little sniffle of a cold or hangnail. More than anything else, I wanted to be able to educate people to empower themselves to become healers in their own home and not become so reliant on insurance (or the government!) paying for everything. Generally speaking, as consumers, we all should be taking a more proactive approach to our health with diet, exercise, and natural alternatives. More and more, I believe that people over the last decade are embracing natural wellness therapies and relying less on surgery and prescription drugs.
So, as a result of my dissatisfaction with the healthcare system, in the fall of 2002, I made a conscientious decision to go back to school to become a Holistic Health Practitioner (HHP). My four-year schooling and more than 1,000 hours of training included becoming a Certified Clinical Herbalist, Certified Clinical Nutritionist, Certified Aromatherapist, and Licensed Massage Therapist. And to further my work in the area of Energy Medicine, I later went on to earn additional certifications as a Reiki Master/Teacher and Akashic Records Reader/Practitioner.
I own my own wellness practice in Escondido, California called La Vida Sana Wellness where I offer massage therapy, Reiki energy healing, essential oils, and wellness consultations. In my 12 years in practice, I have treated more than 5,000 clients. My philosophy and approach in treating clients are one of wholeness–body, mind, and spirit. I pledge to serve the best interests of my clients at all times and provide the highest quality bodywork and service possible. I recognize that the obligation for building and maintaining an effective, healthy, and safe therapeutic relationship with my clients is ultimately my responsibility. My mission is to help clients rediscover what it means to live La Vida Sana (“the healthy life”), a body full of energy and vitality and a mind filled with peace, joy, and contentment. I aim to do this by providing the highest level of service second to none with massage, Reiki, and the best quality therapeutic-grade essential oils.
To keep up with new and evolving trends, this past year, I added CBD Hemp Massage to my menu of services. The Farm Bill of 2018 forever abolished hemp from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). It is forever deemed an agricultural commodity, no longer mistaken as a controlled substance, like marijuana. My goal this year is to continue educating my clients on the medicinal benefits of CBD from hemp.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it’s definitely NOT been a smooth road and I’ve had lots of struggles along the way. A year after I had been in practice, in 2008, I decided to go BIG. I hired a contractor to build out a large 1,500 sq. ft. day spa where I offered massages and facials. At my peak, I had a staff of eight employees. This was right before our economy collapsed into what would be the worst recession since the Great Depression. Because of the recession, people were pulling back on their spending and gradually, month after month, I saw the decline and demise of my business. After only 18 months and spending down my entire retirement savings, in the fall of 2009, I had no recourse but to close the doors on my day spa and downsize to a small office setting.
Despite feeling like an epic failure at that time, something inside me told me not to quit. I think anyone else might have thrown in the towel and gone back to working in corporate America. But deep down, I knew that all my years of education and a genuine desire and passion to help people on their journey to wellness is what motivated me to seek other options for staying in business. That meant flying solo in a small and modest office setting which I maintain to this very day. I no longer have grandiose goals of franchising my business!
La Vida Sana Wellness – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My practice consists primarily of offering massage therapies and Reiki energy healing. Most people coming to see me are seeking relief from pain (physical) and stress (emotional). Massage and Reiki, along with essential oils is something everyone should consider as part of their overall wellness regime to maintain optimal health. My most popular requested services these days are my CBD Hemp Massage, followed by the Aromatherapy Massage, and Reiki Energy Healing.
I think what sets me apart from others offering the same services is my genuine compassion and desire to help my clients with their health concerns. Many of my clients say I have a special “gift” of healing. I don’t know if I’d call it a gift, but it is just something that comes naturally to me…the ability to “feel” energy. This special ability, I believe, is what sets me apart from many other therapists. In working with clients, I utilize my intuitive ability to treat each individual and do so with a genuinely loving, caring and respectful approach to helping them overcome stress and pain.
My lifelong intuitive abilities were validated for me in 2006 when I auditioned for several months in Los Angeles and was ultimately one of eight people chosen from over 1,100 who interviewed to be on a new reality TV program produced by the Sci-Fi channel about psychics. Even though the program was scrapped before it aired, it affirmed for me through formal testing that I have psychic abilities, which showed I am clairvoyant, clairaudient, and clairsentient.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I am most proud that in 2013, the public voted me as “Best Massage” in all of San Diego County through Channel 10’s San Diego A-List. I was one of 123 massage establishments from around the county nominated and after 98,767 votes were cast, I took the #1 spot! Imagine how that felt for me. I beat out all of the Massage Envy clinics and luxurious day spas. I cried tears of joy. It was quite an honor and a testament to the quality of my work. Despite the challenges along the way, it was a validating moment for me knowing I made the right decision to continue in my path as a Holistic Health Practitioner.
I know more proud moments are to come. For example, I just rolled out a separate website for the CBD portion of my business called http://HealthandWealthwithCBD.com. I also have another website under construction to further expand the Reiki portion of my business called www.DivineReikiHealer.
I’m doing more speaking engagements on the medicinal benefits of essential oils and CBD, as well as writing industry-related articles for magazines and blogs. I have an e-book in the works that will be completed soon. My target audience is solo massage therapists and other holistic practitioners giving them tips on how to build and sustain a thriving holistic business. I’m taking pre-orders now for the e-book. Although I don’t have a price set yet for the e-book, I’m giving it away for free to the first 100 who sign up for a copy. Send me an email to devada@LaVidaSanaWellness.com and put “Free E-Book” in the subject line. Include your name, email, and phone number.
Pricing:
- Massage sessions of 60- or 90-minutes starting at $70/hr
- Reiki sessions of 60- or 90-minutes starting at $80/hr
- Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils
- CBD Hemp Oil
- Convenient online booking
- Open 7 days a week
- Discounted series and packages available
- Gift Certificates available online
Contact Info:
- Address: Downtown Escondido
333 S. Juniper St., Suite 100
Escondido, CA 92025 - Website: www.LaVidaSanaWellness.com
- Phone: 760-781-1005
- Email: devada@LaVidaSanaWellness.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lavidasanawellness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lavidasanawellness
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lavidasana
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-vida-sana-wellness-escondido
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devada-rammell-9199b623
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