About Healing Waters Clinic & Herb Shop History, Philosophy, FAQS & More

History

Healing Waters Clinic was founded in 1994 by Laurence Layne, LMT, Herbalist, initially as a pain relief center and wholistic massage therapy clinic. The clinic from the beginning had an herbal pharmacy on premises as part of Laurence's offering to the public. The high quality and reputation of the center attracted others who wanted to be part of a first rate operation. Because of this Healing Waters became the first multi-disciplinary wholistic clinic in St. Johns county. Some of the modalities and licenses that have been part of the clinic include massage therapy, bodywork, nursing, medical doctor, acupuncture, nutritionist, speech therapist, energy healing, physical therapy, herbalism and hypnosis.

In 2000 the clinic was moved from its original location in an office building on US 1 in the north city part of St. Augustine to a permanent location in a remodeled house near the busy intersection of King St. and US 1 downtown. Click here to see a map of our location.

The move to a new location also brought expansion and new services into the Clinic. A full retail herb shop has been added, expanding on the earlier herbal pharmacy. This new addition brings a first class herb shop into north Florida that sells bulk Chinese, Ayurvedic and Western herbs to the public. Click here for more information on the Herb Shop. As of January 2001 the name of the Clinic became Healing Waters Clinic & Herb Shop.

Philosophy

The foundation of the practitioners at Healing Waters is known as the philosophy of wholistic healing. The wholistic philosophy looks to finding the causes of pain, disease and dysfunction rather than just treating the effects. The wholistic healer recognizes that ill health can arise from a variety of factors that include the mental, emotional and spiritual as well as the physical. One of the major premises of wholistic healing is that "healing comes from within." This means that human beings are endowed with a self-healing capacity that can be amplified with appropriate therapy and mind-body-spirit techniques. Some of these modalities are thousands of years old and originated in ancient India or China. Other techniques are based on modern science like the principal of homeostasis (balance) and the concept of psychoneuorimmunology (mind-body immune conncection). In the wholistic model of health the practitioner is a facilitator or guide rather than an interventionist and seeks to help the client to release the vital healing force from within. Wholistic healers feel the body is more than willing to heal if blockages to health are removed. To read an article about wholistic healing click here.

About the House

Healing Waters Clinic & Herb Shop is located at the corner of 26 Clark St. and US 1 South. It is housed in an "old Florida" style house that dates from 1921. The front of the house faces US 1 (also known as Ponce De Leon Blvd.). The rear of the house faces Oyster Creek (actually a lake), one of the two lakes in downtown St. Augustine, the other being Lake Maria Sanchez. Oyster Creek is a serene body of water that used to be open to the San Sebastian River before the construction of US 1. At one time shrimp boats used to take refuge in the "creek" during bad weather. At that time the main thoroughfare was Dixie Highway, which is located at the west end of the Oyster Creek. Today, Oyster Creek is a natural habitat for water birds including herons, egrets, ducks, pelicans and others. Click here to take a tour of the house and Oyster Creek.

The original owners and builders of the house were the Green family. Mr. Green was an employee of the railroad but also was a folk healer. He was particularly known for his use of the "black salve" to cure skin cancer and remove tumors. He also had the ability to remove warts by "rubbing." According to his grandson, John Schneider, Mr. Green removed the cancers of 500 people with his black salve and had people travel from all over the country to see him. Click here to read more about the black salve.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)