Holistic, healthy living drives business at “Healthy Thyme”

“I like helping people,” says Pat Featherston with a congenial and contagious smile. Her compulsion to perpetually help people is “my God-given curse. Her customers, though, view her as a blessing. Pat’s shop, Healthy Thyme, is both a niche market and a rare find in this north-western corner of Tennessee.

Featherston has always been interested in holistic and healthy living, and has turned that lifelong interest into a growing business, first “in a small shop at the lake,” and then, six-and-a-half years ago as a new shop at 803 East Wood Street in downtown Paris.

Walking through the front door, customers are immediately greeted with shelf after shelf of herbs and spices: Licorice root, peppermint, red clover, celery seed, black cohosh, ground anise or star anise, rose hips – approximately 150 items that can be measured out and bought by the ounce or in bulk.

In the next aisle, an array of ointments, cosmetic crèmes, organic shampoos, and vitamins. Other shelves have organic soy, rye and other flours, kinnoa, and a selection of gluten-free, wheat-free and dairy-free products.

A side wall, underneath a garland of grapevine and wisteria and ornamental baskets, holds an array of vitamins, vitamin-complex items, essential oils, and herbs to holistically treat or grant relief for a variety of symptoms from indigestion to stress, from arthritis to energy boosting. On a book pedestal is a guide to the complex art of finding the perfect combination to meet your health needs.

In addition, Healthy Thyme offers ION cleansing, a system that removes the body’s accumulated toxins, some parasites, and inflammation through the feet. In ION cleansing, the feet are immersed in a solution, and over a short and relaxing period of time the client can see the changing color of the solution as the unwanted wastes and toxins are pulled from the body. It is painless, and a stress free procedure. ION cleansing can be beneficial to people with fibromyalgia, arthritis, inflammation and injuries.

Healthy Thyme also offers Quantum Biofeedback, a technique used to help individuals deals with chronic pain, stress and other issues.

Chinese herbalist Shella Caspino is trained in Chinese herbal medicine; she can create formulations of herbal complexes, teas and suggest a diverse array of alternative medicines. She also works with cold laser to treat health issues. Caspino is available by appointment on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Healthy Thyme doesn’t carry “diet” products; their approach to health is rooted in healthy eating, and proper supplements to meet the body’s specific needs. “Most diet products are not good for the body, exhaust the adrenals, and are a quick fix,” Featherston says, noting that herbal processes and Chinese medicines may take longer but are often “more effective in the long run.”

“My purpose is to be here. I want to mother people. (God) sends me the people I am supposed to have.”

Featherston notes that her husband, Tommy, is the store’s “fix-it” man, and does the handiwork for the shop.

In the back of the shop she has a monthly magazine she distributes to her customers, and a turnstile in the shop has dozens of handouts and informational brochures on products and services.

The first Wednesday of every month is “Wild Wednesday” when customers can get 20% off all items in the store.

“My purpose is to be here. I want to mother people. (God) sends me the people I am supposed to have.”

Healthy Thyme is located at 803 East Wood St., Business hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information, call pat at 731-642-9528.