AjaMed offers alternative healing and relaxation
According to Dwayne Lee of AjaMed Lifestyle Spa (pronounced Asia Med), going to a wellness center is about more than just a massage. Located in the heart of Del Mar, Lee along with his partner Tracy Whynot, have created what they deem to be a “sanctuary of calm and wellness.”
Offering a wide spectrum of services, from traditional homeopathy, nutritional and psychological counseling, massage therapy, chiropractic and skin care services, Lee said, “Whatever your needs are, you can come to a place like this and find a solution.”
AjaMed’s approach is based on the eastern medicine concept that the human body is a small universe with a set of interconnected systems that work in balance.
“If you are ill or simply not feeling well, you are out of balance,” Whynot said. “Our aim is to use some of the modalities that we offer to bring the patient back into balance, so that they can operate at their optimum level.”
Recently opened at 1349 Camino del Mar, AjaMed’s founders assert that they are not offering an alternative to traditional or allopathic medicine, but instead look to compliment them. Lee points out that all of the practitioners at AjaMed work in concert to coordinate all of the services that a patient might need. “Sometimes medication and surgery just isn’t enough,” he said. “We’re trying to use as much as we know to fill in the gaps or help do what traditional medicine cannot.”
David and Nancy Melby are both regular patients at the spa. Referred by a friend, they both admitted that they didn’t know much about this approach to wellness in the beginning. Nancy had been suffering from sciatica for the past 20 years and recently had surgery on her knee. She is currently being treated for general pain and claims that since her first treatment, she has been pain free. David is legally blind, suffers from diabetes and has had a leg amputation. He called the spa, “My feel good store.”
Tanya Jones of Vista was suffering from adverse effects of antibiotics, which were prescribed by her physician for a sinus infection. Frustrated, she began looking for an alternative solution and was introduced to Willow Tipton, the homoeopathist at AjaMed. “In the back of my mind, I’ve always been looking for a different approach,” she said. “As soon as I started realizing the benefits, I became a true believer.”
Tipton describes homeopathy as a holistic approach, which can be used to treat any type of ailment, whether physical or emotional and on an individual basis that is unique to each case. She typically spends an hour with each patient; taking into account their entire medical history. She then tries to match substances that can be made from minerals, plants and even the animal world to treat them.
“I look for all of the symptoms to find out what the imbalance is,” she said. “If you can treat the entire picture emotionally and physically, then you can achieve true healing. You’re not just covering up a symptom.”
In designing the spa, Lee and Whynot have taken many different aspects of Asia and have brought them to Del Mar. Their intent is to create an environment in which visitors can slow down, take a deep breath and feel like they are being transported to a sanctuary where they can work on getting back into balance.
“When I first stepped into AjaMed, just seeing the environment that they created and the care and attention to detail, it just made me want to get a treatment right away,” said Sandra Orion who was visiting the spa with her husband Harley for a “couples” massage. “You can tell that they haven’t left anything untouched in terms of how they want to pamper their clients. It’s a tropical oasis in the heart of Del Mar.”
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