Ambassador’s Corner: The Spring

What is up Austin Fit Fam!  Nikki Zahka (@Fitwithnikk_) back again for this month’s Ambassador Corner, highlighting the must-visit health and wellness spots around Austin! Very relevant going into Spring and the revival of life, I get to share my experience with The Spring. The Spring is not your ordinary Holistic Health Practice; they offer personalized, integrative care rooted in muscle testing, functional lab testing, nutrition, and lifestyle. The Spring is for anyone feeling like they have tried it all but health concerns are still getting in the way of living the life. Rather than just treating symptoms, the team works with you to improve your systems and the underlying issues.

Before we get into the background and experience at The Spring, I am happy to dedicate this Ambassador’s corner to I Live Here I Give here. Supporting 750+ local nonprofit organizations, I Live Here I Give Here has produced year-round programs and activities that actively engage and empower individuals, companies, nonprofits, and foundations to be more generous and contribute to a more equitable community for all.

Nikki’s chosen nonprofit: I live here I Give Here

Every contribution can make a big difference for our community! Donate Here.

What I love about The Spring is their holistic approach to health. They are not solely focused on one aspect but understand that health and wellbeing is a larger umbrella made up of multiple factors such as physical wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, your community, and in the world we live in today so many outside factors like supplementation, the environment, work stress, pollutants, and so much more that directly impact your overall wellbeing and body functions. Common health concerns they address include (but not limited to) hormone balancing, gut health, stress, and chronic or autoimmune diseases.

I was personally skeptical about muscle testing when I first tried it out. Sounds a little strange, right? How would pushing on my arm address my health issues? I did not share a single piece of information about my history or problems when I got to the table during a pop-up event; I was just genuinely curious and wanted to see what this was about. With no information at all, simply getting in tune with my body and energy, she asked if I had had hormone imbalances. Later told me there was a blockage causing stress to my liver and kidney. I was shocked. I have been trying to balance my hormones for two years now after years and years of dysfunction, and my liver enzymes always come back higher than normal range when I get lab tests done. After that, I knew it would be worth going into the office for a proper consultation and protocol.

If you ask The Spring owner Ali what makes her so passionate about this business, she will actually tell you she shared that same skepticism when she first heard about muscle testing. Ali was diagnosed with Lupus in 2006 and spent years attempting to treat the disease through multiple doctors, medicines, and eventually chemotherapy was suggested. That lead Ali to look for alternative solutions. During those years, not one doctor recommended nutrition or lifestyle changes – so she met with a nutritionist, and low and behold, she was able to manage symptoms through diet and lifestyle changes. Turns out Ali was misdiagnosed from the beginning. She never had Lupus. She had Lyme Disease and other infections in her body. Multiple antibiotics also caused further damage to her body, which led to her getting into natural medicine and nutrition. A mix of muscle testing, functional lab testing, nutrition, and therapy healed Ali, and that is what she developed here in Austin at The Spring to provide hope to the community that optimal health IS possible by improving our systems, not just the symptoms.

To begin your health journey with The Spring, you’ll fill out a comprehensive New Client Inquiry form before your initial consultation. It may differ for some clients, but when I arrived, they had me do a Heart Rate Variability scan before muscle testing. Muscle testing, or applied kinesiology, is the main form of assessment they use at The Spring. It’s non-invasive, efficient, and effective in identifying deficiencies and sensitivities that may be the root cause of your health concerns. During a muscle testing exam our experienced practitioners utilize the Autonomic Nervous System to apply gentle pressure on your muscles and gauge your body’s response to help pinpoint where there may be imbalances, or stress, in the body, what is causing that stress, and what will bring it back into balance. Based on your initial muscle testing exam, your health history, and a Heart Rate Variability test, their practitioners build you a personalized plan of action that may include diet and lifestyle changes, nutritional supplements, and therapeutics. Throughout your time as a client of The Spring, you will come in for regular muscle testing follow-up checks to adjust your protocol as needed. Based on your needs, it may also include other lab testing with their partners which allows for an even more comprehensive view of symptoms.

In addition to muscle testing, their practitioners are experts in nutrition and the latest wellness practices. Starting at your initial consultation and plan of action and continuing through each of your muscle testing follow-ups, clients receive ongoing personalized guidance on diet and lifestyle changes and therapeutics, along with reading materials, tools, and strategies to apply to your daily life, that educate and empower you to live healthier.

One of the protocols that came up for me personally was SRT. This was the first time I had ever heard of SRT, and it was cool to learn about new technologies in the field! SRT or Sympathetic Resonance Technology, works by supporting and enhancing your body’s energy system, acting as a catalyst for improved recovery. During an SRT session, clients put the wearables on specific areas of the body for anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes to help support bodily function, boost energy and vitality, counter environmental stressors, and foster relaxation and balance.

Each client’s protocol will be individualized specifically for you and what your body is telling the practitioner it needs. What is really cool is that during your time with The Spring, your protocol may change. Your body and its needs are fluid, and they make sure the protocol is aligned with that fluidity. Each time you go in and get muscle tested, there could be slight changes to the original protocol based on a number of factors. This allows the proper care for your body throughout the process by listening to what it needs over time.

There are a few fun events coming up to introduce you to the practice.

• Happy + Health Hour, March 25 at The Spring: the theme is Spring Cleaning, and you will get to make your own and learn about non-toxic cleaning products. They are offering quick checks to try muscle testing, and you can bring 1-2 cleaning products you regularly use to be muscle tested.
• SwiftFit’s Singles Yoga event on April 12: Offering free quick checks to try muscle testing!

If you feel like you have been trying it all and nothing seems to be working, for the month of March, they are offering a 30% discount for initial consultations for all who mention @FitwithNikk_! Email info@thespringatx.com to book.