As I sat across from Shellie Carter, founder of Bodywork by Shellie, interviewing her for an article I had to write on her for the Women's Edition magazine, I found myself naturally inhaling with a good, deep breath, feeling comforted and relaxed in her presence. She gave off some really calming and soothing vibes.

Even the scent she was wearing, which I knew from my own experience was some sort of essential oil, had a relaxing effect on me. And when I asked her what it was, she described it as one of the essential oils she uses in her practice, called Abundance. It has patchouli, myrrh, frankincense, cinnamon bark and more. "It encourages feelings of physical and emotional abundance and balance."

"Balance? Abundance," I thought to myself. 'These are life lessons I know my family is working on." And so I kept her business card and her information because I knew that when I was ready, I was going to call on her to help me heal some issues I was working on which were affecting me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Some of the techniques Shellie uses help the recipient to release negativity or blocked energy within the mind, body or spirit.

Before your first Bodywork session, Shellie schedules an initial consultation, where you fill out a questionnaire and talk a little bit so that she can get to know you better.

Shellie uses this assessment time, with all of her skills as a clinician including her intuition, to work with you to figure out what is going on with your body, "your house" as Shellie calls it. Is your pain because of an out of balance condition in your body, mind or spirit? Is it because you are holding on to some emotions that need to be released?

I knew that my physical pain was being caused by my holding on to the trauma of a child that I worked with 12 years ago who was being physically abused by his mom while he was dying of AIDS. I was his social worker and he deeply touched my life. I have developed fibromyalgia as a result of this experience. So after our initial assessment, Shellie and I decided to try Reiki as our first treatment modality.

She also brought out her Angel Cards and taught me how to use them. The first card I chose literally lifted a ton of weight from my shoulders. My pain was greatly reduced by the time we finished our first session. I am grateful. She also gave me some meditation exercises to do every day to assist me on my healing journey.

Shellie's raindrop technique was most powerful. Shellie explained that the raindrop is a massage treatment which "aligns your physical and spiritual energies." It uses essential oils and touch to help you to release emotions that you may not have known you were holding on to. I noticed that my posture completely changed after this technique and again, my nerve pain decreased greatly. Overall, Shellie has been a gift to me in my life.

I will continue to use her abilities to help me stay healthy and highly recommend her as a healer.

--Robyn Accetturo

One day my mom came home and told me she met someone who might be able to help me. My mom told me about raindrop, a technique combined with natural oils that Shellie uses to heal symptoms like mine.

After just one treatment, I felt an enormous change in my body, spirit and mind. It was amazing. What I found to be even more amazing was the long-term effects the raindrop treatment brought me. My back pain just began to fade away. I felt better than I had in years.