Herb Shop and Healing Center Offers Different Therapies, Herbs, and Teas

Article By: Tricia Lynn Strader
Photos By: Josh Triggs

Since 2003, Sage Moon Herb Shop in Berkeley Springs has promoted healthy and natural approaches to living through wise food choices and appropriate use of herbs as food and medicine.

The practitioners at Sage Moon Herb Shop and Healing Center have had a few different locations because of events like fire and flood damage, but they are better than ever at a new location at 110 Congress Street, across from Morgan County Library.

Sage Moon is owned by Tina Pirrone, and now the shop includes a reunion of many practitioners who had worked together at the former Awakenings Holistic Center, which was damaged beyond repair in a fire two years ago. So, they changed the name to Sage Moon Herb Shop and Healing Center. And, new healing arts practitioners have been added.

Tina’s own interest in health began many years ago. Her father was an organic gardener, and her mother was a great cook. Being of Sicilian descent, they had a Mediterranean diet most of the time and enjoyed meals made from plants and animals more than from boxes and cans. “There was a resurgence of natural healing in the ‘60s,” said Tina.

“That’s what got me interested. It happened there was an herb shop in College Park not too far from me: Smile Herb Shop, owned by Tom and Linda Wolfe. I would go there and get books, and then got a job there. The owner was an herbalist.” She worked at Smile Herb Shop in the late 1970s and early ‘80s.

She said, “Before I knew it, I was learning about the use of plants and helping people with their concerns. That’s where I met my first herb teachers and found my true spiritual path.”

The owner of Smile was a devotee of Meher Baba, an Indian Spiritual Teacher. Over time Tina also became a devotee of Meher Baba and is still today.

Her journey to having her own shop meandered, as she put it, as many people’s journeys do. She attended the University of Maryland and got a BA Degree, and then went back to school to study Botany and Entomology.

She worked at Smile for a total of ten years on and off, each time learning more about herbal medicine, and having more of a dedicated training from medical herbalist Claudia Wingo, who had returned from Australia.

From 2004-2005, she took a formal two-year training with David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies in New Jersey, and an online course in 2015. Other teachers she’s had are Kathleen Maier at Sacred Plant Traditions in Charlottesville, Va., Matthew Wood, Stephen Buhner, and Theresa Boardwine. In addition, she had distance learning with Christopher Hobbs and Paul Bergner’s school in Colorado, North American Institute of Medical Herbalism.

She studied Macrobiotics with Michael Rossoff and macrobiotic cooking classes with Caren Bakkum. In 1990, she became a certifi d massage therapist and had a practice of Massage, Foot Reflexology and Energy Work for nearly 12 years. She’s certified in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. Sage Moon Herb Shop moved last December and opened the Healing Center on Congress Street along Warm Springs Run.

She said, “Gale and Gareth Foulds bought the building and renovated it. They offered us the opportunity of renting their beautiful space and we felt that was what we had been hoping for. We could have the herb shop and a place for the practitioners from Awakenings Holistic Center to come together.”

Customers can explore the teas and bulk herbs in the shop, and talk with Tina about the best one for them. She might ask the customer to sniff a jar of herbs to see how they like it. Tina added, “We cannot diagnose or prescribe, but we can help you safely choose herbs that may be of benefit to you.”

There are items like fair trade clothing some of which is organic cotton, hemp, or bamboo; tab top curtains; natural body care; jewelry by local artist Maya Fredo under the name Crystal Chic; and a high quality line of sterling silver and handpicked stones.

Of course, there are many herbal teas. Tina said, “Sage Moon offers a large selection of organic caffeinated teas, single herbs and herbal blends that are formulated by us. We have teas such as ‘Love Your Liver,’ ‘Good Memory Tea,’ and ‘Peace Be With You,’ and a number of digestive teas.”

They carry a line of high quality, all natural and pure essential oils, natural incense made of plant materials and essential oils, an assortment of herbs for purification such as White Sage, Desert Sage, Frankincense and Myrrh.

At the Healing Center, individual treatment rooms have been added. Customers can contact individual practitioners separately or call Sage Moon to make an appointment for services.

Pam Sanders, of Blue Dragonfly Energy Healing, is a Reiki practitioner and conducts energy healing and reads tarot. She plans to set up a weekly meditation class on Sundays at the shop, and is considering leading a spiritual book club as well.

Evelyn Garcia does integrative massage therapy and reflexology at Sage Moon.

Andree Thrush has moved her Fire House Optical service to the shop, along with her vision therapy practice.

Dixie Mullineaux offers acupuncture and essential oils treatment on site. Dixie has been in private practice for 30 years, using acupuncture, guasha, essential oils and relaxation techniques. She treats all ages and many symptoms, including back, neck, knee and other joint pain, headaches, anxiety, G.I. issues, and PMS.

Bobbie Rohn treats clients with Cyma therapy, which is a fairly new, non-invasive sound therapy that helps restore the body to optimal health, balance, and function. The AMI 750 transmits sound frequencies to the body’s organs and tissues that are associated with healthy cells and cell function.

Bobbie also practices and teaches dowsing for health – a method of determining health choices through body awareness.

therapy is a form of bodywork that assists the body/ mind/spirit to find balance and ease. Tina said it can help increase energy, relax the nervous system and offer pain relief, support immunity, improve mood and overall health.

Tina offers ongoing classes in use of herbs and whole foods cooking. Practitioners offer classes in different healing modalities, and essential oils. One ongoing class is Staying Healthy With the Seasons.

Sage Moon is open Thursday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday and Wednesday by chance. The store can be reached at (304) 258-9228. Or log onto sagemoonherbshop.com.