A store that recently opened on Grand Avenue in downtown Houston – Back to Basics – gives area residents increased access to to a holistic (or natural) approach to healthcare.
Owner and operator Gayla Campbell, of Bucyrus, said her goal in having the store is to literally help people get back to basics.
“It’s about trying to help everybody get back to basic living, clean eating and having a happier, healthier path forward,” Campbell said.
Campbell has been in the health field since 1984 and formerly owned and operated a gym in West Plains. She has completed necessary schooling to become a Certified Holistic Health Practitioner (CHHP), Certified Essential Oils Coach (CEOC) and a Reike Master.
“This has been a 20-year long dream I’ve been putting together,” Campbell said.
Campbell said there’s a lack of awareness in society of what “holistic” means, and that the word even scares some people.
“It’s just nature’s healthcare,” she said. “Houston and Texas County need it badly; we have a lot of low income people here and a lot of them cannot get good healthcare. Plus, the doctors treat symptoms, but they don’t treat the causes. That’s why I’m here – to help people try to find out what the cause of their ailment is and then try to fix it.”
Campbell said her aim isn’t to steer people completely away from doctors, but to simply provide an alternative method of healthcare.
“Doctors are very important and shouldn’t always be avoided,” she said. “This is just a supplement that goes along with the medical field.
The store carries many essential oils, and Campbell offers consulting to help people formulate a holistic healthcare and nutrition strategies.
“A lot of people I’ve dealt with have improved their nutrition and started using the right oils, and they’ve been able to get off of their medication,” she said.
Campbell also offers many products she makes herself entirely from natural ingredients, including shampoo, deodorant, rubs and others.
“There are absolutely no chemicals in them,” she said.
Back to Basics also offers a wide variety of crafts (including wooden bowls and quilts made by a pair of area military veterans), gift items, books based on holistic health and more.
“I like to promote the local artists, craftsmen and veterans,” Campbell said.
Campbell also does Reike energy sessions for family and pets, and has a massage chair in the back of the store.
Back to Basics is open 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Monday by appointment.
“But I also open the store any other time I can, so people can always call and find out if I’m here,” Campbell said.
Campbell said she plans to have the store open during regular retail hours beginning sometime next year after she retires from her job repairing night vision optics for trainees at Fort Leonard Wood.
“I just hope people will have an open mind to an alternative type of medical care,” Campbell said. “I hope they’ll give it a chance, because God works in a miraculous way and I work through the Lord.”
The phone number at Back to Basics is 417-293-8738.