Mountainside builds a healing community, for the community

Two friends greet each other in the teeming (but socially distanced, of course) lobby of Mountainside Physical Therapy and remark that the 13-year-old institution is like “Rappahannock’s community center.” And what a year it has been for the community.

More than ever, healing bodies and minds is a top priority as Rappahannock residents continue to navigate the pandemic. Thankfully, both kinds of healing are Anne Williams’ specialties.

“My goal is to really reach people and be able to help heal them physically and well as emotionally. I think right now we really need that so much,” Williams says.

When COVID-19 hit a year ago this month, Mountainside closed for just two weeks. Williams and her team adapted to o er their critical services safely, adding new ventilation systems, checking clients’ temperatures, changing into uniforms at work to mitigate spread of potential contamination from home and, of course, masking and wearing gloves. Having private rooms also helped. And it all paid o — as far as they know, Mountainside has not transmitted COVID-19 to the community.

Even as she transformed her physical therapy operation to function in a new world, Williams continued to expand her roster of services. “I’ve really tried to keep progressing forward in spite of COVID,” she says.

One big focus is Mountainside Dance Center, which added yoga to the current mix of pilates, tap, ballet, and children’s hip-hop classes. Some of the adult classes serve a mix of in-person and online attendees, which allowed older students to continue to dance throughout the pandemic. And more than $20,000 of scholarships annually, supported by grants from RAAC’s Claudia Mitchell Arts Fund and priinternet vate donors, help make these classes accessible.

Mountainside serves almost two dozen dance students — and that’s about to grow. An upcoming expansion of the center’s physical space will allow “us to o er dance in a larger environment, so people feel safer, and to o er more kinds of dance,” such as square dances, Williams says. The enlarged space might also accommodate play rehearsals and community meetings, and there will be o ces with high speed for rent.

“We can start getting the community back to the community.”

Williams, a Rappahannock resident of 14 years, is all about making her home a healthier place, including through innovative methods beyond traditional medicine. Perhaps needed more than ever this past year, Mountainside o ers TRE Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercise classes which help “initiate a re ex that causes our body to tremble and helps your body release stored stress and trauma — without having to relive the trauma.”

“It’s a brain stem response, so it’s working from a di erent part of your brain that doesn’t include memory,” Williams explains.

TRE, a therapy that people can practice on their own a er a couple of group classes, is especially useful to treat stress, sleep disorders and PTSD. Classes outside on big rubber mats for people who aren’t comfortable yet being inside are planned as weather warms up.

Mountainside also o ers aquatics

Anne Williams: “My goal is to really reach people and be able to help heal them physically and well as emotionally.”

classes, taught at a nearby private pool, which help with core strengthening and balance.

Also on tap this spring: An outdoor children’s ballet. “Blue Ridge Fairy Tales,” which Williams staged three years ago, will return May 15, complemented by a smorgasbord of other pieces.

“These children really need an opportunity to perform,” says Williams, who has even bigger plans on the horizon. She hopes to launch a nonpro t to “promote healing of the mind, body and soul through experiential education of alternative and artistic modalities.”

There also might be more growth in store on the property, where three undeveloped acres o er Williams the space to think creatively about how to serve more health and community needs. A healing center, outdoor exercise spaces, ea markets, public dances, music and theater could be part of the future Mountainside mix. And maybe even an adult jungle gym! Stay tuned.

“I love being a part of this community,” Williams says. “This is a very special county.”