The Blue Banner

The Student Voice of UNC Asheville

The Blue Banner

The Student Voice of UNC Asheville

The Blue Banner

Alumnus promotes mindfulness, health with new center

By Tina Langford – [email protected] – Staff Writer | Oct. 14, 2014 |
The education received at UNC Asheville continues to serve alumni later in life, said Phillip Ramsey, an alumnus from UNCA, who graduated with a psychology degree in 1997.
“The liberal arts program at UNCA was very helpful for me,” Ramsey said. “I’m perhaps part of the student minority that thoroughly enjoyed the arts and ideas and humanities programs.”
Ramsey also said he feels thankful for the exposure to subjects outside of his course of study.
“In the long run they exposed me to a lot of literature and history that I would not have been exposed to by just studying within the confines of my major,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey opened The Cultivation Center earlier this year. It functions as a community wellness center just off of Central Avenue. The center offers licensed therapy, qui gong, aikido and other wellness outlets for his clients.
“The goal behind starting the center was to bring together my professional interests, along with some personal interests I acquired by continuing my education, studying Chinese medicine and martial arts together in one place,” he said.
Ramsey also became a licensed marriage and family therapist through Appalachian State University in 2000.
He furthered his education by pursuing interest in Chinese medicine and martial arts at the Daoist Traditions College in Asheville, where he also became a licensed acupuncturist in the state of North Carolina.
“Because Phil opened the center later in life, he is able to offer many different things to the community,” said Marie Ramsey, his wife and business partner. “Everything has come together in once place. The feel and energy of the center is very purposeful, even down to the ambience of the place, because he has so much experience and has put hours of thought into it all.”
“I went to acupuncture school after getting my psychology degree and then becoming a therapist because I saw the strong potential for acupuncture and Chinese medicine traditions to work on both physical and emotional issues and obstacles,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey used a combination of his scholastic background to establish his own business.
“I’m able to offer something to just about everyone,” Ramsey said. “Counseling services and therapy classes, acupuncture and the elements of qui gong and aikido – all come together in resonance and harmony.”
Admiring the city in which his first alma mater resides, Ramsey decided to stay in Asheville permanently after first moving here in 1989 to complete his degree.
“Asheville and the UNCA community is a great fit for the center and what I do,” Ramsey said. “There is such an emphasis here on health, wellness, healing and people just wanting to better their lives all around.”
In June, Buncombe County received the 2014 RWJF Culture of Health Prize awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
“I’ve learned that Asheville is one of the best places to network in the health and wellness field.”
 

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All The Blue Banner Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *