Amanda Neidlinger - A Real Reset For Your Body

You can feel it when your body is begging for a reset, tighter shoulders, shallow breathing, a mind that won’t unplug. We sit down with Amanda Neidlinger from River Run Center for the Healing Arts in Weatherly, Pennsylvania, for a grounded conversation about what real self-care looks like when life is busy and stress is constant.

Amanda walks us through River Run’s whole-body approach to holistic wellness: massage therapy, lymphatic drainage, table Thai massage, Reiki, yoga classes, exercise classes, and personal training, plus esthetician services that support confidence and wellbeing from the outside in. We also dig into a common myth that keeps people stuck, the idea that massage and recovery work are “luxury” add-ons. Amanda reframes bodywork as maintenance, like taking your car to the mechanic, and we talk about how a pause can actually make you more productive, more present with family, and more resilient under pressure.

The heart of the conversation is Amanda’s story of grit and growth: rebuilding after her home burned down, navigating a metastatic cancer diagnosis, and still stepping onto the platform to break the world squat record three times in one day. If you’ve ever told yourself “I can’t do yoga” or “I can’t exercise,” she offers a simple entry point: start with the breath, because if you’re breathing, you can do something.

If you enjoy local business stories, wellness guidance you can use, and honest talk about mindset, subscribe, share this episode with a friend, and leave a review so more neighbors can find it.

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Joe Longo.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast Live. Are you in need of a personal reset? Well, my friends, one might be closer than you think. And today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Amanda Neidlinger from River Run Center for the Healing Arts. Amanda, thank you so much for being here today. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 0:31

I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me. I'm grateful to be here.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Yeah, we're happy to have you and to learn all about River Run Center for the Healing Arts. And let's

What River Run Offers

SPEAKER_01 0:41

jump right in. Could you tell us about your space and what it is that you do?

SPEAKER_02 0:45

We do a lot of things to help whole body wellness inside and out. We do various types of massage therapy, lymphatic drainage, table tie massage. We do personal training, exercise classes, and yoga classes. And I also go on the road to teach continuing education courses for other massage therapists.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

So it really sounds like you have a whole package for our human form right there in one spot. That's wonderful.

From Office Work To Healing Arts

SPEAKER_01 1:17

How did you get into this type of business?

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Um, I worked in right out of high school, I worked in an office and did numbers and um knew right away that wasn't my thing, which is very ironic because my son is gonna is a physics major. So he got all that. Um, so I went to school for massage therapy and I did that for quite a few years, and then I went back to school for nursing. And um after that, I finally earned my bachelor's in 2019, and then I lost my nursing position because I wouldn't take the COVID shot. And at that point, I opened the business full-time. Um, and now I have four wonderful women who help me. And um, we've we're expanding and we're growing. It's been really wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

That's awesome. That's awesome.

Why Bodywork Is Real Maintenance

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Um, what are some maybe misconceptions about this kind of work that you do?

SPEAKER_02 2:16

Um, that it's a luxury. Um, and I I think of it as um maintenance, just like you would take your car to a mechanic. Um, you should take yourself to uh for a massage regularly for yoga, and all of these things complement each other very well. Um, I'm also a competitive power lifter. I have world records, and the massage and the yoga has kept me going and has kept my muscles limber so that I can keep competing well into my 40s. Um it really they all we also um have an esthetician on staff. The late one lady who helps me with um personal training also has her esthetician license. And that plays into what we do well because if you don't feel good and feel like you look good on the outside, that impacts how you you know you feel on the inside. So I think that's a nice addition to what what we already had been offering.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

It's so true, it's so true. When we I think it was Tom Cruise once said this. I don't know if you've ever heard the story, but he gives like I think I want to say cheesecakes. He gives some kind of cake away, like every holiday to everybody, but he doesn't eat them, he just gives them away. And someone once said, Are you gonna have a piece? And he said, Oh no, I don't eat that. And his friend was like, Well, why do you give them away? He was like, Well, everybody says they're delicious, but I don't eat them because that would be like putting regular gasoline in a Ferrari.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

And it's really, it's really it's a when we understand how our whole system works, and it really isn't a luxury. I love that you said that because I think that's a great reminder for so many people that it really does help us be better humans, we can say.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

In all ways, I I think it I know that it clears our mind, it refocuses refocuses us, um, it makes us better humans with each other, with our family. Um, and it's amazing that you can do any of these things, a good workout, a massage, and just taking that mind, that time to be clear, you come back and you're so much more productive. Um, and I think as Americans, we're so programmed that we just have to keep going and going and going. Um, and I think as we keep going, the productivity decreases. And when you just take a moment to pause, you have to unplug to reset, just like any device, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Right. So true. And that pause, it's like music, you know, like a good song, you know, like when there's a little pause, right? When there's a beat in it, and like, oh, right, there that's that's what's keeping it flowing.

How River Run Reaches New Clients

SPEAKER_01 5:03

So, Amanda, we all know that marketing is at the heart of every business. What are you doing to market and target your customers and attract them into River Run?

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Um, a lot on social media. And then I also have a monthly email that I send out to let everybody know what special events we're having. Um, actually, this weekend we have Rich Pastorella coming in. We should get him on this podcast as well. He's a great guy and has so much energy or so much wisdom to share. Um, so we always do a special event a month, whether it's somebody doing craft, uh craft or an art thing or someone like Rich who has that different knowledge to share. Um, so that's all included in the monthly email, which you could sign up for. Um, but uh and I try to get out. I I it's not something that I was able to do before because for a long time I tried tried to manage all aspects of the business myself. Now that I have these women helping me, I really try once a month to get out and do a public event, whether it's with the chamber or you know, something like that.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

That's wonderful. Have you ever thought about having your own podcast for the center and sharing this knowledge and in in this kind of way?

SPEAKER_02 6:23

No, but I've been encouraged to do more videos. Um, so and and post educational videos on social media.

SPEAKER_03 6:31

So uh maybe we'll get to the podcast someday.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Yeah, it's all connected. The this this new world that we live in, we have to there needs to be a little bit of us everywhere to to appease every platform that's out there.

Gardening After A House Fire

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Um, so when you're not there, what are you doing for fun?

SPEAKER_04 6:49

Um, I'm actually working in the garden.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

I caught cleaned up for this because I was in the garden and getting that ready. I'm doubling the size of the garden. Um, two years ago, uh, it's been a traumatic two years. Two years ago, my home burnt down. We lost everything. Um, but we did make it out. My son and I, we made it out with our lives. Um, so being able to have the garden at the new home, which now actually feels like a home, uh, it's really a blessing. It really is.

SPEAKER_04 7:17

I love to um I love to grow food and mussels. Um, so I'm good at it. Um, and um, I love animals. I have a dog named Dixie, and I just got seven chickens um used from my friend.

SPEAKER_03 7:35

That's great.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

Seven seven used chickens.

SPEAKER_03 7:38

So when my son comes home from school, he's coming home to nine ladies.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

So God, God bless him. God bless him.

Mindset Through Cancer And Competition

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Um, Amanda, if you can, could you tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about River Run Center for the Healing Arts?

SPEAKER_02 7:56

Um, that we're here for you. Uh, we're here to support you. And um, you know, a lot of people don't sell yourself self short. A lot of people say, Oh, I can't, I can't do that. I can't do yoga, I can't exercise. And everybody can do something. If you're breathing, you can do something. And and we can start with the breath and we can go from there. And I've seen that all through my career. Um, we limit ourselves by our thinking. And it just the opposite is true. If you think there are no limits, there there's not. Um, and and I I went through hell. I got di with the house burnt down, I got diagnosed with metastatic cancer. Um, and then I went into a competition last May and broke the world squat record three times in one day. Um, so this is the most important part. What what you how you feed yourself, you know, with your thoughts and what you surround yourself with is so important.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Yeah, so important. And congratulations on those world records. That that's awesome.

Locations Contact Info And Closing

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Um, can you tell our listeners where they can find find you, find out more about you, and connect?

SPEAKER_02 9:08

Yes. Um, the phone number's 570-956-4293. Um, I'd love to have a conversation um online. You can find us at RiverunhealingArts.com and the same with the socials. It's all Facebook and Instagram. So, and we have two locations now. Um, we're in Buck Mountain in Weatherly, and eventually all of the fitness and exercise classes will be there. And we just recently opened up at 320 Carbon Street in Weatherly alongside the gas station, and that will hold our body work, our massage therapy, the Reiki, and the esthetician services.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Ah, that's wonderful. That's wonderful. Well, Amanda, thank you so much for spending some time with us from everyone here at the Good Neighbor Podcast. We wish you all of the success moving forward.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

Thank you so very much. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GMPNEPA.com. That's GMPNEPA.com or call 572 9208 4334.