Oxygen Enriched

Matt Forrest is very enthusiastic about wellness. And he’s on a mission to share what he has learned about alternative modalities with the world. In pursuit of that goal he opened FeelinO²Good, a wellness spa in Riverhead (at the traffic circle), in October. Since then he has been visited by clients seeking help with anything from constipation to cancer.

The center operates on four tenets: to provide the body with oxygenation, alkalinity, detoxification and supplementation. And all treatments reflect some or all of those processes.

Forrest is actually a builder who has studied and practiced alternative modalities ever since he cured himself of Lyme disease, babeosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever a decade ago – without antibiotics. “I couldn‘t breathe for nine months,” he says of the period it took for “western medicine” to come up with a diagnosis. One doctor wanted to put him on three different antibiotics for a total of 140 pills in ten days. “I asked him if he understood what that was going to do to the flora in my gut and the villi in my intestines.” The doctor angrily replied that if he didn’t do the protocol he was “better off suffering.”

He credits ozone therapy with curing him, and explains how lightning makes ozone by slicing an oxygen molecule in half making two O¹ molecules, which then attach to an oxygen molecule (O²) making ozone (O³) or “super powered oxygen.” (He doesn’t offer ozone therapy at the spa but will do it at his own home nearby.) Back then he made a vow to himself: “When you heal yourself don’t be selfish, help others do the same.”

I am offered a glass (not plastic, he’s very anti-plastic, which he says contains synthetic hormones) of alkaline water made in a machine that “acts on the water like a mountain brook” by making the molecules more absorbable. I’m then escorted to the oxygen bar where I am fitted with a nasal cannula and told to choose between six ‘flavors.’ Well, not exactly flavors more like scents, as the oxygen is infused with essential oils.

I choose eucalyptus as my sinuses have been blocked and find almost instant relief. But curious, I also try the others, each of which boasts individual properties: lemon grass (uplifting); peppermint (helps with digestion); orange (revitalizing); lavender (calming). Divine.

The oxygen (in much higher concentration than atmospheric), says Matt, stimulates cell regeneration and boosts immunity. “No disease can live in a fully oxygenated state.” People with all sorts of ailments including COPD and asthma use the bar. He even has a steady stream of hangover sufferers who show up weekend mornings.

Next I take an infrared sauna, which is set to 140 degrees. “The panels send energy three to four inches inside the body to detox your internal organs,” he explains. Though I sweat profusely (a good thing as it’s detoxifying), I feel revitalized afterward. “It has been scientifically proven that it is one of the only effective modalities for killing off Lyme spirochetes.”

I’m running late so I forego the ionizing foot bath, which uses micro-currents to pull toxins out of the body. “If you have someone who smokes you see deep brown slime come out,” he says. For clients with arthritis the water in the bath turns bright orange. More than detoxing, the bath also helps to “boost energy levels, clear brain fog and improve memory,” he says. “I can ‘t tell you how many people come in complaining they can’t think straight.”

The spa is also a place for Forrest to share his favorite wellness products. He has kombucha – a probiotic elixir – on tap in many flavors. I try one with jasmine, ginger, turmeric and black peppercorns. Deelish and much richer than store-bought versions. Ingredients in other kinds include elderberry, hibiscus and star anise. He’s big on medicinal mushrooms and offers tinctures of chaga and reishi. A Himalayan salt “pipe” (a ceramic vessel you can breathe through) re-mineralizes the body. He even sells his own homemade toothpaste.

He doesn’t promote anything unless he’s seen scientific proof it works or has used it himself. “I’ve had my own personal experience with everything here.”

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