Natural Awakenings South Jersey Mind, Body & Soul Special Section September 2021

It gives all of us here at

great pleasure to introduce our first annual special

Mind, Body, Soul

section showcasing those in the community that help people on their journey to mind-body-soul balance. Not only does this highly anticipated feature provide area businesses a chance to share what health, wellness, eco-friendly and spiritual products and services they offer, it gives our readers the opportunity to get to know the faces behind these establishments—what inspires these driven entrepreneurs, what their values are, what their missions are, what they are passionate about and more.

In a nation where many of us haven’t met our neighbors and don’t have the good fortune to experience the many benefits that come from being part of a community, it is our hope—and was a major intention——that this section helps readers feel connected to our area’s amazing mind-body-soul community and that they seek these folks out on their road to well-being.

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Dorothy Green DOROTHY'S HEALING CENTER “The moment I experienced integrative healing for myself, I knew I wanted to do it for others for the rest of my life,” says Dorothy Green, HHP, owner of Dorothy’s Healing Center and the National Reiki School. “When I started working on patients and they were getting better so quickly, it propelled me forward on this journey.”

Green has had more than 60,000 sessions with patients in the past 20 years from her New Jersey and Pennsylvania offices. She has treated patients with everything from depression to arthritis to stage-four cancer. From teens to hospice patients, she and her team use a variety of healing modalities like energy work, craniosacral therapy, quantum theory, nutrition and the innate wisdom of the body.

“With integrative healing, what basically happens is the patient goes from a horizontal perspective of evolution and growth, to a more longitudinal one that grants access to higher parts of the brain, so they can process their disease pattern,” explains Green. “By finding the critical point of tension in the brain, we can use craniosacral therapy, reiki and other therapies to clear imbalances and release blocked energy.” Integrative healing allows the patient to open more holographically to resolve the issue.

Green is so passionate about this work that she opened the National Reiki School so others can learn to heal themselves and others as well. In this program, students learn reiki, meditation, breathwork, how to process and release disease patterns, how to start their practice or integrate reiki into an existing practice, how to work with animals and more. “I opened the reiki school so that more people can learn how the body is capable of changing,” says Green. “The more we learn these modalities, the faster we can reduce the many chemical, physical and emotional stresses on individuals and the country as a whole, and see a more holistic, happy, healthy and productive world.”

“People tell me they feel like they are floating when they walk in, because everything in this center has high energetic components and we use lighter colors to keep people in the heart center.” Green uses flower essence sprays, sage and crystals to keep the vibration high, plus everything is ecofriendly which also helps to create a lighter, calmer, creative and happier environment.

Dorothy Green, HHP, is a nationwide certified Reiki Sensei with NCBTMB, certified integrated bodyworker and a certified craniosacral therapist. Dorothy’s Healing Center has two locations, at 714 E. Main St., Ste. 1C, Moorestown and at 319 Price Ave., Narberth, Pennsylvania.

For more information, call 609-261-1955 or visit DorothysHealingCenter.com.

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Dorothy Pakstis

Kate Krause

DOROTHY CLAIRE

KATE KRAUSE COACHING LLC

As a reiki master and certified crystal healer, Dorothy Pakstis firmly believes that crystals are gifts from the Earth that help us to heal physically, mentally and spiritually. At her studio, retail space and healing center in Cherry Hill, clients can find original jewelry pieces such as necklaces, bracelets and earrings that are handcrafted to accentuate the healing energies of the crystals.

“Crystals work with the energies that flow through our bodies,” she says. “Stones and crystals are part of nature and assist to bring us back full circle to be part of nature. The Earth offers these gifts to nurture us physically and spiritually.”

In addition to creating healing crystal pieces, she also repurposes cherished heirloom pieces into updated, stylish jewelry. She incorporates crystals into her reiki energy healing sessions and readings. The retail component of DorothyClaire offers smudging supplies, pendulums and gift items. Special orders are welcomed.

As a local, woman-owned business, Pakstis is dedicated to providing personalized service and will spend time with each person who walks through the door, guiding them on which of her products and services will work best for them. “When you come here, you will be cared for,” she concludes.

Dorothy Claire is located at 1500 Kings Hwy. North, Ste. B102, in Cherry Hill. For more information, call 609-519-1379 or visit DorothyClaire.com.

As a nurse and women’s health coach, Katelyn Krause has a passion for educating about healthy living. Through both professional experiences and her own health and fertility journey over the years, Katelyn has learned a lot about implementing health behaviors to improve overall health, as well as discovering her true passion—helping other women also on the road to having a baby. Using a back-tobasics approach in her 1:1 coaching program, she supports women by providing education about health and fertility optimization, assists in the process of implementing healthy behaviors and guides women through barriers that hinder them from finding their healthiest selves. Her wish is that her clients not only give life to the baby that they’re dreaming of, but that along the way they also give life to their fullest potential through health optimization.

For more information or to make an appointment, call 609-975-9708 or email KateKrauseCoach@gmail.com.

Abbe Lang MOTIVATION POINT COACHING Abbe Lang is a certified professional life coach with numerous specialties in the areas of health and wellness, homeopathy, relationships and more. “Where doctors and therapists fail, I deliver,” shares Abbe. “Tons of people come and tell me that conventional medicine and therapy has not moved them in the right direction—but results and true healing are at the core of my work as a homeopathic life coach.”

Abbe works with clients in Southern New Jersey, New York, Florida and the New York metropolitan area, and coaches from her Marlton office as well as on Zoom. Whether it’s dietary changes, weight-loss solutions, relationship advice (singles or couples), career guidance, difficult transition coping (divorce or loss), business sales marketing or group training, she can help motivate and change her clients with natural remedies and solutions. “I am extremely caring and nurturing but I hold people accountable—

people come to me if they want to really move forward physically and mentally,” she says.

Abbe has been in the field for more than 30 years and brings with her real-world experience and a robust background in health and wellness. She is widely read in holistic health, complementary medicine, diet, vitamins and exercise, and has studied with many of the leading figures in the field; keeping up with the most recent developments in the industry through classes and conferences.

She even studied with the late internationally renowned author Dr. Wayne Dyer, who himself recognized her gift of helping others.

“As I often tell my clients, failure is not an option. The difference between success and failure is not just your ability to dream, but the courage to take the steps necessary to achieve and embrace those dreams,” Abbe says.

Motivation Point Coaching is located at 701 NJ-73, Ste. 2, Marlton. For more information or to schedule an initial consultation, call 856-452-3434 or visit AbbeLang.com.

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Janet Watkins LIVE IN JOY YOGA & WELLNESS Janet Watkins realizes that we all get by with a little help from our friends. Her inspiration for co-founding Live In Joy Yoga & Wellness was to create a safe, all-inclusive space for people of all backgrounds and beliefs to heal. Since opening the studio 11 years ago, it has become that welcoming space, thanks to the support and camaraderie of her fellow yoga teachers and students.

“We teachers at Live in Joy continually inspire, encourage and help each other,” says Janet. “The people in our Live in Joy community inspire me. As I teach, I continue to heal. Healing is never done; it teaches us how to like ourselves and become friends with ourselves.”

Janet began her own healing journey through yoga 20 years ago, after a personal tragedy had emotionally shut her down. She explains that yoga is a spiritual science that teaches us how to remove our attachment from the world and take responsibility for ourselves. “It allows us to go in and find out who we are, discover the life force within ourselves, and how we interact with the world. Knowledge is powerful, but self-knowledge is like a having a doctorate degree,” she explains.

Through her training as an experienced 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher and Ayurvedic Consultant, Janet continues her healing journey.

Because the science of yoga and ayurvedic healing is so multifaceted, she knows that having these modalities in her toolbox allows her to tailor 22

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her offerings to what each individual needs.

“Everybody resonates with different things. I do energy healing work, shirodhara (stimulation to the nervous system to assist in reestablishing the mind-body connection), Ayurvedic Thai Yoga, and I guide people toward mantra (a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation), which is a main tool in ayurvedic healing,” she says. “Not only does this offer students a more in-depth experience, but it also helps me continue to heal.”

Janet reiterates there would be no Living In Joy without the other teachers. They are all doing the same work and journey together towards healing. She feels that she is at a point on her healing path where she values and listens to the wisdom of others. She takes pride in passing that wisdom along to the students in the Live in Joy community.

“I’m proud to be part of a pleasant, welcoming community,” Janet concludes. “We teachers stand together as a studio and as friends.

Because of that, we’re able to offer all of our Live In Joy people a unique experience and bring out the philosophy on which yoga was founded.” She hopes to continue to inspire her students to find the confidence, self-love and positive inner spirit that she continues to discover within herself.

Live In Joy Yoga & Wellness is located at 118 W. Merchant St., Audubon.

For more information, call 856-546-1006 or visit LiveInJoyYoga.com.

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Kerry Burke AT PEACE BIRTH After having a joyful labor experience with a very compassionate midwife, Kerry Burke felt guided to help other families through the childbirth experience. Under the encouragement and mentorship of her midwife, Kerry became a certified birth doula through Doulas of North America (DONA) International. She is also a licensed massage therapist and certified infant massage instructor. She chose to call her business At Peace Birth and Wellness because it reflects her goal of making make sure her clients are at peace at the end of their birth experience.

“We put so much pressure on the perfect birth, but with the right education and the right support in place, even when births don’t go according to plan, families can walk away with a sense of peace and not bring any trauma into their postpartum period,” she says. “It has been an honor to serve families and watch people become parents.”

Doulas support families mentally,

physically and emotionally, from conception through postpartum. Kerry is proud to be in the company of many great doulas throughout New Jersey. She takes pride in using her experience as a massage therapist to guide expectant mothers toward achieving comfortable and successful outcomes during labor and delivery.

“Every single birth, situation and family dynamic is different. It makes it fun and keeps it interesting,” Kerry says. Always striving to enhance ways to serve her clients, she has recently partnered with two other doulas to offer an array of personalized prenatal services for expectant mothers in a fourcounty region. “I, along with my partners, are very excited to offer all these services and create better outcomes at birth, and healthier new parents and infants.”

For more information, call 609-213-6055 or visit AtPeacewebsite.wixsite.com/at-peace-1.

Reneè Vidal EXCITARI WELLNESS CENTER “Excitari Wellness Center exists to help individuals achieve optimal health and well-being,” says Reneé Vidal, founder. “Our goal is to become a hub for holistic health and wellness by bringing medical and non-medical practitioners together in a single location.” The new space in Medford, New Jersey, features a yoga center and treatment rooms where everything from vinyasa classes, sound healing circles and ecstatic dance workshops to reiki, holistic medical treatments and life coaching take place.

Beautifully designed inside and outside areas bring comfort and vitality to visitors. “We have created a nurturing, loving and welcoming place,” Vidal says. “Everyone who walks in notes how great and vibrant the energy is.” This fresh environment is also a venue for special guests like authors, herbalists and more.

Excitari will celebrate its official grand opening with an open house on Saturday, September 11.

The community is invited to meet the practitioners, tour the center and experience complimentary chair massages, mini reiki readings and more. “Sometimes people know exactly what they want and sometimes they don’t––but no matter where someone is on their wellness journey they can come and find a practice area that’s the right fit for them here.”

Excitari practitioners include doctors, financial coaches, osteopathic manipulation specialists, massage therapists, shamanic healers, yoga instructors and other health professionals. They create the foundation of passion and love that are at the heart of every treatment, class and session. “When the mind, body and spirit are in alignment, everything else falls into place–– and we want to help our students and patients experience that sense of harmony,” shares Vidal.

Excitari Wellness Center is located at 30 Jackson Rd., Unit D-101, Medford. For more information, call 856-885-2990 or visit ExcitariWellness.com.

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Frank Pileggi, Ph.D. LOURDES INSTITUTE OF WHOLISTIC STUDIES Families set amazing examples in our lives, often serving as inspirations for the journeys on which we embark. So it was for Frank Pileggi, Ph.D., a board-certified holistic health practitioner and dean of Lourdes Institute of Wholistic Studies (LIWS). He recalls how his grandmother always had a special light around her, along with a welcoming, radiant smile that embraced one’s spirit.

“She was beloved by so many because she was genuine in her heart and soul. I made a promise to myself that I want to always find those characteristics in myself so I can help others find it within them,” Pileggi enthuses.

Today, Pileggi strives to embody that radiance that his grandmother projected. He strongly believes if people find their meaning and purpose in life, that will guide them to fulfill their spiritual wellness. He considers himself blessed to have worked in every aspect of natural healing, from the basements of wellness practitioner offices to working for professional sports organizations.

At his private practice at Virtua, Pileggi specializes in advanced bodywork and somatic therapies, incorporating a trademarked modality called Corrective Muscle Therapy, which he is widely known for. He stays inspired by bringing peace and a smile to everyone he encounters at his practice. “From the time I see a patient struggle just to walk into my practice, and to later see that patient leave walking mighty and strong, I know something special just happened.

That brings a smile to them and to me,” he says. He always remembers the smile on the face of the first patient he had helped overcome pain and discomfort.

In his position, Pileggi realizes that sharing knowledge and passing skills on to future healers is just as rewarding as helping his patients. He guides new LIWS students along their journeys as they become qualified and compassionate holistic health practitioners. He also mentors a faculty of full-time wellness practitioners that teach at LIWS. “They are passionate about their trade of practice, and that passion comes through in the way they teach,” emphasizes Pileggi. A team player, he credits LIWS’s faculty, staff and curriculum for their high student success rates.

Helping others become their best selves comes naturally to Pileggi. He believes that he was placed on this Earth to help others heal. “Healing is being at peace,” he says. “I have a very strong spiritual wellness component. I think spiritual wellness means dealing with some religious aspect—and it very well can be—but I believe spiritual wellness is what brings you purpose and meaning. Along with my compassionate wife and my family, this profession does that for me, and for that I am so grateful.”

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Lourdes Institute of Wholistic Studies is located at 1600 Haddon Ave., in Camden. For more information or to make an appointment, call 856-580-6444 or visit liws.org.

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Laurie DiMatteo-Weiner Terry Veit-Harmening PILATES PLUS

RISE & THRIVE WELLNESS YOGA

Pilates Plus is a wellness studio that incorporates Pilates, dance, yoga, gyrotronics, barre and other fitness classes. “We tailor our offerings for whoever is in front of us,” says Laurie, PMA-CPT, ACE-CPT, owner of Pilates Plus. “Here we work out, but at the same time we acknowledge the mind-body-spirit connection.” Centrally located in Marlton, New Jersey, the welcoming space has group, single, duo, trio and family-style options in addition to onsite therapies like massage and acupuncture. It is a very family and soul-oriented environment, where friendship, camaraderie and accountability are built into the experience.

The studio’s programs cater to people of all ages, from executives to full-time moms to athletes to prenatal and more. The fully equipped studio helps people get the workout they need, while releasing the stresses of everyday life. Certified instructors on staff bring with them decades of fitness expertise to be able to create specialized programs for every individual student. “Our clients are more than just our clients, they are our friends––we are like a support system,” Laurie shares.

As a Certified Yoga Therapist, Terry Veit-Harmening is inspired when she sees her clients have that “ah-ha” moment and realize they don’t have to live in pain or struggle with stress and anxiety. Yoga therapy blends yoga practices with movement techniques backed by science. “It involves postures, breathwork, meditation and self-care— just like yoga—except yoga therapy is very much geared toward the individual’s specific needs. I use different treatment protocols to help each person find balance and wholeness.”

As an adjunct to yoga therapy, Veit-Harmening is also a certified Ayurvedic Lifestyle Educator through the Chopra Center. This allows her to go beyond clients’ physical needs and teach them how to work with their own bodies and reduce stress.

Terry believes that learning new skills and techniques allows her to better serve her clients. She’s a brain longevity specialist with the Alzheimer’s Research Association. This specific training helps her guide people on how to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s through lifestyle changes. Terry recently took her extensive meditation training a step further by achieving certification as a hypnotherapist oriented toward assisting clients with lifestyle changes.

Pilates Plus is located at 151 Greentree Rd., Ste. E, in Marlton. For more information, call 856-304-5556 or visit PilatesPlusRestoration.com.

Rise & Thrive Wellness Yoga, 714 East Main St., Moorestown, 609-923-5782, RiseAndThriveWellnessYoga.com.

Shea Kennedy

INTERCONNECTIVE HEALTH

Shea Kennedy of InterConnective Health fondly recalls growing up in a household that valued holistic and natural approaches toward wellness. Her parents had an alternative mindset towards health, often trying herbal and homeopathic remedies before using conventional medical methods.

Later as a new mother, Shea diligently followed her pediatricians’ advice while caring for her son, but he suffered from repeated ear infections, strep throat, allergies and eventualbehavioral issues by the time he was 4 years old. Frustrated, Shea delved into her own research nd discovered that rotating rounds of antibiotics and other medication he was on likely contributed to Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS).

Through the guidance of a homeopathic practitioner in California, Shea’s son showed significant improvement within six months. This prompted Shea to study to be a homeopathic practitioner so she could help other parents that are going through similar experiences. She also sees teens, adults and seniors.

“It’s my passion to tell people that there are other approaches,” she says. Because insurance plans don’t cover most alternative medicine therapies, Shea is committed to keeping her fees affordable, charging significantly less than most homeopaths, so more people have access to homeopathic medicine. She addresses general questions or concerns via email and text at no additional charge. “I treat people the way I would want to be treated. Affordability can be a barrier to alternative medicine. I want a single parent or a senior citizen on a fixed income to also have access to it.”

As an attentive listener, Shea tries to help her patients feel relaxed so they can also share their stories, allowing her to best serve them during their healing process. “It empowers me to be able to help people on a higher level and make an impact, just like how homeopathic medicine had an impact on my family and me.”

For more information or to make an appointment, call 610-955-5995 or visit InterConnectiveHealth.com.

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Dr. Camille Semple REPLENISH CENTER Dr. Camille Semple chose a career as a physician because she wanted to care for women and teach people how to take charge of their health. Doctor comes from the Latin word “teacher,” so Semple believes it’s a physician’s role to teach people how to take care of themselves.

As a board-certified OB/GYN, Semple saw a lot of patients with menopausal issues and hormonal imbalances.

She felt conventional medical approaches weren’t enough to help the patients coming through her door, so she started exploring further and learned about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. “And I never looked back,” she says.

Semple affirms that imbalances of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone leaves the body in an unbalanced state, putting one at high risk of a stroke, heart attack or blood clots, along with a host of chronic diseases.

She takes time with each patient to educate them about lifestyle choices to help prevent disease and reverse some disease processes.

Patient education is a large component of her approach toward care. Initial consults average 60 to 90 minutes so Semple can gain an in-depth history and intake on each person and thoroughly explain all treatment options. “A major component is to make patients independent and in charge of their health. That means that I have to arm them with information,” she explains, which includes nutritional guidance, exercise and stress management, plus information on bioequivalent hormones derived from plants and are chemically identical to those the human body produces.

Semple is never offended when a patient tells her what they think they need. “That means I’m doing my job because they are so in tune with their bodies that they know precisely what they need. Often, they are right,” she says.

The discipline of integrative medicine has always intrigued Semple because it melds the best conventional and alternative approaches. She is board certified in both integrative and aesthetic medicine and treats women and men. “If you start treating just women, the men fall behind.

You have to treat the whole family so parents can recognize imbalances in their children. There’s more harmony in the family when everyone is healthy and balanced physically and emotionally.”

During her years as an obstetrician, she has helped bring new life into the world. Today, she is overjoyed by seeing patients experience reawakening. “I never would have believed I’d eventually help a man or a woman achieve rebirth— those who had active lives and eventually lost their quality of life— and help them reclaim that zeal for life that had been lost to disease. That is priceless.”

Replenish Center is located at 215 Sunset Rd., Ste. 204, in Willingboro. For more information, call 856-380-1330 or visit ReplenishHormones.com.

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Melissa Sheppard

Michelle Martin

STAR CHILD NATURE SCHOOL

TEEMING HEALTH

Melissa Sheppard believes that children should feel naturally connected to the experiences a teacher offers.

While training to teach in Waldorf education—a nature-based model with a whole-child approach—she met a woman from Vermont who ran a nature school. “The children were outside for most of the day, and I was intrigued,” she says. In 2017, she started Star Child Nature School.

Using Waldorf principles, Melissa offers nature-based, outdoors education, which lays an ideal foundation for the young child, while being restorative and grounding for older children. “Connecting children to the natural world means giving them the opportunity to move, run, explore, climb, shout, whisper, watch, listen and feel.”

Melissa strives to foster imaginative play, compassion toward people, plants, wildlife and insects, resiliency and self-awareness, exploration, and to inspire wonder and awe. “By offering children a connection to nature they see how beautiful it is, how ever changing it is, how we can hurt it or care for it and how it can care for us,” she says.

As society becomes more complex and impersonal, Melissa is pleased to offer an alternative by encouraging creative, imaginative outdoor play in a nurturing environment. Her vision is to connect the world of nature and the world of the child to best provide learning experiences that recognize diversity and appreciate the uniqueness of each child and their families.

Michelle Martin’s mantra is to “get well, live well and then age well.” She had always been interested in healthy living, practicing energy work, yoga and strength training. When she tore her Achilles tendon, she had to endure a long, painful recovery, during which she noticed an adverse effect on her mood, weight and energy. As she sought ways to improve her physical and mental well-being, she discovered how changing her eating patterns helped.

“By eating whole foods, limiting sugar and trying different ways of eating, I felt much better,” she says. Inspired by her own success, she studied through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and became an integrative nutritional coach so she could help others.

Michelle firmly believes the foundation of good health is addressing all aspects of wellness—physical, mental and emotional. Using a compassionate approach, she meets people where they’re at in life and always begins by encouraging self-awareness. “Most of my clients are women that are wrapped up in the care and nurturing of other people and neglect their own health,” she says. “I’m excited to guide them toward becoming self-aware so they can embark on their own wellness journeys. Seeing their success makes me feel good,” she enthuses.

Star Child Nature School is based in Medford. For more information, call 609-268-7721 or visit StarChildNatureSchool.com.

Nicoli Sinclair

Teeming Health is located at 66 High St., First Flr., in Mount Holly. For more information or to make an appointment, call 609-379-3491 or visit TeemingHealth.com.

VEDA DEN

In February of last year, the COVID-19 outbreak became real. Like many, Nicoli Sinclair, a single mom, pulled her daughter out of daycare to homeschool. Her Indiana home was up for sale and she had recently received an offer. Nicoli longed to return to the East, but wrestled with the idea of relocating during a pandemic. The media made Indiana seem heaven-sent compared to the outbreak in New Jersey, where she was considering resettling.

Uncertain, Nicoli meditated on the decision before accepting the offer. She had her eye on a property in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The school district was attractive and there were many parks and trails in the area. Nicoli and her daughter had enjoyed going for walks on the Monon Trail, in Indianapolis, and wanted to continue the activity.

A week later, Nicoli had a virtual walk-through of the property, made an offer and sent a deposit on a property she never saw in-person. She had two months to move. During this time, she drove to South Jersey to see the property. Upon arriving, she almost puked out of fear. The realtor said the property was on a busy street, but she had no idea it was a highway. With a toddler, this was frightening and after touring the home, she realized it needed a serious makeover.

Nicoli, a Chopra Center-certified meditation instructor with over a decade of yoga and Vedic studies under her belt, knew a spiritual club was in her purchasing plans. Now onsite, she felt uninspired. So, she consulted the Universe, meditated, received answers and got creative.

Earlier this summer, she opened the doors to the Veda Den, a meditation and spiritual club in Cherry Hill, that offers guided and primordial sound meditation, workshops and courses on spiritual growth. Nicoli knows more challenges are ahead, but she trusts her consultant—the Universe—as it always has her back.

The Veda Den is located at 1115 Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill. For more information, call 856-336-8332 or visit TheVedaDen.com.

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