The lights are dim and I can hear the soft, relaxing hum of the music. Her hands gently make their way from the back of my neck, to the tightness in my shoulders. Licensed massage therapist Stefani Lloyd is slight, but her touch feels strong. The sign on the wall of her therapy room says “Today I will stop and smell the flowers.”

I’m not in a spa or fancy hotel, but in a thriving family practice clinic in the heart of Stone Oak that is anything but conventional. In fact, I experience nary a sneeze or cough on this particular visit. Maybe that’s because the focus here is on wellness and its maintenance, not only on getting better.

Could a visit to your doctor actually be enjoyable? “Yes,” says Lloyd. “If Dr. Geralde can let you get out of here without a pill or injection, he will.” She starts working my post-pregnancy, newborn-carrying, aching lower back. “You got something going on here,” she says. Her hands feel healing and she tells me how sometimes the only prescription a patient gets here is for massage, which is often covered by insurance.

At North Hills Family Medicine, there is a lot going on. In addition to massage therapy, there is acupuncture, hypnotherapy and something called Airrosti, a hands-on way to speed recovery from injury. It is all part of the vision of Medical Director Renato “Ren” Geralde, D.O., who began his medical career in the military, where he says the medical system is broken.

“I know that was not the kind of medicine I wanted to practice. There was no ownership,” says Dr.Geralde, explaining how he wanted to get away from what he calls “fast food medicine.” “Here we incorporate the whole system: mind, body and spirit.”

The combination of Eastern and Western medicines means that at North Hills, the doctors and patients call each other by their first name. The doctors say they take the time to really listen to each patient, asking them questions such as: How many hours do you sleep at night? What do you eat for breakfast? Are you happy at home?

“We take advantage of having the patients under one roof—everything gets done here,” Dr. Geralde says. “Patients don’t have to go to an allergist and pay a special fee.”

“We know the patient and their history best, so we are kind of an everything specialist,” says Manuel Naron, M.D., one of the three physicians at North Hills. “We have to almost convince people when they don’t need antibiotics.”

Airrosti, which stands for applied integration for the rapid recovery of soft tissue, is an alternative to physical therapy, directed toward a recovery of injury. It is used by elite athletes and these doctors say it is also helping men, women and children in Stone Oak. “It is a practitioner using his hands to make a patient well,” says Dr. Naron.

“Parents bring in their young athletes with sprained ankles, and what would typically take two weeks to heal, is better in two days,” says Dean Earp, M.D. The fast recovery prevents disuse muscle atrophy, something that can’t be avoided in other therapies.

Most insurance companies cover the prescriptions for Airrosti, as well as for massage, like the one I got from Stefani, which was both soothing and invigorating. Maybe it is a sign that mainstream medicine is embracing their mission.

I think I can even smell the flowers.