Wellness practitioners at the Resonance Center for Bodywork were already helping clients relax and heal. Now they’re doing it together.
Before spring, a handful of acupuncturists, reiki masters, reflexologists and other wellness specialists at 6650 West 44th Ave. were running their one-room businesses independently of each other. Then, one day, massage therapist Shalene Zarate had an idea.
“I have a private practice, but I wanted to create a community, a whole wellness center,” Zarate said. “You want to build relationships with people.”
Fascinated with health and nutrition topics, she hoped to one day integrate other wellness services into her practice, which focuses primarily on therapeutic massage and cranial sacral therapy.
Zarate founded Resonance, a co-op where independent practitioners still provide their own services, but share a master calendar, special events and a
unified website.
“Shalene already had an amazing space where there were amazing practitioners, but everyone was separate,” said Erika Bryant, a reflexologist and aromatherapist. “It gets expensive on your own — utilities and things really add up.”
Bryant now runs the co-op’s schedule in addition to providing her own services. She also makes handmade soap infused with essential oils, which will be sold in Resonance’s community gift shop.
Resonance members list their services on a revamped website, which allows clients to book appointments online.
The group also works together to host Holistic Happy Hour, which takes place the second Thursday of the month. The event offers short samples of services so customers can try something new at a discount.
Holistic Happy Hour also gives the practitioners a chance to become more familiar with one another’s craft.
“Working together is great,” she said. “If (a client) I’m working with tells me about a problem they’re having and I can’t fix it, I’m already thinking of who
might help.”
The members also trade services with each other, Bryant said.
“We trade so we can explore each other’s work. We’re also really big on self-care, and we promote that throughout the center,” she said.
The co-op works well for the practitioners, but it benefits clients as well, Zarate said. The variety of practices makes it more possible for clients to treat their whole bodies.
Addressing the whole body’s needs is important for Zarate, who has learned how a small pain can be a sign that interconnected muscles or systems are having deeper issues.
Zarate’s fascination with health and wellness has led her where she is today, she said.
“When I walked into a massage school for the first time, I just had this feeling that I was supposed to be there,” she said.
For more information, visit www.resonancebodywork.com.