Photo by Larry Ferguson
“It seems like it’s something we want to do every day, forever,” said Staci Pettibone, talking about Whole Healing Space at 1107 Manitou Ave., Suite 5, a massage and reiki business that she and her partner, Melanie Bernal, recently opened.
“We decided we didn’t want to work for other spas or other massage places,” she added. “We wanted to do our own thing and be able to schedule sessions the way we felt healthy for both the people who are on the table and ourselves.
“We also wanted to make sure we were making the most of our time and spending time as a family.”
To pursue their shared dream, the two Manitou residents enrolled in the Colorado Springs School of Massage last year and graduated this spring with massage therapist credentials.
In one sense, the timing of their graduation was perfect. Massage businesses in Colorado had just received permission from the state to reopen after being closed for several months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In other ways, however, opening of their business on Sept. 9 was not perfect timing. Manitou’s tourist season was winding down, and the disruptive street construction in front of their building in the 1100 block of Manitou Avenue was continuing.
“But we made up our minds that this is what we want to do,” Bernal said. “We’re going to trust that and lean into it, putting our best intentions out there.”
“It’s been going really well so far,” Pettibone added. “We’ve had a good influx of people coming through and a lot of weekend visitors. And this community is really amazing.
“People are giving us a try, and we think that once people get on that massage table, they’ll be coming back.”
The combination of massage therapy and reiki, a Japanese energy healing technique, has resulted in a unique pricing system at Whole Healing Space. Pettibone and Bernal have decided to charge by the minute instead of charging a flat fee for their healing treatments, with massage minutes costing slightly more than reiki minutes.
There are advantages to the pricing system. For instance, patrons can custom-design their sessions. A client might request to modify a 60-minute session by getting 45 minutes of massage followed by 15 minutes of reiki. Also, clients can design their sessions to fit their budget instead of being limited to standard prices and times.
“You won’t find that in other practices,” Pettibone said.
Pettibone and Bernal both believe that the massage therapy and reiki techniques they are offering have an increasingly bright future.
“I think we’re turning the corner on massage therapy in that people are starting to see it as a serious part of their health care,” Pettibone said. “And medical professions are seeing it now as something that can be beneficial to people.”
She said, however, that some people are coming in to their business not knowing what reiki is.
“But they’re willing to be open and give it a try and enjoy the whole experience. And that’s really exciting for us. At first we weren’t sure how people would take it.”
Reiki involves the use of gentle hand movements to guide energy flow, reducing stress.
“The great thing about massage and reiki is that they both promote self-healing and relaxation,” Bernal said, “and the biggest message that we want to come out of Whole Healing Space is that self-care is so important, even more important now with all the things that are happening in our world.
“It’s important to take care of ourselves.”
“And when we take care of ourselves, we show up for others,” Pettibone added, noting that the business’s website, wholehealingspace.com, features the slogan “Self, Family, Community and Planet.”
Whole Healing Space is offering several promotions for area residents, including the Incline Special, a targeted massage for tired feet, legs and glutes. Also popular are the Manitou Neighbors Special, featuring a 14 percent discount for all residents and business owners, and the Manitou Public Service, Healthcare and School Employees Special, which offers an additional 5 percent discount.
The 14 percent discount was decided upon after Pettibone and Bernal said they kept coming across the numbers 1, 4 and 2 “everywhere” after they decided to go into business.
Also among the special offerings: the Signature Experience, a 60-minute massage followed by 15 minutes of reiki, accompanied by aromatherapy, hot towels and hot stones.
Teas, soaps, lotion and artwork by local residents are also available at the business, with 100 percent of the purchase prices going back to the products’ creators.
“We want this to be a shared space where community comes together,” Bernal said.
Information: 719-653-9266.