Longmeadow, MA Health and Fitness

The phrase "cyber hair" might conjure images of CGI locks, but the material is actually an incredibly lifelike hair substitute that acts like normal hair. It's among the many options hair professionals and staff at Ambiance HR and Laser Center give clients seeking a nonsurgical means of treating hair loss. In addition to the team’s prowess in replacing hair, they also use laser technology to eradicate unwanted fuzz, age spots, acne scars, and bank-vault locks. Ambiance’s aestheticians also offer laser-based rejuvenating chemical peels and facials, along with more traditional hot-stone facials.

Doctor of Chiropractic Jeffrey Soley graduated with honors from New York Chiropractic College in 1994 and has devoted his career to wellness services; nevertheless, he could easily talk shop with an aerospace engineer. Their workplace overlap lies in the ProAdjuster, which draws on NASA technology originally used to assess the structural integrity of space-shuttle cooling tiles. Wielding a revamped version of the same tool, Dr. Soley uncovers areas of the spine that need adjusting and catches inconsistencies before they turn into painful symptoms or unsolvable riddles. He complements this painless procedure with low-level laser therapy to repair tissue and stimulate healing, and lab testing that helps bolster clients' long-term health with custom nutrition plans.:m]]

Pure Energy Reiki's resident master, Natasha, harnesses out-of-whack energies with the chakra-balancing touches of one-hour reiki sessions. Located inside CLINIC Alternative Medicines, sessions immerse customers in a soothing atmosphere as they rid themselves of stresses and fatigue without having to send their personal voodoo doll on a Caribbean vacation. Natasha places her hands over specific nodes of the body to rebalance the body's energy flow, and while results vary, many guests report a deep sense of calm akin to meditation.

At CLINIC Alternative Medicines, a team of massage therapists, acupuncturists, and holistic healers congregate in a like purpose: to heal the body without the use of drugs or surgery. Their approach to this mission involves a range of hands-on treatments such as massage and reiki sessions along with holistic modalities designed to tap into the body’s energy to locate and heal the source of illnesses. Before treating patrons with reflexology, nutritional therapy, or mind body counseling, the team demonstrates their commitment to wellness by consulting with each client to better understand their condition and goals.

The team of holistic healers at G & L Acupuncture and Wellness Center manipulates the body’s healing energies from the inside out with combinations of acupuncture, massage, and Chinese herbs. Disharmonious meridians wreaking havoc in the form of chronic pain, digestive issues, or headaches come into alignment with acupuncture or Tuina massage. Chinese herbs combine the benefits of plant-based medications with the joy of swallowing pills to maintain the therapeutic momentum of acupuncture and Tuina massage.

Although they adhere to the same philosophy of holistic healing, each member of the team brings their own unique skill set and experiences to the practice. Two acupuncturists with backgrounds working in a 500-bed Chinese hospital join together with an acupuncturist who trained in physical therapy and one who trained in applied physics.

When Kathleen Duffy founded Herbarium in 1978, she'd never worked in a shop before. Luckily, a tight-knit network of friends and family were on hand to support her. An aunt donated a cash register, and a cousin with retail experience taught her to use it. After Kathleen learned from trial and error that 5 pounds of herbs could fill a small container or an entire bathtub, depending on the plant, friends begged her to buy a calculator to use while ordering supplies. Eventually, even her customers pitched in, offering everything from suggestions for organizing the store to calligraphy labels for the bulk herbs. As her business took off, Kathleen—a former critical-care nurse—became more and more curious about how herbal treatments worked in the body. She began studying constantly, testing out new cures on herself and her family, and taking classes everywhere from the Gaia Institute to Harvard Medical School. In 1990, she turned over the shop to her daughter Andrea to focus on her studies full time, earning her certification as a clinical aromatherapist in 1999. Today, Kathleen still takes time out of her hospital-teaching schedule to personally train all of the staff members at Herbarium. Under Andrea's attentive eye, these herbal gurus guide customers through shelves stocked with aromatherapy products, potpourri, bath salts, and glycerin soap as well as natural remedies.