BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC | There is a way to be transported to Hawaii without leaving Chelsea.
Healing Happy Hour — an acupuncture and Asian medical spa at 134 W. 26th St. btw. Sixth and Seventh Aves. — offers a treatment called the “Body & Soul Aloha” that mimics the waves of the idyllic islands.
“It is supposed to make the patient or the client feel as if they’re lying on the waves of Hawaii,” explained Alice Kim L.Ac, LMT, a licensed acupuncturist who created the spa’s menu. “It has that kind of very deep rhythm to the massage.”
Kim said the Body & Soul Aloha treatment combines acupuncture, aromatherapy and a special Hawaiian technique called Lomi Lomi, which goes slowly, and utilizes the elbow to give a deep massage.
“We like to say that we’re all about the aloha life,” Dr. Nathalie Guillaume, the spa’s CEO and Medical Director, said with a laugh. “We’re trying to bring people away from their office and kind of step into that wave-like movement.”
Healing Happy Hour is bringing indigenous, alternative forms of healing found in places like Hawaii and Bali and packaging it in a New York kind of way, said Guillaume in a phone interview.
There is also the “Amazonian Escape,” which involves a form of aromatherapy called raindrop therapy, said Guillaume. The masseuse drops oils in a very specific rhythm on a person’s back, she explained. In addition, a Thai herb sack — feeling like a compression — is also used during the massage.
Guillaume said the more spa-like approach to acupuncture is what sets Healing Happy Hour apart. The spa opened in Chelsea around eight months ago, she said.
Kim, who joined the spa in October, said the neighborhood — with its vibrant art scene, central location and diverse population — was a great fit for their services and philosophy.
“People are more open-minded in this area in terms of taking care of their wellness,” said Kim in a phone interview.
Guillaume said there is already a myriad of wellness-type businesses (Pilates, yoga, spas, etc.) that made Chelsea very appealing. Also helpful is the fact that many corporations have their local headquarters near W. 42 St. and Penn Station.
“The location is great, but also the opportunities to reach out to so many different demographics is also right there,” she said.
Guillaume, who has a doctorate in acupuncture and Oriental medicine, was practicing as a solo acupuncturist working different events throughout the city before deciding to open Healing Happy Hour. She was also doing clinical work focused on rehabilitation and chronic diseases, and teaching at the New York College of Health Professions.
Three years ago, one of her students recommended that she go to Guatemala, where an extra acupuncturist was needed for a project. There, she met Kim.
“We connected instantly — had a lot of great things to share,” Guillaume recalled.
The two kept in touch and it became clear it was a “no-brainer” that they should work together, she said.
Kim took a different route to acupuncture. She worked as a financial consultant after getting a degree in accounting and finance from New York University.
“But I actually — just from working in that type of environment — realized that this is not what I want to do,” she said.
She was always passionate about healing and holistic medicine. In 2008, she went to massage school and eventually got a master’s degree in acupuncture from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, which has a campus in Lower Manhattan.
“So I kind of fell into this field,” she said.
Kim said there are some misconceptions about acupuncture, as people automatically think of hypodermic needles, which are much thicker, and can hurt when used for injections.
Acupuncture needles are as thin as a strand of hair and only penetrate the skin .3 to .7 inches, she explained. The needles do not touch nerves or blood vessels, but rather tap into the body’s life force energy called qi, Kim said.
Each person’s body processes the sensation of the needles differently.
“The only way you can really feel it is to try it yourself,” said Kim.
Guillaume said the spa is focused on giving people a unique experience where clients are not just a number.
“Healing Happy Hour is about promoting taking time for yourself,” she said. “You don’t have a lot of time in New York City. Everything in New York City is so quick.”
For more information, visit healinghappyhour.com or call 1-844-77-HAPPY (774-2779)
