Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine L Wines.
Hi Christine L, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In May 2000, I left the Department of State where I had worked in the diplomatic service for 8 years overseas. I was trying to reinvent myself after burnout, and decided to go into the holistic health field, which had always intrigued me. I started classes in February 2001 and never looked back. I finished a 10-month program that gave me certification as Holistic Health Practitioner, and I started work right away. At first, I worked for established businesses — a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, a rehabilitation facility, and two spas. Eventually, I struck out on my own, renting a room in a spiritual bookstore, and then moving to my own space a few years later. I called my business Healing Spirit Holistic Center, because it was important to me that my practice not be about just aches & pains and helping the body feel better. I also wanted a spiritual and emotional component to be included.
I have now been in business for 23 years and feel honored to have very loyal, long-term clients who beg me not to retire. My practice does include a wide range of body work, but also energy modalities such as Reiki, Qi-gong/Taiji, and a meditation component. In 2006 I was also ordained as a non-denominational minister, and offer spiritual consultations, and rituals & ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, new home blessings, and others.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Basically, it has been smooth going in the sense that most people understand what massage is and approve of it. Many people also find me when they are looking for a Reiki practitioner. But on the downside, the costs of doing business continue to creep upward as I struggle to keep my pricing affordable. The biggest difficulty, however, was the Covid-19 Pandemic. Despite my business being all about health and wellness, the state did not consider the therapies I practice as medical or essential in nature, and lumped my business with personal care services such as hairdressers, mani-pedicurists, estheticians, etc. So, I was out of business for 6 months, and when we were allowed back to work, I found my clientele had shrunk substantially. It has not come back to pre-Covid levels, but fortunately for me, I was able to supplement my income with Social Security.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Unlike many massage businesses, I do NOT have a “menu” of services that all come with different prices. I charge by the hour regardless of the work. I don’t charge extra for aromatherapy or special oils. I practice a wide range of massage modalities, including Swedish, Sports, Pre-Natal, Deep Tissue, Passive Joint/Resistance, Reflexology, Shiatsu, and others. I always use high grade massage oils, creams, and lotions, as well as 100% pure essential oils for aromatherapy.
For energy work, I am a Reiki Master and Level II Healing Touch Practitioner. I’ve also been trained in several other energy healing & shamanic practices. I provide Chakra Clearing/Balancing, and guided meditation,
As an ordained minister, I can perform weddings, funerals, child blessings, other rites of passage, house blessings, and counseling.
Everything I do comes from a combination of knowledge & training, as well as my intuitive grasp of underlying issues, and a true desire to help the person who comes to me for relief. I follow HIPAA guidelines as well as the Hippocratic oath, and I take my clients’ privacy and inviolability very seriously. Each person who comes to me is asked not only what z/s/he is looking to achieve in the session but is actively encouraged to participate in designing (or modifying) the treatment plan.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I am a sole practitioner now, but I am grateful to all my teachers, and to the professionals who hired me when I was first starting out and who encouraged me to go “solo”. I taught massage for a few years and have some former students who later became associates of mine (pre-pandemic) when I had a lovely center that we all shared for individual clients and classes & workshops. These practitioners were also the people I would go to for exchanging massage with each other, as we sometimes need a good massage more than our clients! (smile). They were instrumental in making our Center successful.
But the most praise goes to my clients — who at first chose me because I was close to their home or work, my fees were affordable, or because someone recommended me to them. But so many of them continued to book appointments time and time again because they found value in my work AND we became friends. The standard admonishment we got in massage school was, “don’t take your friends as clients, and don’t make your clients friends.” I find that to be an impossible edict. I discovered that the more empathy and compassion I have for my clients. the better able I am to assist them to rebalance their body/mind/emotions/spirit. And without trying to, we become friends! For me, it’s inevitable.
Pricing:
- $100/hour regardless of treatment type
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HealingSpiritHolisticCenter
- Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/G6PcZG2vBBKg2uamTMfRTg
Image Credits
A Note about the photos — all taken by friends or family members. Due to privacy laws, I do NOT have any photos of people receiving massage or energy work. I included one of a couple for whom I performed a wedding. But the rest are me in family situations, at a formal wedding (in the long gown), or simply head shots where I am smiling and happy — which is my usual state of being. I no longer have the center, so pictures of that would not be relevant, and as I now work from home, a picture of just my massage room would be a bit boring, I think.
