For Your Health

Article on Rasa in "VENUE" Magazine

Premiere Issue; December 2007

By Madeline Maher

Rasa's mission is to make the spa experience affordable to those in its community who are healing from injuries, going through medical treatments, or have other health issues.

Although this day spa has been open less than a year, its owners have made a point of giving back to the community. Rasa, which is Sanskrit for "true essence," is located in Ithaca, New York, at the Island Health Center. The center houses, among other businesses, a health club and the main outpatient physical therapy unit of the Cayuga Medical Center. "I had been looking for an opportunity to expand my massage therapy business in a way that would better encompass my belief that all who might benefit from a truly powerful and extremely effective healing tool should experience massage therapy, and this seemed a perfect match," explains co-owner and founder Rachel Hogancamp who works with the center's physicians to help patients transition from injury to health. " We charge lower rates for those whose health coverage does not recognize alternative therapies, and we are poised to really help lead people of all walks of life into an individual approach to holistic health through classes on everything from how to meditate to preparing a raw food meal," she continues. The Cayuga Medical Center's physical therapy department has been referring clients to Rasa through the spa's transition program designed to help people shift from regular physical therapy sessions to at-home self-care. Rasa, explains Hogancamp, serves as the bridge between the two and offers support as clients continue to heal through massage. Hogancamp is big on educating clients with self-care techniques. "The mission of Rasa is to take on the challenge of re-educating the community about what a spa can be head-on. We aim to find whatever way we can to make it affordable for all those in our community who may be healing from injuries, going through medical treatment, or having other health issues to come as often as they need or like, so that through our massage therapies and body treatments we can aid in the healing process in an atmosphere of calm and professional support."

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