Spa Business owner rubs people the right way

Massage therapy is not just for luxury and relaxation. It can have long-lasting health benefits as well.

A new massage therapist is hoping to spread this message with her new clinic at the Highlands Crossing.

Alisa Johnson has been treating clients for about a month in her new clinic, located inside the Panache Salon at the center. She is a nationally certified and state licensed massage therapist with more than nine years of experience working in the field.
“I’m trying to bring more awareness that massage therapy is beneficial for many health aspects,” Johnson said. “It’s also good for preventative care.”

Some of the health benefits that can come with massage therapy include an increase in blood circulation, better function of the immune system, lower blood pressure and an increase in the amount of oxygen the body can absorb.

Safe human contact can also have a tremendous effect mentally and emotionally, she said.

“Touch is essential for humans,” Johnson said. “I don’t think we realize how much we miss it until we’ve gone without it. No man is an island.”
Geriatric massage can also greatly increase the quality of life by giving a person greater joint mobility, more flexibility and a decrease in pain, muscle spasms and muscle atrophy, she said.

Johnson offers several unique therapies, such as a procedure called the “Raindrop Technique. “She said it involves antimicrobial essential oils of the highest grade which are dripped along the spine and feet, creating a detoxifying effect while bringing the body into alignment.

“I measure the clients before and after (the technique ), and the spine actually straightens and decompresses about half an inch, ” Johnson said.
Hot stone therapy utilizes igneous rocks heated to a desired temperature, which are placed at strategic points along the body, relaxing the underlying tissues. The stones are then used to massage the body.

Johnson also offers Swedish and therapeutic massage, prenatal and postnatal massage, sports massage and deep-tissue massage.

A native of Decatur, Johnson and her husband John recently moved to Bella Vista from Bentonville, where she had worked the past three years at Heavenly Salon and Day Spa. After graduating in 1999 from the White River School of Massage in Fayetteville, she worked in massage therapy in Dallas before moving back to northwest Arkansas.
Johnson said she jumped at the chance to open her own clinic when the spot became available in the Panache Salon.

“My husband and I fell in love with the area,” she said. “It was the right time, and I get to practice what I feel is a more therapeutic kind of massage.”

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Panache Salon