As a long time bodyworker I am always looking for new massage techniques, different ways to use my hands and deepen my understanding of the body, to help ease people’s pain and tension. Near the beginning of my bodywork career I had learned a Barefoot Shiatsu massage, done on the floor with the client clothed, and found it to be fascinating.
However it was lost amidst all the other massage modalities I was learning, and my interests, as well as my career in the spa world, veered toward a specialization in deep tissue, Swedish Esalen massage and other types of oriental bodywork.
Fast forward many years later and thousands of deep tissue massages, and I could start to feel the wear on my wrists and shoulders. I was worried that doing the work I love was no longer sustainable, and I knew that I needed to find a different way to address the deep tension that I kept seeing, in person after person. And then I was re-introduced to barefoot massage, and a whole new world opened up for me. This time I studied a Barefoot Masters™ massage, which is done with oil or cream, much like a Swedish or deep tissue massage, and on a massage table. Sturdy bars erected on the ceiling serve to help the therapist navigate around the table, and a solid table at the client’s head enables some seated massage to also be done, still using the feet. I was like a beginner again, fumbling through to learn how to use this tool that had been, literally, under me the whole time. I had to scrub and polish and take care of my feet like never before, and I had to learn how to use my body in a whole new way, engaging myself from head to toe. Like learning to dance it felt awkward at first, but with each practice session I found myself falling into rhythm and finding the flow, training my feet how to move with grace and ease.
Today I received a barefoot massage from one of the students I just taught, and it was like receiving that dance, with strong pressure and grace of presence, and feeling it change my body, melting and reshaping. When I laid down on the table at the start of the barefoot massage, my body felt hard and tight, full of stress and areas of mild pain. Afterward, as I drove home, I realized all that tension was gone, melted away, and I felt an ease of being that made me smile in deep gratitude. And if I hadn’t known she was using her feet, I never would have noticed, I was too busy feeling utterly relaxed by the slow, broad deep pressure being applied.
I am beyond ecstatic that Osmosis Day Spa, my beloved work home, will be able to offer this transformative type of bodywork starting December 2022. We have taken the best of the Barefoot Masters™ work, Barefoot Shiatsu, Esalen influenced Swedish massage, and our own innovation to create an Osmosis Barefoot Massage. It might sound strange, to be massaged by feet, but I can promise you, it will blow your mind.
Because a foot offers a broad, wide surface to distribute the weight of the practitioner’s body, the Osmosis Barefoot Massage is able to offer a highly effective deep massage that does not feel pokey or bony or painful. Moving slowly, the practitioner’s foot is able to broaden and smooth out knots in the myofascial tissue while simultaneously creating deep relaxation for the nervous system. Using the full weight of their body, and with the help of overhead bars to adjust pressure, practitioners are able to give as much pressure as anyone could want, but also go lightly if needed.
You might think – “Well that sounds great on my back, or maybe my legs, but what about my arms and hands, or neck?” Believe it or not, our barefoot massage has got those areas covered too! Using the ball of the foot, or even skillful toes, practitioners can give the best forearm massage you’ve ever had (I’m not kidding), loosen the neck and even take care of your foot tension. It really is almost too good to be true, but I promise you it is. And today, I was the lucky recipient!
One could also ask – “But aren’t the feet dirty?” Yes, but we have figured that out as well. Using freshly cleaned sandals, our barefoot practitioner will wash their feet with soap and water while you get on the table, and their feet will not touch the ground again until they finish the massage, protected in their sandals. We also keep disinfecting wipes and warm towels on hand, just in case. Our therapists have been trained to safely and effectively perform this massage, taking every precaution to ensure your comfort.
Clearly, the only question left to ask is – “When can I get an Osmosis Barefoot Massage?” As soon as you can book one! We can’t wait to see you in the treatment room.
_____ Written December 2022, by Heather Bishop, Spa Services Manager at Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary
Osmosis is proud to partner with Laurel Skin Care, a local Sonoma County brand that uses entirely plant based and organic ingredients in their handmade skin care products. Laurel is a perfect partner for Osmosis, as we share in our vision of enriching the local, and broader, community with earth friendly products created and delivered with love and intention.
With a handful of partnering regenerative, organic and biodynamic farms, found within 100 miles of their Petaluma apothecary-lab, Laurel’s namesake line captures California’s hearty terrain and natural abundance in each and every bottle. In the practice of mindfully sourced beauty, Laurel relies on her own manufacturing and production capabilities for every step.
Unlike many spas that rely heavily on fancy equipment and chemically enhanced products, the Osmosis approach to skincare is holistic and based in our reverence for nature and the healing power of touch. Rather than rely on chemicals and machinery, we have learned that plants contain a much more potent and bio-available form of skin healing that works with our body’s own chemistry, not against it.
Our Laurel facials are entirely plant-based, using the potent healing power of roots, leaves, stems, flowers and seeds to cleanse, fortify, and enrich the skin. Used consistently over time, a plant based skin care regimen can work to draw toxins out of the skin and replenish with vitamins and minerals designed by nature herself, right here in our own backyard.
In addition to this plant-based healing, our highly skilled estheticians offer up their compassionate touch to enhance the power of plant medicine with facial massage that helps to clear the lymphatic system, reduce the effects of aging, increase circulation and induce deep relaxation. We offer natural and effective enhancements to our facials as well, such as Gua Sha, facial cupping, and plant based enzyme peels.
The Crunch: The spa industry has grown as consumers become more focused on natural health and wellness. But, by marketing themselves as places for pampering and emphasizing beauty over wellness, many spas have strayed from their original purpose. Osmosis Day Spa offers guests an authentic experience that incorporates the meditation-inspiring traditions of Japanese gardening with the health benefits of the cedar enzyme bath to deliver total rejuvenation. Through its community involvement and sustainability efforts, Osmosis Day Spa strives to educate and restore the connection between personal and environmental wellness.
Spas are known as places for relaxation and escape from the stresses of modern life, practices that have become scarce in both consumer and corporate culture.
Over the last several years, Americans have become more conscientious about taking better care of their bodies through natural foods and products, exercise, and holistic health care. And the day spa industry has grown in response. In 2017, Americans made 184 million visits to spas — up from 176 million the previous year.
But, as spa businesses seek to attract more clients with an array of youth-preserving and beautification services, the predominant marketing message consumers hear is that spas are more about vanity and luxury than a quest for fundamental vitality.
Michael Stusser founded Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary to create a place of nurturing services in resonance with nature.
Michael Stusser, Founder of the Osmosis Day Spa, believes that catering to a sense of vanity rather than a desire for well-being misconstrues the purpose of spas and fails to meet the true needs of their clientele.
“When you talk about what represents authenticity, one of the biggest disservices to our industry is the use of the word ‘pampering’ in advertising. It’s a term that doesn’t capture the sincerity and quality of the work that many people are committed to doing with massage,” Michael said. “We have a responsibility to step up and provide something much more substantial — and people want it.”
Located in the tranquil, historic town of Freestone, California, Osmosis Day Spa weaves together Michael’s studies in Zen gardening and traditional therapies to offer the wholly rejuvenating experience spa guests are looking for.
“What we’re about is the sincere act of giving from the heart — something that’s deep, profound, and makes a difference in people’s lives,” Michael said.
From its carefully landscaped gardens to the healing properties of its cedar enzyme baths to its gifted, dedicated staff to its sustainability efforts and community involvement, Osmosis Day Spa helps guests recenter and revitalize through simplicity and serenity.
Bringing the Healing Power of Nature and Japanese Culture to the US
During Michael’s time at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the 1960s, he developed an interest in environmentalism and sustainable gardening. His later involvement in the horticultural community of Northern California laid the groundwork for an understanding of the role of nature in fostering wellness and vitality.
“I began to recognize that gardens were about more than soil-building, food, and diet leading to a healthy lifestyle. Gardens put people in connection with the rhythms of nature, and that has a healing property to it,” Michael said.
Another quality Michael recognized in gardens is their ability to feed the eyes — and the soul — with natural beauty. “Garden art lifts people’s eyes to the horizon, creating a sense of connection to distance and time, and a perspective of longevity, which is an aspect of what draws people to spas. Being attuned to nature brings vitality, a core component of wellness,” Michael said.
The lessons Michael learned from gardening played a significant role in the development of Osmosis Day Spa, and remain an important part of its core values.
In the early 1980s, Michael traveled to Japan, where he apprenticed in traditional Japanese gardening and became immersed in its history and its ties to Zen meditation. He also spent time in a Buddhist monastery, where he discovered the benefits of the cedar enzyme bath.
Michael returned to the US with a desire to share this knowledge with others, and he chose his former home of Freestone, California — a historic rural community with a rich artisan culture that sees thousands of tourists every year — to be the home of Osmosis Day Spa.
“When I thought about where I wanted to bring it, it seemed natural to come back here. It’s removed from the hustle and bustle, and the natural beauty is exquisite,” Michael said. “Quietude is an important element in the healing process.”
Since founding Osmosis Day Spa in 1985, Michael has seen massage and other spa therapies develop into professional art forms with growing receptivity and popularity, and his business has flourished along with the industry as a whole.
“People realize how important touch is to healing, stress reduction, and overall well-being,” Michael said.
Providing Guests with the Benefits of the Cedar Enzyme Bath & a Unified Spa Experience
Osmosis Day Spa’s menu of services includes massage, facials, and spa packages that combine garden views and tea service with aromatherapy and essential oil treatments. But the spa’s signature treatment is the cedar enzyme bath — for which Osmosis remains the exclusive North American destination.
The enzyme bath’s modern form dates to the 1940s — and it was popularized by Olympic athletes in 1972 — but it originates out of the centuries-old Japanese tradition of harvesting fruits, vegetables, and herbs in their prime and turning them into healing salves and tonics.
“When I first experienced the enzyme bath, I was healed from serious sciatica and felt my whole body transformed in a significant way,” Michael said. “It’s a very powerful cleansing and detoxification process.”
The bath combines three treatments into a singular experience: heat therapy, aromatherapy, and biologically active enzymes.
Michael had long been a fan of natural hot springs, and this heightened his appreciation for the therapeutic effects of heat — which include softening body tissue, dilating the cardiovascular system, opening pores, and inducing total-body relaxation.
But the cedar enzyme treatment doesn’t involve a tub of water. Instead, the medium is a powdery red substance comprised of ground-up evergreens.
“It’s fragrant with oils from the most aromatic cedar in the world, along with the other wood species we use,” Michael said. “Research on essential oils has shown cedar to be one of the most efficacious in aromatherapy, with benefits such as deep relaxation. When you lay in a cedar enzyme bath, your entire body receives these vapors released in the steam of the fermentation process.”
The cedar enzyme bath provides a warm, familiar, rejuvenating experience for Osmosis Day Spa guests.
When guests enter the cedar enzyme bath, they find it familiar — yet hard to describe. “They say, ‘Oh, this is what it is.’ There’s something fundamentally familiar to it,” Michael said.
The cedar enzyme bath experience encourages whole-body relaxation and heightened awareness of one’s self and surroundings, and Osmosis Day Spa strives to evoke this response during the entirety of a guest’s stay.
“Our entire facility — the way we hire and train our staff, the way the parking lot is laid out, the way the walkways lead to the building, the way the gardens are built — is intended to bring people to that point from the minute they drive up,” Michael said.
Osmosis Day Spa’s five acres of Zen gardens — including the meditation garden by premier designer Robert Ketchell, the British horticulturist who interned with Michael in Kyoto, inspire communion with nature. The spa also features a Japanese tea garden, secluded pagodas, a Field of Hammocks, and intimate outdoor meeting spaces.
“The gardens have been designed to create a connection to a place that has a sense of unity and cohesion,” Michael said. “Our meditation garden is a huge conductor of quietude and tranquility that people are especially receptive to after they’ve had a spa treatment.”
Connecting to the Community to Foster Environmental Awareness
Connection is a core value of Osmosis Day Spa, and this inspires its involvement in the community of Freestone and beyond.
Osmosis Day Spa partners with local businesses to provide guests with access to lodging for overnight stays, restaurants, and area tourist activities. It also directly supports many community organizations and projects — especially those that teach the value of healthy living and environmental stewardship.
“Being a part of the community is an important aspect of our work and our story,” Michael said. “We’ve collaborated with our neighbors to improve the water system in our town, and we’ve also worked with some nonprofits to support them and create awareness.”
One of the ongoing projects Osmosis Day Spa supports is the Ceres Community Project, in which nutritionists and chefs teach teens about nutrition, cooking, and local sourcing. The food they make is distributed to families suffering life-threatening illnesses. Osmosis supports Ceres by donating the profits from the box lunches it offers to guests.
“A local farm-to-table restaurant provides the lunch at cost, and the markup is given to the Ceres Community Project,” Michael said.
Ten years, ago, Michael also played a key role in starting the Green Spa Network — a collection of businesses from around the US that work together to help the spa industry set an eco-friendly example.
“We’re trying to function as a nexus in our community to inform, educate, and provide experiences that will help awaken them to what it means to live a vital, earth-friendly lifestyle,” Michael said.
Creating an Experience that Awakens People to Care About Themselves & Their Surroundings
In an industry that often markets to consumers’ obsession with aesthetic beauty and youthfulness, Osmosis Day Spa stands out for its authentic approach and a focus on total-body wellness that awakens not only self-awareness but also consciousness of one’s world.
Spas are places where people make themselves vulnerable, and Michael believes the industry is in a position to have more than a superficial impact on people’s health and lifestyles.
“People are coming to spas looking to transcend a lifestyle that’s not sustainable and to align with something more substantial than these paradigms of excessive consumerism,” Michael said. “They’re opening themselves up and trusting they’ll be gifted something of tremendous value. There’s so much opportunity, given what we could be doing as an industry, to help influence the direction of our culture.”
Osmosis Day Spa provides a place where people can relax and rejuvenate, learn how to take care of themselves, and reconnect to the most important things in life.
“We’re more than just a day spa selling a menu of services — we’re recognized as a source for valuable information and guidance on how to improve the potential of one’s life,” Michael said. “We’re making that connection between vital people and vital planet. They go hand in hand.”
Jessica Sommerfield is a contributing writer for DealCrunch with over seven years of experience with online publications in the personal finance sector and other consumer-focused niches. Her 13 years of experience in brick-and-mortar stores prior to her writing career have also given her an insider’s perspective on the unique challenges that the retail industry faces.
As we prepare to reopen indoors, Osmosis would like to ensure our community of guests and staff understand the extensive measures we have taken to treat the inside air at Osmosis.
Breathe Easy
We installed a state-of-the-art air cleaning system in July, called Atmosair, at Osmosis. We feel it is imperative to do everything in our power to protect you and our guests. This system in combination with the 4-stage HEPA filters in every room provides a high level of hygienic indoor air quality.
The system we have installed in our HVAC equipment is called bipolar ionization. It energizes the air to form bipolar — positive and negative — air ions that flows into all of the spaces in our building.
AtmosAir’s technology proactively emits bi-polar ions that attack and neutralize bacteria, mold and virus in a continuous way. Unlike many unverified products, AtmosAir Solutions is backed by science. Bi-Polar Ions emitted to ambient air by the AtmosAir System continuously disinfect both the breathing space and surfaces. It is the most effective system for continuously cleaning and decontaminating indoor air. AtmosAir has shown significant reduction of bacteria and viruses in both laboratory and in situ testing. AtmosAir is over 99.9 percent effective in reducing the coronavirus on surfaces.
This excerpt from a paper written by Dr. Philip M. Tierno Jr., Professor of Microbiology and Pathology, New York University School of Medicine in April 2017 provides details on the air purification system that has been installed in the Osmosis HVAC system.
Cleaning Indoor Air using Bi-Polar Ionization Technology
Bipolar ionization is created when an alternating voltage source (AC) is applied to a special tube with two electrodes. When voltage is applied to the tubes electrodes (like electricity is applied to a light bulb’s filament) an ionization field is produced around the tube (just as light is produced from the light bulb). However, the ionization cannot be seen but its presence will result in “mountain air” freshness. Such ions occur naturally especially on mountain tops and waterfalls, where the production of both positive and negative ions purify the air.
The airflow distributes the energized ions into all spaces served by the duct system in an in-duct installation.
Unlike most air purification systems AtmosAir seeks out particulates and contaminants, including germs and does not wait for pollutants to find their way into the filter within the air handler. Instead charged ions go to the contaminants in the space where you breathe, just as in nature, and do so in a continuous fashion and with continuous disinfection.
These positively and negatively charged ions have an effect on dust particles, allergen VOC’s, odors, and bacteria, viruses, molds and mold spores. For example, regarding particles—oppositely charged ions cause particles to attract to other particles and become bigger and heavier, by a process called “agglomeration”. These bigger heavier particles can now be better trapped by HVAC system filters so the filters operate more efficiently. Also the many small particles that are generated within a space by people and their activities may never get to system filters and ordinarily stay suspended in air for long periods and can be breathed in, increasing the chance of illness and respiratory distress. The bi-polar ion process will drop these to the floor quickly taking them away from where we breathe. VOC’s or gaseous chemical off gasses typically cause odors and irritations. These are also a major source of “Sick Building Syndrome” complaints, where people feel ill at work but feel better when they leave the building. Bi-Polar ions break down hydrocarbon chains that make up these complex compounds into immeasurable levels of carbon dioxide and water vapor.
On micro-organisms like bacteria, virus and molds, bi-polar ions will interrupt the reproductive ability of these organisms so rather than colony forming units (cfu) increasing and spreading and expanding, they shrink away and lessen the chance of infection. The Effect of Bipolar Ionization generators on microorganisms: The negative and positive ions that are generated by BPI are designed to treat and allow energy imparted by the ions to transform ordinary oxygen into Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), Superoxides, Peroxides, and Hydroxyls. These ions have the property of clustering around micro-particles, and thus, they surround harmful substances such as airborne mold, viruses, bacteria and allergens. At that point, a chemical reaction occurs on the cell membrane surface, and they are transformed into OH radicals, which are powerfully active (Standard Oxidation Potential [V] = 2.81 for OH vs H2O2 = 1.78 and OO2 = 1.23) and because they are unstable, they rob the harmful substance of a hydrogen atom (H). The result is that they are inactivated by severing the protein on cell membrane, which causes the opening of holes, thusly destroying the entity. The OH radicals instantly bond with the removed hydrogen(H), forming water vapor (H2O) which returns to the air. It is most important to note that bipolar ionization kills microbes without damaging DNA (therefore it does not cause cancer) in the interior of cells and unlike other physical and chemical agents, such as UV light, radioactivity and use of caustic chemicals, BPI is totally GREEN and it does NOT adversely affect the environment in any way. —
Planting trees and preserving forests can balance many of the negative effects of human activity on our ecosystem before the threat from rising global temperature becomes irreversible.
Focus on Forests First
Of the many environmental factors that are currently at risk, the issue of forests is a critical leverage point for recovering balance quickly. Restoring global forest cover is one of the fastest and most effective natural solutions to the rising global temperature and the myriad related potentially catastrophic effects of climate change.
Planting enough trees of the right kinds in the right places fast enough will reduce the amount of C02 in the atmosphere and reverse climate change.
Here are the facts:
Forests represent one of the largest, most cost-effective climate solutions available today. Halting the loss and degradation of natural systems and promoting their restoration have the potential to contribute over one-third of the total climate change mitigation scientists say is required by 2030. Restoring 350 million hectares of degraded land could sequester up to 1.7 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually. ~IUCN, Forests and Climate Change Issues Brief
IPCC [International Panel on Climate Change] numbers suggest that if deforestation ended today and degraded forests were allowed to recover, tropical forests alone could reduce current annual global emissions by 24 to 30 percent. ~ Center for Global Development, Why Forests, Why Now?
Old growth trees, dense mature vegetation and rich soils in primary forests including intact forest landscapes are unmatched in terms of carbon sequestration and storage (30-70% more than logged or degraded forests). Forests are thought to remove 25% of all human generated emissions of CO2, and primary forests play a substantial role in this extraordinary carbon sink. ~ IUCN, Raising the profile of primary forests
Freestone and the surrounding hills were logged out following the 1906 earthquake to rebuild San Francisco. We feel a responsibility to restore our own forests here at a local level. By planting a redwood forest at Osmosis it is our hope that this action that can also help to build more awareness of the fact that protecting and restoring forests around the world can reverse climate change.
Planting trees and preserving forests can balance many of the negative effects of human activity on our ecosystem before the threat from rising global temperature becomes irreversible.