When Madeleine Lohman took her first class at the YMCA in 1999, yoga was already a mainstream fitness regime. But it didn’t take long for her to realize that limiting yoga to physical fitness denied the mental, physical and spiritual balance that the Eastern practice seeks.
Delta Mind Body Center
Location:
2014 10th St., Sacramento
Info:
Center Seven
Location:
3101 33rd St., Sacramento
Info:
www.centerseven.org
Lohman had a vision for a more diverse and integrated approach to yoga and well-being. Then, four years ago, she met Cara Arndorfer and Anne-Christin Trost. Each already had a practice in place — Lohman in yoga, Arndorfer in psychotherapy and meditation, and Trost in massage. They immediately saw the potential for a blended approach, especially since their core clients were interested in using a wider range of their services.
“One of my clients calls it a one-stop shop for mind, body and soul,” Trost says.
Last November, the three women opened Delta Mind Body Center — a soothing spot in Sacramento’s Southside Park neighborhood that hosts a wide range of mind-body services. The business partners have been joined by 19 other independent practitioners, including a dietitian, herbalist, life coach, Pilates instructor and osteopath, to name a few. Together, these practitioners aim to provide self-care for the whole person under one roof.
“Integration was one of the words that was so key to us,” Lohman says. “All of us have different practices, but the sum of its parts is greater than any of us individually. We believe we’re stronger together.”
For example, the three partners offer a class together that incorporates yoga, meditation and massage. Some clients may then branch out to take a workshop taught by an herbalist or another workshop that includes both yoga and tarot.
“The way the trend is moving, it’s not just about a specific part of the body or the mind,” says Arndorfer, a psychologist who also teaches meditation. “It’s how they are connected. You can’t talk about one part in isolation.”
The local women are also tapping into a global industry. A 2015 report by the nonprofit Global Wellness Institute estimated the general wellness economy at $3.7 trillion, divided into key segments, including beauty and anti-aging at $999 billion, nutrition and weight loss at $648 billion, wellness tourism at $563 billion, and $542 billion for fitness and mind-body, which includes everything from yoga and Pilates classes to gyms, equipment and exercise clothing. Other segments include preventive medicine, alternative medicine, lifestyle real estate, the spa industry, thermal/mineral springs and workplace wellness.
Madeleine Lohman (left), Cara Arndorfer and Anne-Christin Trost
combined their expertise in yoga, counseling and massage to form
Delta Mind Body Center last November.
The Delta Mind Body Center may be taking a fresh, holistic approach to mind-body services, but it is not alone.
Center Seven opened on 33rd Street in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood in April. Owner Amy Lea — a yoga, dance and fitness instructor — previously taught at the Oak Park Healing Arts Center, founded by Jennifer Cox in 2016. When Cox decided to give up her business management duties, Lea took over the lease on the building and sublet space to six other independent businesswomen. Among the practitioners at Center Seven are Lea’s daughter, Ahrianna Navarrette, a certified massage therapist and health educator, and dietitian Meghan O’Hara.
“We are more than a coworking space,” Lea says. “We are a collective of independent practitioners who want to bring healthy activities and education to this community.”
Delta Mind Body Center and Center Seven share much in common. Both offer weekly classes, with plans for a free yoga class on Labor Day as part of the seventh annual Sacramento Free Day of Yoga. Both offer massage and other one-on-one services by appointment. And both have plans for collaborative workshops and special community-based events. For example, Center Seven is hosting a 300-hour yoga training, while Delta Mind Body Center is venturing into the art community by sponsoring an artist reception as part of the First Friday Art Walk in September.
Delta currently offers 11 weekly classes, three to four workshops and other services by appointment, Lohman says. All classes and treatment sessions are on a pay-as-you-go basis — some drop-in, others by appointment, occasionally on a sliding-fee scale.
Center Seven offers seven weekly classes (a combination of yoga, belly dancing, fitness and more), which also leaves room for growth. “Ideally, we would [also] have three community classes a week on the schedule,” Lea says. She is seeking “mission investors” to fund such classes so community members can attend them for free or at a reduced price. She also offers a membership rate for those who contribute time or money to the center.
As for Cox, the former owner of the Oak Park Healing Arts Center has since moved her yoga and massage practice to Delta Mind Body Center. But she’s still keeping her eye on what has developed in her former place.
“It’s just been really lovely for me to be able to settle in over there and start focusing once again on my own practice, giving me the space to watch and see what Amy’s doing over at Center Seven,” Cox says. “It’s nice to see the seed of an idea growing into something bigger.”