POULSBO — The greatest ideas often start with a “Wouldn’t it be cool if?”
From this vein of thought, Satori Mind Body and Soul Wellness Center was founded in April 2008.
“I was thinking ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if?’ That’s how it all started,” said Meisha Rouser, founder and owner of Satori. “The space is created to be a resource for the community. If somebody wants to explore alternative medicine, where do they go? And so I put the idea out there. I wanted different types of healing, it really is mind, body and soul.”
Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term that translates as a flash of sudden awareness, or individual enlightenment.
Rouser provides the space for holistic practitioners to access and assist clients. It’s also a place where people with health questions go to get answers.
At the center, North Kitsap residents who are seeking an alternative to traditional western medicine — or relief that doesn’t come from chemicals — can enjoy the benefits of yoga, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, counseling, Reiki, hypnotherapy, massage, nutrition and herbalogy.
In an airy and peace-filled loft above Front Street, Satori — both the business and enlightenment — can be found. A room of wooden shelves stacked to the ceiling with a bounty of glass jars boasting an armory of health-enhancing herbs, entices olfactory curiosity. Along the walls hang beautiful and crystal clear nature photographs, bursting with purple hues. A handful of rooms with closed doors are where treatment takes place.
It is calm and quiet.
“We have gotten so much positive feedback, which reiterates why this space is needed,” Rouser said.
The positive remarks have come in such a flood Rouser and building owner Mary Anderson have some expansions and enhancements planned so residents can reach an even greater state of optimal health.
Rouser, who’s also a real estate agent, doesn’t have the necessary time to devote to taking Satori to new heights, she said, and Anderson will take over ownership of Satori in the next few months.
“It’s a perfect transition,” Rouser says, “Mary sees the vision: ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if?’ I still see myself being part of this. I’d love to give life classes, but it’s time.”
Among the expansions are additional therapies and trainers; book clubs and educational classes to accommodate 24 participants. The center might also branch into retreats and is planning aesthetic improvements — including soothing background music to bump up the ambience — and a full-time receptionist to answer questions.
“We want them to already feel nurtured when they walk in,” Anderson said. “All have health issues small and large they’d like to be able to obtain answers to and we’re giving them the therapists who have the knowledge and expertise to give them those answers.”
The duo hopes to offer an herbalist class focusing on salves and tinctures, a raw food diets session. They also foresee classes explaining the connection between yoga and the mind and body and something on relaxation techniques.
Anderson will take over ownership of Satori by May.
“It’s just so exciting,” she said of the center’s future offerings and growth. “It’s absolutely vibrant. People are welcoming the knowledge.”
For more information, or to set up and appointments with a practitioner, call (360) 265-9628 or visit www.satoriwellbeing.com. Appointments are scheduled between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m at Satori, 18978 Front St., Suite 201, Poulsbo.
