A New Wellness Collective Is Opening Today in Midtown Village

Sisters Casey and Christie D’Arcy are opening a collective of wellness businesses under the moniker Wellness Above Walnut. / Photograph courtesy of Wellness Above Walnut

This post has been updated.

More and more people are questioning the effectiveness of the traditional medical system. (Excerpt from my recent doctor’s visit: No, I don’t want opioids to cover up my back pain, thank you very much.) And the wellness world is answering, with plenty of alternative options to address your tweaked neck or complaining gut.

Our typical quick PSA is that not every complementary method is safe or credibly researched. If both those boxes are checked, not every complementary method is effective for every health problem. (CBD, for instance, is not a virtual cure-all as marketing wizards have convinced you to believe.) Just like you take Ibuprofen for your headaches and Zyrtec for your allergies, you might need acupuncture to treat your nausea while chiropractic care is best for your low back pain.

A wellness hub opening in Midtown Village on Thursday feeds into the idea that it takes a holistic village to keep us healthy. Dubbed Wellness Above Walnut, the collective is the brainchild of sisters Casey and Christie D’Arcy.

Sisters Casey and Christie D’Arcy are hosting the grand opening of Wellness Above Walnut today. / Photograph courtesy of Wellness Above Walnut

Casey, a doctor of chiropractic, opened Luminous Chiropractic four and a half years ago while registered nurse Christie launched the IV therapy business City Hydration about a year and a half ago. They’d already been running their businesses out of the same space and referring clients to each other when they realized it’d be easier for both entrepreneurs like themselves and their patrons if all kinds of different wellness treatments were offered in the same space. The business owners would have to work through less red tape to get their start-ups off the ground while the participants wouldn’t have to run across town to get to appointments with different wellness providers. “There’s a convenience factor,” Christie says. “Everyone’s about that right now, but this is bringing the convenience factor into a healthier light.”

So the pair moved into a larger space, Suite 1132 at 1315 Walnut Street, and brought in licensed massage therapist Paulina Walska of Muscle Melt Massage and health and wellness coach Jessica Sullivan to add to their growing team. That’s just to start; over time, the D’Arcys hope to add more permanent tenants. (An infrared sauna is high on their list.) They’ll also host yoga, meditation, and sound therapy sessions on more of a pop-up basis.

Of course, the sisters understand that not everyone will need every one of Wellness Above Walnut’s services. They’re still working out how the structure of the collective will work — if they’ll offer joint packages with services at all the businesses or simply discounts — but they don’t want folks to get a treatment they don’t need. “It’s all pretty specialized,” Casey says. “You can’t just come in and say, ‘I want to get two adjustments.’ It’s only recommended for what you need. Same thing with our massage therapist. She’s resolving a specific issue or symptoms.”

But hey, if they are the right options, making a day of it with a massage followed by a hydration treatment doesn’t sound half bad.

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