Take Care of Yourself This Fall With the Help of These 9 Local Self-Care Businesses

“Self-care” may be one of the biggest buzzwords to come out of the past few years. With its abstract definition and warm, cozy feeling, the term is being used to describe everything from skin-care and fitness to therapy, meditation and time away from screens. The concept has even crossed over into the realm of scholarly literature; organizations like the American Psychological Association have associated issues like fatigue, burnout and other afflictions with a lack of self-care.

Tracey Abbot of Denver-owned Refuge Acupuncture believes self-care has become even more important since the pandemic. “We are seeing more and more mental issues as a result of the changing mandates, and we are particularly worried about frontline healthcare workers and how exhausted everyone is,” she said.

No matter how you define self-care, Denver is full of resources as we head into fall, with continuing uncertainty and instability due to the pandemic. Be sure to check out the website of each business for updated COVID information and protocols.

Nutrition & Health Food

Who: Jacqueline Golden
Where:
Online
What they offer:
Body image coaching, intuitive eating practices and related offerings. Golden helps “people repair the disconnect they have with their bodies in order to find long-lasting health beyond food and weight.”
More info: “I’ve always had an innate desire to help people get healthier, but it really took my recognizing the ways I was harming my mental health for the sake of my physical health to explore what the term healthy even meant,” says Golden. “Today, I coach women to have a better relationship with food, their body and their health through intuitive eating. It’s a self-care eating framework that integrates intuition, emotions and rational thought.”

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Who: The Green Collective
Where:
2158 W. 32nd Ave. 
What they offer:
Fast-casual breakfast and lunch; toasts, salads, smoothies and smoothie bowls, adaptogenic lattes, tea, and coffee.
More info: “One of the best things [people] can do for themselves is to eat well and nourish their bodies,” says Allison Rifkin of TGC. “Our food is organic whenever possible, refined sugar-free, and packed with superfoods so that it not only tastes great, but makes you feel even better … There is no right or wrong way to take care of yourself but the pandemic highlighted how eating nourishing foods, spending time outside, moving your body and managing stress are incredibly important in the fight against COVID-19,” she added.

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Who: GoDeep
Where:
Online for the full range of offerings, some products available at Nurture 
What they offer:
Adaptogens, medicinal mushrooms, and collagen protein blends.
More info: 
Check out the story behind GoDeep and founder Dana Knowles in this 303 profile!  The brand has also been featured in Self Magazine for Knowles’ amazing story of recovery from a painkiller addiction.

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Wellness & Healing

Who: Refuge Acupuncture
Where:
2525 15th St. Unit 1C
What they offer:
Acupuncture (including cupping, gua sha and ear seeds), facial & cosmetic acupuncture (“no-tox botox”) and more. They’ll also be mixing custom herbs on-site starting in October. 
More info:
Through the end of  2021, Refuge has a “Buy One, Gift One” program. “Every patient purchasing a regular acupuncture treatment will be able to gift a monthly acu treatment to someone they know on the front lines, or they can choose the type of medical professional (Western or Eastern) and we will gift a monthly treatment to “Help Care for the People who Care for Everybody Else,” says Tracey Abbot, owner and founder.

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Who: Functional Recovery & Enhancement 
Where:
They offer “Wellness on Wheels,” meaning their services come to you.
What they offer:
Mobile IV Therapy, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Infrared Sauna, BEMER Therapy, Ionic Foot Bath Therapy, Red Light Therapy and more 
More info:
Founder Ari DePaola suffered from her 17th concussion when she was 19, along with a diagnosis of “a severe TBI, Neurological Lyme Disease, SIBO, and pretty much every autoimmune disease under the sun.”  This eventually lead her to start her business FRE now treats an incredibly wide-ranging set of conditions and symptoms including athletic recovery, COVID-19 symptom management, concussions and TBIs, dehydration and altitude sickness, chronic pain and fatigue management, surgical recovery, fertility, autism and hangovers — as well as preventative care.

 

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Who: Tender Heart Healing
Where:
855 Inca St. #2B
What they offer:
Reiki, shamanic energy work and grief care.
More info:
Tender Heart’s Megan Slattery describes her clients as “empaths and sensitive souls … my clients are classic ‘givers,'” she says. “They have a deep desire to serve and help others, yet often find themselves exhausted, disconnected from their true needs and absorbing too much from their environment.”

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Fitness & Vitality

Who: Viv Cycle
Where:
3611 Walnut St.
What they offer:
Beat-based indoor cycling and small group strength training classes 
More info:
“Moving your body is such an amazing way to take care of yourself, both physically and mentally,” says Nadine Maher, COO and Lead Instructor. “At Viv, we’ve curated an entire experience that goes beyond just fitness — we’ve created a beautiful and welcoming space, hired incredibly talented and motivating instructors, and put a huge emphasis on building a safe and supportive community. These factors allow our clients to focus on themselves, their self-care journey and their own personal growth.”

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Who: Aerial Cirque Over Denver
Where:
4605 Quebec St. Suite B3
What they offer: 
Aerial dance and circus arts — a unique way to keep your body moving.
More info:
ACOD specializes in a wide range of aerial dance techniques including aerial silk/fabric, dance trapeze, aerial lyra/hoop, aerial sling/hammock and more.

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Who: Fierce45  
Where:
They have five studios; check them all out here.
What they offer:
A high-intensity, low-impact workout that lasts 45 minutes.  
More info:
The proprietary FierceMovement® method “combines slow, controlled movement with alignment and breath to help you develop long-lean muscles without putting too much stress on your joints,” says Jessica Sharpe of Fierce45.

 

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No matter how you choose to take care of yourself this fall, help take care of your community by choosing to support locally owned, Colorado-born businesses.