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It’s not hard to feel tired, run down or disconnected these days, given daily life’s many stressors.

And when these feelings pop up, it’s important to slow down, take a moment, and assess your own wellness. Generally, wellness can be examined on seven different levels: physical, emotional, spiritual, social, intellectual, environmental, and occupational.

The main waiting area at 7 Elements features a calming, glowing Himalayan salt wall. Photo courtesy 7 Elements

No matter which element of wellness you’re considering, a new boutique day spa in Birch Bay offers a unique combination of wellness treatments in a tranquil, picturesque setting. 7 Elements Wellness Spa, situated in the ground floor of the Grand Bay Resort building on Birch Bay Drive, opened on January 12 and is now taking appointments.

The new business offers massage therapy, acupuncture, airbrush tanning, manicures, pedicures, and myofascial release. In the coming weeks, they will add facials and Watsu—a water-based form of shiatsu massage—to their array of relaxing activities. In addition, 7 Elements also has a line of retail products, including candles, soaps, and skincare products.

Natalie Johnson, a Whatcom County-born licensed physical therapist who’s worked in orthopedic and sports medicine for the past 15 years, co-owns the spa with her husband.

Massage therapy is one of a host of relaxing wellness treatments 7 Elements offers. Photo courtesy 7 Elements

“We were looking at ways to bring new life into Birch Bay,” she says. “When we found this building opportunity, we thought that the spa would be a great addition.”

The retail location 7 Elements Wellness Spa now inhabits was empty for several years and offers waterfront views that are especially beautiful at sunset.

The Johnsons—who moved to Birch Bay in 2007—also own and operate 7 Elements Physical Therapy in Birch Bay, about a mile or so down the road from the spa. The new extension of 7 Elements has been promoted through the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce, letting local residents know there’s a new, holistic approach to healthy living through relaxation in their area.

Johnson is especially excited about adding Watsu sessions, as 7 Elements will be the only year-round, indoor Watsu provider north of Seattle.

A nail salon is soon to be available at 7 Elements, providing manicure and pedicure treatments. Photo courtesy 7 Elements

The pool-based therapy, in which a practitioner guides a patient through range of motion exercises while floating in water heated to 97 degrees, works similar to physical therapy by increasing a patient’s mobility and flexibility.

However, because a patient is floating in heated, slightly salinated water, their level of relaxation and resulting lack of resistance provides greater potential for freeing up their hips, knees, shoulders, and backs, says Johnson.

The custom-built Watsu pool is nearly completion, she adds, and will be ADA-compliant.

As a certified Watsu practitioner, Johnson conducts the sessions herself, in addition to being the spa’s myofascial release practitioner. The latter treatment consists of gentle, hands-on treatment to release areas of tension contained within the connective tissues of the body, inducing both calm and pain elimination.

Birch Bay’s new 7 Elements wellness spa features some terrific views of the waterfront, and accompanying sunsets. Photo courtesy 7 Elements

Currently, 7 Elements has hired several practitioners for its four treatment rooms but continues to offer job opportunities for interested nail technicians and massage therapists. Ideally, Johnson says she hopes the spa can grow to the point where the summer busy season finds 7 Elements open up to six days a week, with two of each practitioner supporting healthy demand.

7 Elements Physical Therapy, which operates from the Birch Bay Family Medicine building, also hopes to hire a second physical therapist for its out-of-network clinic. Offering outpatient physical therapy, 7 Elements PT is a great option for both athletes and non-athletes, offering 60- to 90-minutes sessions for gait retraining, motor control, and more efficient movement patterns.

Overall, Johnson and her employees are stoked to provide Whatcom County residents a chance to treat themselves and make wellness—no matter its form—a bigger priority in their lives.

“It’s been really exciting,” Johnson says. “It’s kind of a new concept—having a luxury day spa in the Bay.”

7 Elements Wellness Spa is offering three Valentine’s Specials through the month of February. Please call the spa at 360.922.0091 to learn more.

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