Anna Minten is a believer in alternative healing techniques. She's a tattoo artist and practices energy healing, and for a long time she's been looking for a space to practice her work.
"This space popped up, which was a little bit out of my price range, but being in the community and looking for so long, I met a lot of other practitioners that were in the same place as me — not being able to find a place but wanting to offer it to the community," she said.
The result is the Feel Good Collective, a new business on First Street West where practitioners of things like reiki, acutonics, and energy healing can have a space for their practice.
"I wanted a space for myself because for me the ultimate goal is for the whole community to be healthy and healed," said Minten. "I can't do that by myself. It takes a whole community to give different gifts to the community."
Alternative healing, or alternative medicine, is described as medical treatments that are used outside the mainstream medical system. Some practices, like acupuncture, massage and nutrition counselling, are now referred to as integrative medicine as they've become accepted into the mainstream. Others, like energy healing, are still considered to be on the fringe. In the U.S., the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health recently removed 'alternative' from its name and replaced it with 'integrative.'
The Feel Good Collective is located at 300 First Street W. The space features a reception and two rooms where practitioners can work with their clients. One room is set up to double as Minten's tattoo studio, while the other features a massage table.
Since opening on January 11, she's had many people express interest in joining. Their skills run the gamut of alternative medicine practices like reiki, energy healing, auricular acupuncture (acupuncture of the ears), tapping therapy, rolfing, acutonics (acupuncture using tuning forks) and more. There's also been more traditional practitioners like massage therapists drop by.
"You'll get a different experience from each one, a different healing process from each one," said Minten. "I wanted to make alternative healing more accessible and more accepted."
Photo: You can purchase things like crystal lamps, meditation cushions and gemstones at the Feel Good Collective. ~ Photo by Alex Cooper, Revelstoke Review
So far, the Feel Good Collective is a work in progress. Minten is the only person listed on the website, feelgoodcollective.ca, but she's expecting more practitioners to get on board.
"The space is to be a collective shared space like the Co-lab, but for holistic healers," she said.
The website will feature bios of each practitioner and descriptions of what they do. There will be a booking calendar for people to make appointments. The idea is that someone who only wants to practice a few hours a week will have a space to meet clients.
Minten also sells a few products in the store. You can buy meditation cushions, gemstones, crystal lamps and more there.
She said the space is open for anyone to join. "The whole space is to be open to the community. Anyone who makes any item that is healthy and whole, I'm happy to sell."
For Minten, it's about encouraging a healthy community by showcasing techniques beyond the world of standard medical practices.
"Opening people's minds to the connection of their own intuition is healthy in so many ways," she said. "This space lets you learn about all the alternative ways that aren't popping pills, they address the insides, the whole connection."