By Barbara Allen, Contributing Writer
Hudson – Synergy Wellness Center may have only opened its doors this past September, but the journey to that moment began many years ago. The center, located at 45 Main St., Suite 403, Hudson, is the realization of a long-awaited dream for owner, Michelle Grasso.
Grasso was in her twenties, dealing with the demands of graduate school, when she began receiving Reiki treatments and massage to help manage stress. This began an involvement with Reiki which eventually led to her becoming a Level II Reiki practitioner, igniting the first glimmer of that wellness center dream.
But then came years of intense, demanding work in the field of child welfare, first as a social worker for the State Department of Children and Families; later, as senior manager at Wayside Youth and Family Support Network.
“I had a number of roles that I loved but left me depleted in terms of energy,” recalled Grasso, who is also a licensed mental health counselor. “The intuitive part of me had been dormant for quite some time.”
She realized, as much as she loved her work, she needed something new and fresh. She began planning the wellness center about 15 months ago.
“Things just lined up in a way I would not have imagined,” Grasso noted. “Staffing has happened seamlessly. People appreciated our mission and wanted to be part of it.”
The mission of Synergy Wellness Center is unique in that their focus is on strengthening and supporting those who are in the service of caring for others: medical professionals, educators, social workers, first responders, foster parents, nonprofit employees, and other professional caregivers, as well as those caring for loved ones in their personal life.
Grasso’s own background gave her an intimate knowledge of the special needs of these dedicated care providers.
“I knew the support I needed personally and professionally,” she acknowledged, of her career in child welfare.
“There is [also] a deep, underlying commitment on the part of the staff,” Grasso added, “many of whom have transitioned from teaching or other care giving roles, to show people self-compassion.”
Synergy Wellness Center is also unique in the scope of services the center offers, ranging from traditional to holistic therapies: counseling, speech and language pathology, acupuncture, massage, yoga, meditation and mindfulness, energy healing, nutritional counseling, and functional medicine. They also offer monthly workshops and events designed to support and sustain wellness seekers.
Grasso described Synergy Wellness Center as a community, “a peaceful, serene space, a healing space,” and added that involvement and connection to the outside community, to caregivers and first responders and anyone on their own journey to wellness were of the utmost importance to her.
“I am a service driven person,” she concluded, “so, for me to be able to blend service to others with wellness, that’s my dream come true. Synergy Wellness Center is the culmination of all my dreams.”
To learn more about Synergy Wellness Center, visit their website at https://synergy-wellness-center.com and their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Synergy.Wellness.Center.Hudson