The Studio Space:
Kripalu Affiliated Studio owners and managers share their keys to success

Featuring Robin McQueen of Massage Yoga Polarity in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Your studio is unusual in that you offer three different services. How do they complement each other?

The unique feature of our group practice is that clients can experience the complentary ways in which acupuncture, nutritional therapy, massage, yoga, and polarity therapy work together to achieve optimal health and vitality more effectively. In the Western health care system, there's a big hole where preventive and holistic care should be. We take the view that health issues are best addressed with an integrative team-oriented approach. That's what we offer—a complete and integrative health center, staffed by licensed practitioners, that provides nutritional therapy and acupuncture in addition to massage, yoga, and polarity. We offer a complementary medicine starter package that allows clients to begin a comprehensive approach to wellness. Our approach is truly complementary—nutritional therapy being a Western science, acupuncture an eastern discipline, and massage, yoga, and polarity universally practiced.

What classes, workshops, and/or therapies are popular at your center?

We have an ongoing lecture series to engage the public's interest and promote our mission. The most popular segment is "Ask the Nutritionist," in which our knowledgeable nutritionist fields questions. Also popular are my energy building sessions. Using the Ayurvedic approach, I begin each session with a questionnaire to ascertain the client's basic constitution. Once we've established that, we look at nutritional and body strengthening options for improving health and stamina. Our acupuncturist uses traditional Japanese and Chinese acupuncture as well as needleless acupuncture. She sees clients experiencing health issues such as high blood pressure and acute and chronic muscle, tendon, and joint pain—even infertility.

What is your biggest challenge?

Marketing who we are and what we do. We're now going into our second year in business and we're finding that we need to be more creative in getting our message out about what we do best—providing practical guidance and methods for attaining optimal health. Our approach is not a quick fix. It's about building our clients' health and promoting continuous improvement over time. That's harder to market than some miracle cure.

Why did you decide to affiliate with Kripalu?

I've noticed that people who call or come in to the center have that feeling of, "Ah, a brand you can trust." The Kripalu name seems to exude integrity and comfort. I feel that my sadhana is to bring the spirit of Kripalu to Beverly, Massachusetts. May we encourage one another through sangha.

Visit Massage Yoga Polarity online at www.massageyogapolarity.com..

For more information about the benefits of becoming a Kripalu Affiliated Studio, click here.