Zenspa opens in Carmel Mtn. Ranch

For those looking to de-stress, relieve muscle tension and pain, or improve their sleep, a new day spa in Carmel Mountain Ranch offers customized massage therapy, including reflexology foot massage.

Zenspa opened Feb. 11 at 11865 Carmel Mountain Road in the Ralphs Shopping Center. The phone number is 858-521-0088 and is online at www.zenspasandiego.com.

With eight licensed therapists, Zenspa focuses on Eastern methods and offers a variety of massage techniques. Types offered include Swedish, deep tissue, Shiatsu, acupressure, sports massage, prenatal, and cranio-sacral (for headaches and migraines) massage. Hot stone therapy uses heated stones to penetrate deep into muscles, and foot massage blends Chinese reflexology and Thai massage techniques.

Owner and manager Vivian Umenei said massage is a great alternative to traditional Western health care, as it can treat the body without the side effects that often come with medications.

“It helps people sleep. It helps relieve pain. And it helps with your mood,” said Umenei, a Rancho Bernardo resident who worked in finance for over 12 years prior to opening Zenspa.

The first-time business owner’s own experience with massage led her to open the Carmel Mountain Ranch business. She previously worked as a finance director, a role that brought intense stress, including constant headaches, and so she relied on massage and reflexology to stay healthy.

“I always believed in the benefits of alternatives to traditional medicine,” said Umenei, who owns the Carmel Mountain Ranch spa with a business partner on the East Coast.

But her massage treatments would cost a couple of hundreds of dollars, she said, and so with Zenspa she wanted to make massage more accessible by being affordable. At Zenspa, base prices are $29 to $95 depending on the service.

“That’s a window people can live with, and do it more regularly as their bodies need it, because there’s a lot of stress with work, [and] life, and I believe it works,” she continued.

Also, pricing is not complicated, unlike some spas which vary prices depending on type of massage, Umenei said. Instead, Zenspa’s prices for full-body or reflexology massages are set by duration — from a half-hour to two-hour — and each massage mixes up different techniques, customized to a client’s needs.

“When they come out, we try to solve the issue they came in for,” she said.

Currently, first-time clients can get a one-hour full-body massage for $45 or an hour of reflexology foot massage for $29. Zenspa’s most popular service is its Signature Care package — a combination of the one-hour body massage and a half-hour reflexology service for $69 for first-timers.

Prepaid packages can also be purchased at this same introductory rate. For example, a five-coupon booklet of one-hour body massages can be purchased for $245. No contracts or membership fees are required with these prepaid packages. Also, the coupons have no expiration dates and can be shared, such as with friends or a spouse.

Zenspa features 10 treatment rooms, including rooms for couples, providing extra privacy to a husband and wife or two friends who might enjoy getting treatment together. The spaces are set up to provide a tranquil environment, Umenei said.

“When you come in, it’s like getting away from everything else,” she said.

To accommodate clients who work late, Zenspa’s hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. Customers can call in for same-day appointments.

Although they share the same name, the Carmel Mountain Zenspa is separately owned and operated from the Zenspa in Mira Mesa. The two businesses currently share a Web site and are working to coordinate their pricing, Umenei said.