BareFood Wellness is a "Holistic Spa" founded by Ndine Drame which "combines nutrition, wellness…read moreand skincare to energize the body and the mind." It's located in a beautiful brick mansion in the gentrified Old Fourth Ward. At the launch party, I met cool people and sampled Ndine's delectable hors d'oeuvres. She happens to be a professional chef.
We were treated to enzyme rich Thai green papaya salad, lemony kale popcorn (good for skin, hair and bones), copper water (for digestion, bone strength and immune support), sorrel tea (for blood pressure and cholesterol), and fresh raw carrot juice which is good for eyes and skin. I didn't care for the sorrel tea and the copper water tasted like copper but everything else was fantastic! I especially loved the black bean brownies, elder-flower lemonade and organic kale juice. Then we were introduced to the ladies and their areas of expertise.
Ndine customizes nutrition, weight loss programs and skincare (facials, peels, collagen etc.). Connie is a life-coach who focuses on self-care, beauty (makeup and skincare techniques) and anti-aging. Surraya is an RN turned mind body guru who specializes in healing arts that I've never heard of like Reiki Energy Therapy ($100 per hour retail), Raindrop Therapy and Metamorphosis. Yes, I said metamorphosis... Guess who won a free Reiki session in the raffle? The side-eye skeptic herself.
I had no idea what to expect. I sipped delicious Beauty Water as I was led into a dimly lit room that smelled like flowers. I asked Surraya which massage table I should lay on and she said "Wherever the Spirit leads you." She then fumbled with her Ipod and selected some Zen music. She asked if there was anything I wanted to work on, "physically, mentally or spiritually" and then said, "wait, don't tell me, I'll figure it out as I go along." She said I might have all kinds of experiences during the session; warm feelings, bright colors, repressed memories etc. She put intoxicating 'Peace Be Still' aromatherapy on my calves, arms, face and scalp and I closed my eyes as she "transmitted universal energy to me."
She had her hands on the sides of my head and even
though she wasn't touching me I felt a warm sensation. I drifted in and out of consciousness as she gently pulled on my ears and toes but most of the time she just stood over me "channeling the energy." Afterwards I felt very relaxed and it turned into a psychic reading session. That's what I get for asking, "So, what did you come up with?" For twenty minutes she talked about ancestors, walls, emotions and other things too personal to get into. The scary part was that 75% of it was true! It made me very uncomfortable like she was peering into my soul.
As an aside, Reiki therapy is legit. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America uses it to help patients relieve stress and promote healing. But it was way too deep for me. Still, I loved the healthy food and I'm considering a weekly juice subscription. I've yet to try the anti-aging techniques (hopefully I don't need them yet) but Connie was nice and seems to know her stuff.