Holistic powerhouse: Samara Kidd Harrison and Cat Freeman create a wellness space in Staunton

STAUNTON — Samara Kidd Harrison doesn't even know the name of the person who changed her life. She graduated high school in 2016 and was searching for something she had lost in her teenage years. It was in college, on a trip to a music festival, that Kidd Harrison met a massage therapist who opened up a whole new world to her.

Studying at Virginia Commonwealth University, Kidd Harrison was struggling as she worked to figure out how to be fully independent for the first time. Living in a constant state of stress, of survival mode, Kidd Harrison saw a decline in her health.

"My body was just falling apart," she said. "I was struggling in school, struggling in my social life. Struggling in every aspect of my life, to the point that I reached rock bottom. I was like, I can't live like this anymore."

From a young age, spirituality had been important to Kidd Harrison. She had been exposed to many religions within her family and had been taught to look at them all and find her own path. She had always been taught that her spiritual health was just as important as her mental and physical health.

"What was crazy to me growing up was that not a lot of other people seemed to feel that way," she said. "Nobody talked about spiritual health beyond going to church."

Somewhere along her life's journey, Kidd Harrison lost that spiritual aspect of herself. About the same time, she said her health started to suffer. She doesn't blame it all on just a lack of spirituality. Her diet was not great. Her fitness level could have been better. There were other factors, she said, but she believes spirituality played a role.

A friend asked if she had meditated recently and she couldn't remember the last time she had. Then, at that music festival, she decided to get a massage.

"The massage therapist gave me this massage that changed my life," Kidd Harrison said. "I'm telling you, when I was done with this massage, it was like magic. My body felt so much better. It was crazy."

She has no idea of the name of the massage therapist. She is sure he has no idea of the impact he had on her that day, but it changed her life.

That one massage led to her eating healthy again. She began meditating. She started to seek that spirituality she had lost.

"I saw how I was being brought back to life," Kidd Harrison said, who switched her career path and became a certified naturopathic health professional through the Trinity School of Natural Health. She also became a licensed massage therapist.

It was about a year ago that Kidd Harrison opened her own massage therapy studio in Lexington. It was also around that time she met Cat Freeman and the two became friends.

Freeman is a graduate of Waynesboro High School, but spent a lot of her youth in Staunton.

"I've always felt different," Freeman said. "From a young age, I've always felt this spiritual connection, just something higher, whatever you want to call it."

She took her first yoga class when she was 14, knowing nothing about what she was doing except that she loved it.

"Whatever my body was feeling during these poses, I was like, this feels nice, this feels really good," she said.

She had also become a vegetarian during her teen years, which led her to study diets — Freeman refers to it as lifestyles — and began exploring that part of her health.

She thought that was the path she wanted to pursue and, during the pandemic, Freeman became certified in trauma-informed yoga and meditation, as well as a certified health coach.

"I felt like a holistic powerhouse at that time," Freeman said. "I was the the healthiest and the happiest that I had ever been when I was integrating all these things."

Freeman wanted a way to offer what she had found to others, but needed a space.

Meanwhile, Kidd Harrison had found the space in downtown Staunton and was considering opening a second massage therapy studio. The room, located on the second floor of the former Stonewall Jackson Elementary School at 217 W. Beverley St., was a bit too large for what she wanted to do. So she approached her friend about joining forces.

"It would have probably ended up being a really large room for massage therapy," Kidd Harrison said. "But luckily Cat said yes and she came on board."

They opened Mountain Massage Wellness Center in February.

"We offer a lot of different things," Kidd Harrison said. "Just check out the calendar. There's got to be at least one thing that seems like something that you might enjoy."

The calendar is posted on their Facebook page monthly. During March, for instance, there are classes on mindfulness and deep relaxation with Freeman. There was a tea and tarot event this past Friday and another is scheduled later this month. The center is offering a dance workshop and an intuitive performance open mic night also.

Kidd Harrison offers various massages, including Swedish, deep tissue, hot stone, tigger point, and reiki. They are by appointment only. The two women team up for a reiki massage and crystal sound bath experience.

They've even had two guest instructors, one leading a yoga class and the other a meditation class.

They are always open for community input on what is needed in the area as far as holistic health and alternative medicine.

"We're very community based," said Freeman. "We want to spread the word for those who are looking for a space like this. It's like comfy and cozy and we try to make it ours. We're just open to whoever walks in the door."

They are even considering offering an occasional wellness market. In addition to their Facebook page, information is available on Mountain Massage Wellness Center through their website and Instagram page or by emailing them at mountain222massage@gmail.com or calling (540) 240-3076.

"The whole thing is about giving back," Kidd Harrison said. "I wanted to give back what I had received in the form of holistic health. That's the same thing for Cat. The stuff that really saved our lives, honestly."

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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Holistic wellness space and massage therapy opens in downtown Staunton