Healing Hands Come To Waitsburg

WAITSBURG - Relax and experience something new in Waitsburg. Coming December 1, Claudia's Ther­apeutic Massage will open as the first new tenant in the Waitsburg Business Center at 111 Preston Avenue. The business center, a 1,600-square-foot building that once housed the old Waitsburg Clinic, opened this summer. For Claudia C. Abel, the new center rep­resents an opportunity she hadn't before considered.

"I was looking for some­where to practice in Walla Walla, but everybody kept telling me I should open a massage business here in Waitsburg," Abel said. "I'm excited to have found a place to do that."

Abel lives in Waitsburg with her husband, longtime Touchet Valley resident and carpenter Tim Abel.

Claudia and Tim Abel met three years ago in Peru, South America, where Clau­dia

was working as a licensed massage therapist.

Tim Abel, who was work­ing in Peru at the time, re­turned to Waitsburg with his bride a little over two years ago. Though Abel was licensed as a massage therapist in Peru, she had to return to school in order to receive a certificateto practice in the United States. "I was happy to do it, though," she said. "It was a good experience." At the Tri-City School of Massage, she learned some new techniques, networked with local folks and strength­ened

her English-speaking skills.

Now she is able to of­fer bilingual services at her business in addition to thera­peutic massage, Swedish massage and stone massage, which is a technique using cold and hot stones during the massage process.

Abel's passion for mas­sage has matured over the last 10 or more years. She began after discovering that nutrition, which she's been studying at university, wasn't for her.

"My father was very up­set," she said. But Abel worked in a dental office until she could put herself through massage therapy school. "Now he is so proud. Now he under­stands." Massage is a healing art, Abel explained. "It is the simple are of making us healthier by relax­ing our minds and bodies."

During an initial inter­view, Abel will help clients determine which type of massage they need. The questionnaire will cover everything from the types of aches and pains suf­fered to medical history. Claudia's Therapeutic Massage will be open Mon­day through Friday by ap­pointment. Call 509-386-1974 for more information or to schedule an appointment. For more information about the Waitsburg Business Center, call 337-6028.