Dayton’s New Mother-Daughter Healing Team

DAYTON - A mother-daughter duo in Dayton specializing in acupuncture and massage therapy is offering services at a variety of prices to make sure low-income members of the community can obtain the preventative medicine and therapy they need.

"Why should our services be exclusive to high-income people?" asks Tyhra Owen, 30, who practices massage therapy at Day Escape Spa in Dayton.

Owen and her mother, Denise Lane, 49, an acupuncturist, joined the Day Escape Spa team in July.

Both women recently moved to Dayton from large cities, Everett and Portland, and are offering group acupuncture treatments, chair massages and massage therapy on a sliding pay scale so lower-income people can get the help they need.

"There are people out there without health care or disease prevention," Owen said. "Our services are more affordable and accessible to people who don't have a lot of money."

Every Saturday, the pair takes walk-ins at the spa for group therapy. Lane administers acupuncture to the group and Owen offers chair massages. They have about four or five customers each Saturday for the group therapy, they said.

For first-time customers in the group setting, treatment is free. After that, it will cost $25 to $50, based on income. Lane said she does not ask for verification of income, but uses the honor system.

" Pay what you can," Owen said.

Private services will cost more, but they still cost less than those same services in Walla Walla, Lane said.

Private acupuncture costs $90 for the first session that runs about an hour and a half, and $80 after that for one hour. Owen's private massages run $30 to $80 for an hour-long session. Soon, the spa wi l l take most insurances. Along wi th the services of owner Adrienne Bailey, the spa offers scrubs, wraps , a sauna and soaking tub .

The pair said massage and acupuncture can improve range of motion and quality of life and is preventative medicine. This kind of medicine saves money in the long run by reducing the number of days lost at work due to pain and saving patients the cost of prescription drugs, they said.

Lane came to Dayton to offer acupuncture because there wasn't the same service locally. And not just anyone can stick needles in people, she said.

Lane said she went through a gr adua t e masters program that re- quires a bachelor's degree. A degree in pre- medi cine is extremely helpful, she said. Next, it takes three to four years of school and a year of internship work before acupuncturists can strike out on their own. Lane has now been practicing for 2 years.

For those nervous about needles, Lane said she shows patients how thin they are, about the width of a strand of hair. She starts by placing a needle in a spot on the body that is not tender, like the back.

"Some spots are tender, but it doesn't hurt like you think it would," Owen said.

Lane said there are specifi c points on the body that induce calmness and she'll tap into those and watch the patient's face and body visibly relax.

Owen went through a 1,000-hour massage program in Seattle. She said 1,000 hours is not required in the state of Washington, but she wanted to be as experienced as possible.

"I wanted to learn as much as I could," she said. "There's a lot to know about the body."

Owen has been practicing massage therapy for 7 years.

Lane and Owen ending up at the same spa in Dayton at the same time was "serendipitous," they said.

Owen had known Bailey, the owner, for many years. He opened the spa about four years ago, was running it alone and Owen saw the opportunity to join the operation.

"It was just Adrienne running this place," she said. "It's a lot to do by herself."

Lane and Owen were sick of city life and both have 9- year- old children they wanted to raise in a smalltown setting. Dayton was perfect.

"I was just done with the city and I wanted to have a different kind of lifestyle," Owen said. "It started as a cheesy dream (to work together) and it ended up happening."

After living far apart in the Northwest for many years, the duo is happy to be living in the same town and working side by side. Lane said nothing about working with her daughter has surprised her because they've always had a great relationship.

"We're pretty close anyway," Lane said. "We kind of grew up together in a way. There's really no surprises."

Both are loving the group therapy sessions and bringing together their passions. Lane said she would like to continue to combine their services to improve the health of their customers.

For more information, please call 509- 540-2413.