Haute Healing Oasis owners Jessica and Peter Chichester are longtime Stamford residents who have had physically demanding jobs and vocations; Peter is a Stamford firefighter and Jessica is a Hall of Fame weight lifter. Years of such tough physical activity eventually took its toll on their bodies. Their search for healing and more supportive ways to prevent and repair injury led them to create Haute Healing Oasis, which opened in January in Stamford’s Harbor Point. 

“The idea originated five years ago when I was rehabbing a back injury,” Peter explains. “My chiropractor recommended infrared sauna, which I had never heard of. I researched it, tried it, loved it and then we bought one. We started seeing the difference it was making in our bodies: pain decreased, blood pressure was lower, skin was better. We started thinking about how many people could benefit from it. That’s how the whole thing began.”

Jessica, a teacher in Stamford, is the vision-keeper for the spa which currently offers six distinct infrared sauna rooms with chromotherapy, sound therapy, essential oils, a BEMER lounge, and massage services. Holistic health has been a passionate interest of hers since she was a vegan teenager working at Mrs. Greens. Her early interest later became the theme of her Masters’ thesis on holistic ways of learning through optimizing environments. 

“My vision for Haute Healing Oasis was to create a safe place for all people to come, no matter what their personal situation or need is,” she says. “This is a place where the modalities help you heal but on your terms and in your own way.”

To that end, all the services and packages are customizable to suit individual needs. Each sauna room is unique in its healing intent with names like “Abundance,” “Flow,” Exhale,” “Balance,” and décor to evoke the feelings of the label. The offered modalities are designed to be supportive of each other. For example, the Chichesters recommend a BEMER or sauna session before a massage because those therapies loosen the body’s overall tension level and stimulate blood flow. That helps the massage therapist to release deeper trigger points.  

“Our goal is to be able to give people a one-hour vacation during the course of their day or week,” Peter explains. “People are running so hard, so fast without a break these days and our bodies have become so toxic. These therapies are proven to help the body detoxify and heal. People say all the time that they don’t have time, but they have time for what they make a priority. We think feeling good should make the list.”

They designed Haute Healing Oasis with a luxurious spa-like feel but have kept the prices reasonable with specific intention. “Feeling good is a right of life,” Peter says. “Wellness shouldn’t be so expensive that people can’t afford to take care of themselves.”

Since they opened nearly a year ago, the Chichesters have developed a devoted following and have refined their offerings since beginning primarily with the saunas. “The BEMER is an amazing product we’re so blessed to be able to offer people,” says Peter. “It’s a natural medication for the whole body; it helps the body come back into balance.”

The BEMER is a non-invasive FDA-registered medical device relatively new in the U.S. but used for decades in other countries, including in doctors’ offices and hospital settings. The patented frequency protocols are known to increase blood flow and oxygen in the body by up to 30 percent. This in turn speeds healing and reduces pain, as well as lowering blood pressure and improving the body’s ability to handle inflammation and remove toxins. 

“The beauty of what we offer is that these therapies are all designed to help your body heal itself,” Jessica explains. “They work well on their own but the more you use them and when combined, the more the benefits magnify.”

All first-time spa visitors can receive up to two complimentary BEMER sessions. In addition to the demo BEMER unit in the lobby and the BEMER lounge for private sessions, Haute Healing Oasis now offers BEMER mats for weekly rental.

For the Chichesters, offering Haute Healing Oasis’ healing therapies is not just a business but a calling. “Everything in our background was leading us here,” Peter says. “We are grounded in hard work with heart in our day jobs and in the spa. Having the ability to give back and share what has helped us so much is really the key for us. It’s such a blessing to hear how people feel when they come out after a session. I hope I never get used to it because it is so beautiful.”

Haute Healing Oasis is located at 792 Pacific St, Stamford. For more information, call 203-595-5304, email [email protected] or visit HauteHealingOasis.com. See ad, page 28.

Nicole Miale is Publisher of Natural Awakenings Fairfield County/Housatonic Valley, CT and Natural Awakenings of Greater Hartford. Connect with her at [email protected].