Noticing Neighbors Very Well KC

If you’re looking for a community on your wellness journey, come by and check out the team at Very Well KC. This healing arts collective offers a holistic approach that includes chiropractic care, acupuncture, sound healing, Reiki practitioners, skin therapy and more. Their goal of keeping the space approachable invites everyone to ask questions and try something new. Since they utilize each other’s services, the team is able to offer informed referrals and create a complete mind, body, and spirit approach. I got the chance to sit down with Stephanie Simon to learn the story behind this wellness space.

Hayley: Can you explain what Very Well KC offers? I know there are a lot of different things!

Stephanie:

It's true! So we offer a wellness collective. On our part as the owners, we have yoga, meditation, Pilates classes, our infrare=-d sauna, and we also have events. Then we also rent out spaces to other businesses that have their LLCs already set up, and those vendors can change. They're year-long leases, so it doesn't change frequently, but we have had some new additions lately. We have everything from chiropractic acupuncture to mental health. You could get your Botox here, you can get a facial here, you could get sound healing, you can get a massage. You could get your cards read, get some Reiki, or some physical therapy. So really, it's all the mind body stuff.

Hayley:

It’s all together in one place.

Stephanie:

That's the other part. Sometimes as we're taking care of ourselves, things can be spread out, and that's hard to manage in our busy lives. We're trying to make it a little easier by having it all here so we know each other very well, and can refer you to a good person that we have experience with. It's always nice.

Hayley:

I mean, it also reinforces that idea that all of this is so connected. You know, that your diet is connected to chiropractic health, which is linked to your spiritual health—so it all goes together in a holistic approach.

Stephanie:

Absolutely. I do not believe that just one thing is the answer for everyone, but then it takes a lot of energy to go out and research all the different wellness areas. So we want to make the learning more accessible. We use this space for education as well, which is nice. It’s presented in a non threatening way, because sometimes it's embarrassing to ask questions, or to walk into a place and be like, “What even is Reiki?” Or some other area that you wouldn't know how it would affect your life.

Hayley:

That keeps it very approachable.

Stephanie:

That's what we're hoping for. We want people with any level of knowledge on holistic wellness to be able to come in, feel comfortable asking us what things are, and try them out.

Hayley:

I know that you value confidentiality with the people that come in, but just in a general sense, what are some of the changes that you see when someone comes to start to work with you versus when they've been doing it a while?

Stephanie:

With me personally, I'm a physical therapist, and the people that come in and tell me how this whole place has helped them. It is not only getting pain relief from me, because I also refer over to Bethany, who is the chiropractor. Then I suggest: why don't you hop in the sauna afterwards and also come to yoga when you can? Maybe it's restorative and more gentle, or maybe you're more experienced with doing some breath work—really making it the whole thing. That way, we're all working together.

I am thinking of one person in particular, where making connections with different types of wellness was how it happened. She was a little emotional in my office and was just saying, “I thought I would have to live with this pain forever. Taking all those steps and having all those people address it in the different ways that they did has helped me a lot. Not only that, but I have a community now that I come to and I know where to go if I need help. And just having friends too! Coming here, this has really not only provided me with that healthcare that I needed for my pain, but uplifted me emotionally and spiritually because of the community that you've created here.” She's been so sweet to tell me that several times. I think COVID really isolated us and that takes a toll on your health, mentally and physically. So I think it was perfect timing.

Hayley:

When someone comes in for the first time, what can they expect to see?

Stephanie:

We definitely want to make it an approachable place. We want you to be able to come and ask any question. If you don't know anything about crystals or essential oils or anything that we provide here, this is a welcoming environment and we're ready to educate. We're ready to invite you to Wellness Wednesdays! We feature our practitioners that rent space here on that day to demystify what they do, too. It's an opportunity for them to showcase their skill sets for people in the community, and have them ask questions. So you'll have opportunities like that. You'll have opportunities to meet practitioners that all know each other, so you can say: Hey, what else is here? Or what else do you think I should do? We all try to utilize each other's services, so you're going to get people that know what each other do and can refer appropriately.

Hayley:

It's been dark outside so much earlier this time of year, and it's also getting colder. I feel like you would be such a great go to for that mental and emotional health piece. Do you have any tips for the seasonal change and taking care of yourself during this time?

Stephanie:

I think it's really hard when it gets dark because we think we have to stay in and we get isolated. I think of what a time like COVID does to you, and how that felt when we all had to stay in our houses and not see each other. Movement is very important. So find something you like to do with movement, even if it's just to bundle up and take a walk! Come on down to yoga with us. We also need it. I say just move. Hayley:

Keeping movement and community as two priorities, got it. I like what you said about how you are all experiencing this together!

Stephanie:

We can also do really simple things to get moving! What we provide here are the yoga classes. Then I think another really important thing is that our infrared sauna is excellent. Hayley: Why would you suggest it? Stephanie: It can deliver those rays that help your immune system and get those feel good chemicals to release, like a detox. All of that stuff is very, very important to your mental health, especially around this time. But the community we provide here I think is the biggest part, because when you get seasonal depression you start isolating in your home. Then it’s easy to be like: well, it's dark now, so I need to go to bed. That's definitely what it's telling your body. So come out to our events, come sit in the sauna, whatever! If you're not as social or if you just want to come and learn some yoga, we have all levels so it's completely accessible. Or if it's not us, I'd say just in general, go for a walk.

Hayley:

Get outside!

Stephanie:

Even if it's just really short and you have to bundle up! It's very important to your circulatory system and your immune system, especially around this time. We have to take care of our immune systems because it's flu season.

Hayley:

How have you seen goodness through your position and community at Very Well KC? How have you been positively impacted?

Stephanie:

By starting this, our whole goal was to create more knowledge and awareness of ways you can be proactive in your health. We wanted to create just a safe place for people to come ask questions and not be intimidated. There are some places you walk into and can think: I don't even want to ask them anything because I don't know enough. I wanted to make sure this was a really accessible and not intimidating place. Starting out, it's not like I had all these practitioners lined up, either. I just had an idea. What I've noticed is that this has attracted a ton of cool people. Not only do we have a cool group of practitioners that all complement each other, which I don't know how that happened because it was so divine, but we also have attracted great members.

You can have memberships here with things like discounted retail, and if you're here a lot, you might as well. We have created a great community, and some of my patients have mentioned that this has been a blessing because they now have all these friends who are on the journey together. Hayley:

That is such a benefit! Stephanie: Sometimes it's hard to be on a journey by yourself, but once you enjoy all the familiar faces and all the people who are doing this together, it’s so encouraging. And I just love it! I love coming here every day. It's always inspiring because we're all just trying to be proactive and be better and healthier and honestly? That energy is really nice.

Book your next appointment with Very Well KC through their website and keep up with the latest events on Instagram. All media originally published by Very Well KC via their online platforms.