It’s World Women’s Wellness Day and if you’re like me, you’re not always totally, well, well. I have a slew of chronic conditions like POTS and endometriosis, which means I’m in and out of doctors’ offices a lot. But sometimes the medical world isn’t perfect and that leads me to seek supplemental care elsewhere. I’ve got a great acupuncturist who helps with my chronic pain, but recently I got to try a lymphatic drainage massage at Sage + Sound in attempts to improve my circulation (which isn’t incredible bc of the aforementioned POTS). Though the massage was intense, I immediately felt better and didn’t have a flare for days after.

Turns out, Lauren Zucker (she/her) and Lacey Tisch (she/her), co-founders of Sage + Sound, opened the space because of similar issues. Lacey shares, “I’ve suffered from a myriad of health issues and have been very impacted by the traditional medical world. I’ve had some amazing experiences, and some not, but ultimately what resulted was a case of medical PTSD from the ailments I had dealt with over the years.” Her journey led her to realizing that traditional and non-traditional medicine can be complementary—“it wasn’t this or that, but this and that.”

With that experience in mind, she and Lauren decided to open a space where people could go to simplify their wellness routines—which they did by housing different practitioners and experts under one roof. But they don’t want that expertise to scare anyone away, “We were really intentional about curating an offering that is inclusive to all individuals who want to practice wellness or find a community of like-minded individuals looking to deepen their connections, no matter how new or well-versed to wellness they are, how they define wellness, or how they choose to practice it on any given day,” they say. To them, wellness is personal, so they created a one stop shop for whatever their client needs that day.

Other than the excellent lymphatic drainage massage, I also got a bespoke facial, which didn’t necessarily tackle any physical health concerns but definitely relaxed me and made my skin look like a newborn baby’s. I was literally glowing. It looks like I have really good taste because that’s Lacey’s fave service, while Lauren raves about “an amazing practitioner named Niko who specializes in energy healing, Reiki, acupuncture, and body work.”

I know not everyone is located in NYC, so I asked Lauren and Lacey how to vet wellness service providers who aren’t at Sage + Sound. They say, “You should always do your research and dig into people’s recommendations. Ask your favorite practitioners who they love, make sure they have the right certifications and that they are up to date, and don’t be afraid to ask for a consultation beforehand. You can never ask too many questions.”

Your unwell bestie (with exceptionally radiant skin),
Reina Sultan, associate editorial director