Number One on Yelp.com

Out of 1,428 massage and skincare places reviewed on Yelp.com in San Francisco, Apotheca Skin Body Wellness is ranked number 1 again this week.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your positive experiences at Apotheca on Yelp, Citysearch, wherever. We truly appreciate your vote of confidence.

Tui Na Take 10!

From now until the end of 2007, all Tui Na massage appointments of 70 minutes or longer will be $10 off. This is a great time to try this unique and very effective style of clothed therapeutic massage, or to arrange a holiday season session for a friend or loved one. For details and appointments, go to our web site, www.apothecasf.com.

Kiva is Popular!

I logged onto Kiva.org last week to do some lending. I got a notice that loan contributions were being capped at $25 per person. It seems the site has become so popular that Kiva wants to be certain that everyone who logs on gets a chance to participate.

Exciting! Apparently the site was featured on Oprah's show and in Bill Clinton's new book, and pretty much all over. So they're experiencing huge traffic and tons of people wanting to make loans to entrepreneurs all over the world.

Today I logged on again. I made loans to a man in desperate need of home repairs in Mexico, and to a woman who sells fish on the Ivory Coast. I went to make a third loan and I got the following message:

Due to the overwhelming response to recent Kiva press coverage, we will soon run out of businesses on our website. We are limiting everyone to one $25 loan today so that as many people as possible can try Kiva. We thank you for your understanding and for making a single $25 loan today.

Wow! this is a truly thrilling message to get from an organization that perhaps the best use of the Internet to ever be invented. If you have any inclination to try Kiva.org for yourself, now is a great time to do it. The financial commitment is low and the rewards are high. But watch out: you may find microlending becomes addictive.

Thanksgiving 2007 News

Thanksgiving Week 2007 Newsletter

New Additions: Please help us welcome a new addition to our wellness team: Tui Na therapist David Lesseps CMT, who comes to us from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. His name will be familiar to many of you to whom I have enthusiastically recommended his work as an acupuncturist. Now we're thrilled that David will be joining Apotheca to bring Tui Na, Chinese Medical Massage, to add to our menu of services.

Those of you who enjoy deep, vigorous work such as shiatsu and Thai massage will love Tui Na. It is particularly effective for treating neck pain and stiffness, back pain, frozen shoulder, carpal tunnel syndrome, and hip, leg and knee pain.

Best of all, Tui Na is done with clothing on, so it is a great option for those of you who can't imagine shedding your clothes for a massage during winter's chilly months.

David's first day will be Monday, November 26th. All Tui Na sessions of 70 minutes and longer will be $10 off on that day. Click here to make your first appointment with David today.

We have another exciting new addition to our service menu, also great for those of you who prefer to stay clothed for your massage. The amazingly talented Eri Cela is now offering tension-busting chair massage for your back, neck, arms and hands. Eri has been back in grad school studying Somatic Psychology and learning a whole host of new techniques to approach your sports injuries, chronic stress and pain. His chair massage is done through your clothes and without massage oil in a specially-designed massage chair. Sessions are perfect for stressed-out office workers, and will leave you relaxed, refreshed and ready to face the day a new person.

And as ever, the wonderfully gifted Sari Gelzer transports you to another (far less stressful) world with her own flowing approach to Swedish-based massage. Sari will be available throughout December so now is a perfect time to book a session and experience her soothing style.

New Product: Tu'el Hy-drate Moisture Gel

Here is the moisturizer your skin has been thirsty for! Perfect for the helping the skin transition from the ravages to summer to the dehydrating effects of winter's indoor heat. This hydrating liquid gel has Hyaluronic acid to increase surface moisture retention to plump and firm the skin.

Hy-Drate helps prevent chapping, too, so it is excellent for wearing under sunscreen if your winter plans include snowboarding, skiing or other outside sports. It is anti-aging, ideal for all skin types, and wears beautifully alone or under heavier moisturizer. It is particularly great for oily skin that needs surface hydration without added oil. Best of all, it contains no artificial additives, fragrances or colors. Perfect for men or women of any age. $62 for 4oz. If you want to try this great product for yourself, please send an email to kirstenqb@gmail.com to inquire about retail hours.

in other news. . .

1. Apotheca's holiday schedule: Sari will be taking off December 26th. Eri will be away from December 17 to January 22. Kirsten is spoken for between December 17th and January 12. David's vacation schedule is TBA.

2. January 2008 schedules will be available in the next few weeks. You will get an email when the schedule goes live.

3. We're on the map! We were surprised to find that we've been featured on Sheckys.com's cool new Beauty Map of San Francisco. And we didn't ask. Thanks! Log onto www.shecky's.com to get your own map.

4. Save the date: December 14th at Space Gallery, 1141 Polk Street. Urban art and music featuring artists from Juxtapose Magazine, and Apotheca favorites Mark Brown and James Drason.

And finally,

I will be taking some modified maternity leave from now until Spring. I won't be booking any new massage sessions but I will keep doing skincare until my burgeoning baby bump grows to the point that I can't reach past it to massage your beautiful faces anymore. So I hope you will come in for a facial treatment with me when the 2008 schedule goes up. And in the meantime, I leave you in the very warm and capable hands of Eri, Sari and David for your massages.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Kirsten

Practitioner: David Lesseps, Tui Na Massage Therapist

Update: Hooray! David has joined Apotheca to bring his fantastic Tui Na work to our menu!

I've been David's acupuncture patient for the better part of a year and my frequent sessions with him have played a bigger part in helping my physical and spiritual health than any other medical of therapeutic work I have done. I recommend him wholeheartedly to all my friends and massage and skincare clients who are interested in Traditional Chinese Medicine. So when he told me he was taking his Tui Na practice to the Mission I jumped at the chance to schedule a session with him. I'm so glad I did. My session was wonderfully thorough and effective, and the tight shoulders and creaky back I walked in with were loose and fluid when I left his table and went out into the world an hour later. The work is energizing as well as deeply relaxing, and his office is airy, light and calming. I'm eagerly looking forward to my next session. I'm so glad to have David in the cadre of practitioners I visit regularly to keep me feeling well and happy.

(This entry was originally a Yelp.com review.)