Above photo: Partners in life and business, Alex Quezada (left) handles the operational aspects while Stephanie Suarez materializes multiple massage modalities. The canopy is a private place for salt therapy relaxation and stress relief.

Atabey Wellness & Massage studio is located in Plaza 23 at 11111 Route 23, between the towns of Windham and Ashland. For information and appointments call (518) 225-7874. 

“We are on a journey here,” says Stephanie Suarez, welcoming clients to a warmed massage table offering Swedish, Shiatsu, Deep Tissue and Chair massage as well as other healthy treatments. 

WINDHAM -  “We are on a journey here,” says Stephanie Suarez, the materializer of multiple modalities at Atabey Wellness & Massage.

The sojourn, which is simultaneously inner and outer, began long before Suarez and life partner Alex Quezada created their studio a mile or so outside Windham heading east on Route 23 toward Ashland.

“My parents are from the Dominican Republic so I come from a background where it is taboo to do the work I do,” Suarez says, smiling.

“I have three daughters. One is epileptic and I would naturally do body work on her, caressing her gently. It taught her, when she felt a seizure coming, to move what I call ‘the energy.’

“It was something that helped her. When my daughters grew older, I needed to find something to do with my life,” Suarez says.

“For many hours, I sat meditating outside my house. One day I saw a sign for a massage therapist and I realized, without knowing it, I had been preparing for this the whole time I was helping my daughter.

“I then felt it was my calling,” Suarez says. “”Alex was very supportive. I tell this story to maybe inspire someone to follow your dream.”

The physical, emotional and spiritual fruition is Atabey Wellness & Massage, and a license to practice a variety of techniques.

Swedish massage is firm, gentle/medium pressure, easing muscle tension and allowing clients to slip into a “calm, state of relaxation,” Suarez’s website states. .

Integration of Myofascial Release (MFR), Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT) / Trigger Point Therapy and Shiatsu pressure points can be applied when needed, the website states.

Shiatsu is a Japanese technique that uses finger pressure to help redirect your body's chi, relaxing your muscles and achieving a “balanced energy flow,” the website states.

Deep Tissue massage is designed to remove severe tension, relieving both muscles and connective tissue below the surface, the website states.

Chair Massage is performed in a specially designed chair with your clothes on. “It is excellent for relaxation and more,” the website states.

“I try to keep my work as basic as possible,” Suarez says. “At the same time, there are so many energetic aspects to it.

“When I have a client on the massage table, there are emotions that can arise and that is something I can relate to, working with compassion.

“Every client is different.  I like to give them something they can take with them, and do at home, So much healing can be initiated,” Suarez says.

Stephanie and Alex were both born in New York City, the Lower East Side, meeting, “in the strangest place on earth, Facebook, “she says, laughing.

Together for fifteen years, they moved to Long Island which was, “too hectic and chaotic,” Suarez says, coming to the mountains eight years ago.

“Now we are in paradise,” Suarez says. “There can be a lot of snow but we wouldn’t trade this for anything. I want to know how I can help you.”

Atabey Wellness & Massage is open (winter hours) on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, by appointment. For information telephone (518) 225-7874 or dispatch an email to ssuarezlmt@atabeywellnesss.com.