Hulu Amen Ra, the new owner of The Hidden Spa, is combining new methods with the old in his holistic practice.
A first-generation Dominican from New York City, Amen Ra moved to San Diego in 2018 where he put his education in audio engineering to work. “By 2014, I was doing massage therapy,” he said. “From there it just went deeper into the different methods of (holistic) healing, everything from herbalism to sound healing to oils, and all the different natural remedies that we are now actually integrating.”
Referring to The Hidden Spa at 4969 Santa Monica Ave. as a “wellness sanctuary,” the new business in its promotional materials announces that it is Ocean Beach’s first full-spectrum healing center employing the latest state-of-the-art healing technology in a medical massage spa specializing in innovative and modern bodywork and skincare. “It’s healing touch, light therapy, modern and ancient together,” Amon Ra said adding, “It’s more about coherence of mind and body. We can adjust all of our energies.”
Amon Ra pointed out that the Western approach to medical practice is fragmented and compartmentalized, with specialists in different areas, whereas holistic practice is more overarching with the goal of “living stress-free as much as we can. That’s why we need self-care: meditation, mindfulness, good smells, and good sounds. We want everything to mirror that wholesomeness in the realm of restoration and rejuvenation, which is what I’m representing.”
The spa owner pointed out that, when the body is overburdened by stress, that translates into less energy for the individual. He likened a good massage to a good haircut, where afterward, “We feel good and we’re radiating different and people respond to us differently. But if we’re in a lower-vibration state with less electricity, then we’re ‘not open to let things flow, let things go, keep moving forward.’ So everything (he does) leads to the holistic experience being more vibrant. That’s what good bodywork, good touch, will do.”
Wide-ranging massage-therapy experiences at The Hidden Spa include deep tissue, hot stone, orthopedic, restorative, pre/post-natal, myofascial, Tui Na, Thai, Ashiatsu, relaxation, traditional Swedish, sports, and therapeutic massage as well as reflexology and cupping therapy. Energy work services offered include vibrational tuning-sound healing, Reiki energy and bodywork, vibroacoustic therapy, skincare and facial treatments, dermabrasion, glycogen peels, and face and back facials along with eyebrow tinting and shaping, airbrush tanning and waxing and body contouring.
Amon Ra noted that the best of both the East and the West in therapeutic care “is available to us today.”
Like many businesses in OB. Amon Ra said he started out “with his tuning forks” at the OB Farmers Market adjusting people’s energy. Clients at The Hidden Spa are locals, tourists, “people from all over the world,” said Amon Ra adding, “I have people who’ve been recommended here from Australia.”
Amon Ra added he likes to integrate all the different avenues of holistic healing into his work. “We can get a massage or a facial treatment anywhere,” he pointed out. “But we integrate them. For instance, I have facial treatments with light therapy together.”
What does the owner of The Hidden Spa Wellness Center want clients to leave with? “An experience along with their treatment, not just having a service done, in a place that’s centered around outcomes,” answered Amon Ra.
THE HIDDEN SPA
Where: 4969 Santa Monica Ave.
Info: www.obhiddenspa.com.
