Delhi woman packages self-care for clients | Business News

Delhi native Chelsea Frisbee seeks to cultivate balance in uncertain times.

The 34-year-old massage therapist recently launched a self-care coaching and retreat business.

“I help women really take care of themselves and give themselves space to rest,” Frisbee said. She offers virtual and in-person services.

The business, Frisbee said, was inspired by the spread of the novel coronavirus, though her interest in healing predates the pandemic.

“It formed this summer and came out of the pandemic and the conditions we’re all in right now, which are so different, and knowing that a lot of group retreat centers are closed and not able to operate, but people are still facing unprecedented amounts of stress and uncertainty,” she said. “So, I’m meeting people where they’re at by offering either support and doing a retreat in their house, or actually bringing them to a peaceful cabin in Vermont as a way to work with me in a one-on-one basis to help create what they need.

“I’m a massage therapist in New York state and that was something that really got me started on this idea of, ‘How do you take care of yourself?’” Frisbee said. “Being able to provide that as a service for people, with relaxation and connection to the body, was really what got me started, and that was 10 years ago.”

Her self-care and retreat services, Frisbee said, represent the distillation of her experiences.

“I lived in Vermont for many years and worked in the nonprofit world,” she said. “I have an interest in farming and food systems and came back to the area about a year ago. I had been doing a lot of soul searching about what my unique set of experiences and skills and offerings is and, through everything changing with the pandemic, what I came to realize is that, what I have to offer is a really unique blend of massage therapy, deeply listening and holding space for people. That’s come about through becoming a self-care coach but also this cabin in Vermont; that’s an amazing resource I get to share with other people.”

Though the Vermont retreat site holds personal significance, Frisbee said, its healing properties are universal.

“The cabin itself was my mom’s,” she said. “She died of pancreatic cancer and, for her, it was a place of rest and renewal. It has a really special place in my heart, so now I’m sharing that really special place, specifically with women, to experience that rest and renewal. For me, it’s carrying on my mom’s legacy and it’s been an amazing process.

“For some (clients), being by a lake and spending time writing and doing yoga is exactly what they need,” Frisbee said, “and for other people, I’m able to offer massage therapy. For a lot of people, it’s just having a little bit of space to be alone and reset before coming back into their life. I’ve heard people say, ‘I love taking time to myself and when I do take it, I notice a difference, have more insight and feel more relaxed,’ but there’s a certain amount of discomfort around being alone. That’s where the service I’m providing comes in. It’s more than an Airbnb rental; people work with me ahead of time and there’s a bit of follow-up after to create an experience that’s very personalized … and has a lot of intention to it.”

Frisbee said clients include women from across the Northeast, though the response close to home has been “really good.”

“My typical customers are women between 30 and 65 who are interested in taking care of themselves,” she said. “It’s people who might already have a yoga practice or be self-aware and know that this is an important value that they hold.

“People want more support for taking care of themselves and finding moments of peace, especially now,” she said. “It’s still challenging to do that, especially for women, who are socialized to put other people first. So, for someone to say, ‘OK, I’m going to leave the kids for a weekend and go relax,’ that’s a hurdle they may need to overcome personally. I’ve seen that, when they do, they’re able to go back to their lives and families and communities having reset and being able to show up with more energy and more ability to really be present.”

Frisbee said, while focused on a female clientele, she offers virtual self-care for all.

“I’ve geared it toward women,” she said, “but absolutely the need to take care and listen to ourselves is pervasive among men and women. I offer a free 30-minute strategy session call with people, where we create a personalized action plan based around self-care. That free call might be really helpful.”

Frisbee said she hopes to expand her virtual offerings, increasing one-on-one work and introducing group work and self-care courses.

“That’s something I’m working on for this winter,” she said. “We’ve all had a lot of change in the last few months and there’s a lot of uncertainty, so it comes back to having ourselves as a resource and (asking), ‘How can we make sure we’re able to enjoy our life at the same time as having all these crazy things happening around us?’”

For more information, visit chelseafrisbee.com. Also, follow Frisbee on Instagram @chelseafrisbee.