Essential Elements

As massage studios grow increasingly big and impersonal, Middleburg Heights’ Essential Elements is a delightful and affordable escape from pain and stress.

By: Mimi Vanderhaven
Date: 03/05/2010
When you meet a truly nurturing soul, darling, you know it right away. There is a warm, sweet softness in the voice and a look of genuine empathy in the eyes. And they listen to you intently, not just with their ears, but with their entire being.

Natalie Rumbaugh is such a soul. When you’re in her studio, there is an overwhelming sense that everything is going to be okay.

Five years ago—after a 20-year career in human resources—Natalie founded Essential Elements, a therapeutic massage studio located in Middleburg Heights. She made the career change after witnessing firsthand what massage therapy did for her sister, a nurse who suffered a back injury when a patient fell on her.

“My sister had multiple back surgeries to keep correcting the problem, but it didn’t help,” Natalie recalls. “It hurt me to see her in such pain. She finally found results in massage therapy. That’s when I decided to get my own license. I wanted to help people the way my sister had been helped.”

The team at Essential Elements includes four professionals—Natalie, along with manager Julie Silvestro, Melissa Kennedy and Samantha Slaby. All four are Licensed Massage Therapists (L.M.T.s), not simply practitioners. That means each of them has been licensed by the State of Ohio Medical Board, the same group that licenses Ohio’s physicians.

“It takes years of training to become an L.M.T.,” Natalie reveals. “That education allows us to do highly effective therapeutic massages that get genuine results for our clients.”

According to Natalie, most people come to her studio for pain relief. “We’re really busy right now helping people who hurt themselves shoveling snow,” Natalie says. “That’s a dangerous activity that creates unnatural stress on the lower back, especially if the snow is wet and heavy.”

In addition, people commonly visit Essential Elements for back and shoulder pain that is the result of sitting hunched over a computer all day, and for headaches, sports injuries, and pain associated with “weekend warrior” activities.

“Some people just try to do too much on the weekends,” Natalie adds compassionately. “It’s easy to hurt yourself.”

Natalie and her team also handle Worker’s Comp, personal injury cases, and flexible spending accounts.
Unlike many facilities that complete an hour massage in 50 minutes, Essential Elements gives you a full 60 minutes. “We don’t do cookie cutter massages,” Natalie assures. “Ours are fully customized. We schedule a half-hour between appointments so there is plenty of time to talk about what your issues are.”
In other words, this is not an assembly line.

The ambiance at Essential Elements is remarkably warm and relaxing. An Asian motif against a backdrop of soothing reds creates a sense of genuine tranquility. For three years in a row the studio has been named one of the best places for a massage on the Fox 8 Hotlist, with clients coming from as far away as Streetsboro and Westlake for the experience.

But they also come for the prices.

A full 60-minute therapeutic massage is just $55. Compare that to over $100 at similar facilities. Natalie, Julie, Melissa and Samantha also offer a 45-minute neck, back and shoulder massage for just $45, and a 30-minute massage for just $35. Seniors aged 62 and over can take $10 off the hour massage when they book an appointment between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Essential Elements now features Massage Cupping, which has been featured on Dr. Oz and The Doctors. By creating suction and negative pressure, Massage Cupping is used to drain excess fluids and toxins, loosen adhesions, lift connective tissue, and bring blood flow to stagnant muscles and skin.

In addition, the studio is featuring Kinesio Taping, which gives support and stability to joints and muscles without affecting circulation and range of motion.

Other massages include Swedish, Raindrop, Couples, Deep Tissue, Pre-Natal, Stone, Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Reiki and Paraffin Bath Treatments. Natalie also carries a wide variety of aromatherapy and other products, like the popular Biofreeze line.

Right now Essential Elements is celebrating its fifth year in business—and that’s no surprise to Mimi.

Essential Elements is located at 6867 Pearl Road in Middleburg Heights. Look for them in Suite 108 upstairs in the Southland Professional Building at Southland Shopping Center near JoAnn Fabrics. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 440-886-8657 or visit EssentialElementsMassage.com.

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