From GLOW to RISE: York’s holistic wellness hub marks 15-year milestone - Seacoastonline.com

[Max Sullivan]

YORK, Maine — What started as GLOW has evolved into an enclave of wellness specialists now celebrating their 15th year on York Street.

Jan. 16 will mark the anniversary of RISE Wellness Collective, led by “mother hen” Sage Clarke, who curates a variety of holistic practices from yoga to reflexology, herbalism and psychotherapy. Since its post-pandemic rebrand, RISE has evolved into a one-stop shop for those looking to feel better physically, mentally and spiritually.

“There’s things that we need to address in our body and our spirit that, sometimes, needs something beyond what our doctor can do, or our shrink can do,” Clarke said.

RISE will have an open house on Jan. 16 from 5 to 9 p.m. Guests will be able to enjoy free mini-service sessions from the RISE practitioners, as well as refreshments.

Clarke believes York Village has been a fitting home for GLOW and RISE. Not far away from RISE's 226 York St. address are other wellness businesses like Village Acupuncture and Reiki master Anne Donnell.

"There's some really good juju in the Village," Clarke said. "We've kind of quietly persisted and been this oasis."

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RISE originally started as GLOW in 2010​

RISE describes itself as “a collective of independent wellness practitioners dedicated to the health and well-being of our clients and community.” Clarke works out a contract with each practitioner to be part of the collective, but each is an individual business owner who sets their hours and prices.

Other specialties under the RISE umbrella include midwifery, spatial wellness, forest bathing, cold water dipping, Pilates, yoga and holistic health coaching.

The business started in 2010 when Amy Hopkins opened GLOW in the same space. Hopkins, an expert in all things pregnancy-related, incorporated all her fields of expertise into GLOW, an acronym for “Grow Life. Own Wellness.”

Services included massage therapy, pregnancy wellness services, and education for professionals in those fields, as well as yoga and birthing. She told Seacoastonline in 2010 that GLOW was a “manifestation” of both her respect for ancient healing arts and the belief in self-care as “one’s ultimate health care.”

Clarke said she met Hopkins, who is a practitioner at RISE, about 15 years ago while doing yoga together. Clarke said Hopkins encouraged her to become a yoga teacher, and she went on to teach yoga in York for several years.

“What started as more of a physical process for me became clearly an energetic process,” Clarke said.

Clarke was impressed with GLOW’s approach and decided in 2019 that it be the perfect spot for her. She approached Hopkins about joining.

Only six months later, however, the business was put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic. The GLOW team stayed connected, and as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, Clarke said they had conversations about how to bring back their business.

“Coming out of that experience, there was a real question of what do we do now?” Clarke said.

Hopkins, according to Clarke, said GLOW was over, but the energy and camaraderie developed under that brand was too strong to let it go away. Through that, Clarke said they switched the model to a collective, with Clarke taking a bigger role in leading the business.

“I sort of fought the idea. ‘I’m getting out of my lane,’” Clarke said. “But I got a very powerful kind of impetus, message, that this was going to be something that I could step into.”

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RISE offers a community of practitioners to Seacoast​

Since then, Clarke said RISE has blossomed with a collaborative environment where guests can enjoy a smorgasbord of wellness offerings. Clarke said the model has been successful in that practitioners always have control of their services, even if everyone is under one roof.

“I think it’s kind of the best of both worlds,” Clarke said. “As an individual practitioner, you’re really getting to right-size your business for yourself. Your own schedule, your own worth.”

Clarke, a Reiki master, said RISE meets its clients where they are in life, whether they are versed in holistic healing or taking their first baby step toward alternative wellness approaches. She said people are sometimes surprised by the success they find in practices they’ve never tried before.

Sharon Trull, one of the practitioners at RISE, said she has always worked in the wellness industry but learned through a colleague at work about her current profession, reflexology. The practice involves massaging specific points of the foot that trigger positive effects in other parts of the body.

When Trull’s naturopath recommended she try massaging her children’s feet before school, she said she found it relaxed them, and they loved it. Reflexology is far more than a foot massage, she said, but the experience left her with a yearning to pursue a new field.

“What does that have to do with a sore neck? People will come to me and say, ‘I have limited range in motion in my neck,’” Trull said. “After reflexology treatment, they can move their neck. Who would have known? They have profound relaxation that they never expected to feel after just their feet being worked on.”

Trull said being part of the collective means she can offer more than just her services. A big part of RISE is the referrals professionals offer their clients so they can home in on exactly the kind of wellness care they need.

“It provides a lot of wonderful opportunities for people in the Seacoast area to come together,” Trull said. “People can feel safe and experience a lot of different wellness.”

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