The Forge is Moorhead’s newest fitness and training center.
The Salt & Cedar Sauna is a highlight of The Oasis, the spa associated with The Forge and Downtown Health and Wellness.
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
What was just one health-related business for more than 50 years has become a five-some.
Three companion businesses have opened in the new Center Avenue space occupied by Downtown Health and Wellness –the Forge, a fitness center; the Oasis, a spa created to offer relaxation and recovery; and the Fuel Haus, the spot in between, where customers can choose from coffees, teas, smoothies, shakes and and other pick-me-ups.
All of the businesses are participating in a grand opening on Thursday, Dec. 4, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Door prizes and membership specials will be part of the festivities.
“We’re moving from chiropractic and massage to a more universal approach,” explains Dr. Matt Lau, who with Dr. Matt Gilbertson operated Downtown Chiropractic in the former Center Mall.
Lau explains his interest in expanding to a more universal approach was spurred by personal experience with depression and anxiety. “Now we’re approaching health and wellness from every angle – relieving mental and physical stress in a setting that encourages a sense of community.”
That includes additional services in their core clinic – among them, a life coach, dietitian, mental health counselor, massive therapists and soon a functional medicine specialist, who will help patients tie it all together. Within that business space, a beauty shop dubbed Downtown Aesthetics provides beauty, cosmetic and personal care.
The Forge is open 24 hours a day, with staff on hand from 7 to 7 weekdays and 10 to 2 weekends. It’s equipped with new plate-loaded equipment manufactured by Life Fitness, a Minnesota company. “The Forge offers community-driven fitness,” Lau explains. In addition to working with individual clients, eight personal trainers are available to lead classes of up to 15 men and women. The intent -is to build connections and support, a key driver of consistency and discipline.
The Oasis – located on the east end of the Center Avenue site between 6th and 7th Streets – takes a different approach to help clients feel their best. “It’s a relaxation and recovery spa,” Lau observes. The options for mental and physical relief vary, but all share a focus: resetting mind and body through a variety of experiences.
The largest part of the Oasis encompasses the Salt & Cedar Sauna. With space to accommodate 15 guests in its golden light, the spa is framed with salt walls. They’re key to halo therapy, with the salt-infused air offering anti-inflammatory relief.
A variation is Fire & Ice, where one or two can heat up in a sauna for 15 minutes, then cool off with a plunge into 50-degree water for three to 10 minutes. The first encounter can be a shock: “I lasted 20 seconds my first time,” Lau admits, then adds, “The process is absolutely invigorating”
Other Oasis options include the salt float, a sensory deprivation experience of floating in complete silence and darkness to tune into one’s body and mind; and red-light therapy. The latter, he says, can help with physical recovery, healing the skin while penetrating to deeper layers.
The fifth of Downtown Wellness’s five business, and the newest, is the Fuel Haus. “Clients can enjoy beverages after their sessions, but it’s absolutely open to the public, too,” Gilbertson emphasizes. Accessible from the next-door apartments as well as from the street, its menu includes a long list of more (and less) health-oriented options. More than a dozen shakes are on the menu, including ultra-lean and meal-concoction options as well as the classics. Protein smoothies and five kinds of coffees are available, too. The widest selection is found with teas, from green, black and decaf versions to others encouraging weight loss, digestive comfort, muscle recovery and “inner peace.” That’s topped off with Ener-Teas, naturally high in caffeine plus ingredients like ginseng to increase energy and focus.
For more information on the new businesses, visit DowntownHealthandWellness.com, TheForgeFM.com, and TheOasisFM.com. Appointments can also be booked online.