Encinitas spa transforms into full wellness center with naturopathic medicine

Four Moons Spa has transformed into a wellness playground with the addition of naturopathic medical services along with its many traditional spa treatments, acupuncture, yoga, event programming (new music + comedy series) and other cosmic healing offerings.

Tucked away on beautiful private grounds in the heart of Encinitas, the spa provides a high-vibrational, nurturing environment that supports guests on their self-care and self-actualization journeys.

Join the Kitten Shower to help save lives

Spring in San Diego means many things: the blooming of flower fields in Carlsbad, fascinating “grunion runs” where the silvery fish take over beaches at night and — for San Diego Humane Society — the start of the busiest time of year: baby season.

Kittens need an incredible amount of attention to survive during their first weeks of life — attention that is usually provided by their mother. But for thousands of orphaned kittens in San Diego each spring, that critical care comes from the compassionate staff and volunteers in San Diego Humane Society’s Kitten Program.

Neonate kittens have several needs that San Diego Humane Society meets in the absence of a mother. They must feed every two to three hours — that’s a lot of bottles! Because they are not benefiting from the antibodies in a mother’s milk, it’s important these young felines are cared for with strict protocols to make sure they steer clear of disease and infection.

Kittens must also stay warm. Body temperature regulation is critical, so heating discs and blankets are a must. And then there’s hygiene. Kittens are adorable, but quite messy. Without a mom to groom them, people must step in to keep them clean and healthy.

Back in 2009, San Diego Humane Society opened the country’s first-ever around-theclock kitten nursery. Now called the Jim Lester Kitten Nursery & Foster Center, it develops and shares best practices for kitten care with shelters across the country. In addition to providing critical care for kittens, the Lester Nursey & Foster Center engages hundreds of trained foster volunteers to provide 24-hour care in their own homes and offers a daycare space for fosters who need help caring for kittens during the day. The facility is now part of a broader Kitten Program that also includes nurseries at San Diego Humane Society’s Escondido and Oceanside campuses. Programs like this are few and far between, and one of the key components to San Diego Humane Society’s commitment to Stay at Zero euthanasia of healthy and treatable shelter animals in San Diego County.

Every spring, animal lovers across our region are invited to participate in a virtual Kitten Shower to help save these thousands of tiny lives. By selecting a gift from one of San Diego

The spa’s myriad of services includes an outdoor soaking tub and sauna, daily yoga, therapeutic massages, organic facials, acupuncture, tarot readings and naturopathic medical treatments that include nutritional IVs, vitamin shots, platelet-rich plasma facials and a full, holistic approach to wellness at the hands of Drs. Hannah Lollar and Rachel Heussner.

“We’re trained to really look at the person as a whole and find the root cause of what’s going on,” Lollar said. “Not only do we care about your chief concerns and what your symptoms are, but we want to know who you are as a person to really deliver that comprehensive, holis- tic approach to health.” The doctors run a series of tests to search for that root cause of illness.

As naturopathic doctors, both are fully trained in pharmaceutical medications, herbal and botanical medicine, homeopathy, nutraceuticals, nutrition and counseling.

“We’re looking at all the different systems in the body, patterns in the bloodwork, and going through a patient’s whole health history trying to connect these dots and find that root cause,” Heussner said.

Both of the doctors love being part of their patients’ health journeys as well as their proximity to the spa’s other healers who they can refer their patients to for additional self-care needs.

“We have so much under one roof,” Heussner said. “They can come here to care for themselves on an emotional and mental level but then we can take them a step further with a look at their labs to figure out why they are feeling a certain way.”

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