Congratulations to Rachel Hogancamp, Managing Partner at Rasa Spa, and to the entire Rasa family who are celebrating 10 years in business. Since 2006, Rasa has been actively cultivating wellness in the Finger Lakes as the only full-service holistic healthcare spa in the region. Rasa integrates a wide range of natural, healing therapies and treatments for encouraging wellness. From acupuncture to waxing, energy work to facials, and body scrubs, wraps, and massage, Rasa is a perfect synthesis of quality service and deep respect for natural healing.
Rasa was founded as a partnership between Hogancamp, Island Health & Fitness (IHF), and the Cayuga Medical Center (CMC) in the building now known as the Cayuga Wellness Center (CWC). Hogancamp, who has a background in massage therapy (as a practitioner and as a teacher) has long been dedicated to the deep healing powers of massage therapy for people with injuries and pain. She found that the possibilities for collaboration with the various CMC communities, including Physical Therapy and the Cayuga Center for Healthy Living, were endless.
Hogancamp, who has a real passion for wellness, graduated from Ithaca College in 1991, and decided she would support herself through law school by becoming a massage therapist. But she soon realized that she had a calling to help people pause and become quiet and mindful through her practice. Hogancamp finished the program at the Finger Lakes School of Massage (FLSM) in 1994, and started Bodyworks with Brenda Palumbo. She also taught at FLSM during this time period. After running a successful massage therapy practice and teaching for several years, Hogancamp felt that she wanted to reach more people and have a more holistic retreat space in Ithaca. Palumbo introduced her to Mary Tabacchi, a respected spa industry leader and a professor at Cornell in the school’s notable spa program. Tabacchi was very influential in cultivating the seed of Rasa and was one of the main drivers.
As Rasa celebrates its 10-year anniversary, Hogancamp looks forward to offering more therapeutic care, encouraging self-care for clients, deepening Rasa’s groove in Ithaca, and expanding beyond the immediate geographic area.
Rasa opened its doors in 2006, with six treatment rooms, and in 2012, when the Pilates Room moved out of the CWC building, the Spa expanded by adding two more rooms and a Community Space classroom for workshops and meditation and yoga classes. Rasa also added two treatment rooms at IHF at Community Corners in order to accommodate the Community Corners area of Ithaca.
In 2013, Rasa saw its largest increase in business, a 19 percent jump in profit. Hogancamp felt Rasa was finally hitting its stride and becoming a staple in the Ithaca wellness community. In addition to the added space, Hogancamp also credits this growth to hiring current Spa Director, Abby Funk-Gifford. Her addition to the management team made a big difference, allowing for further growth and the hiring of more staff. Rasa currently has 45 employees.
As Rasa celebrates its 10-year anniversary, Hogancamp looks forward to offering more therapeutic care, encouraging self-care for clients, deepening Rasa’s groove in Ithaca, and expanding beyond the immediate geographic area. Just this year, a treatment room at CMC’s main campus was finished, where Rasa’s massage therapists are able to see patients, in addition to staff and visitors.
“Celebrating a decade of wellness has been remarkable,” Hogancamp says. “We have the power to help people achieve long-term, sustainable health and wellness, and that’s what Rasa Spa is all about. In the past 10 years there has been a huge mental shift from thinking that a spa treatment is purely a luxury item for a few to knowing and appreciating that it’s truly a wellness regimen for all.”