When Danielle Elatri retired in 2016, she thought she was ready for retirement. She was wrong.
Danielle Elatri
“I soon realized that I was not ready to retire and that I needed a challenge”, she says. “Even though I was in my 70’s, I was healthy and had plenty of ideas and energy.”
Born in France, Danielle spent most of her adult life in Australia where she owned and managed an advertising agency and a language school in Sydney. So her dilemma led inevitably to her new business Casa de Bienestar Natural.
“Being involved in a project that promotes natural health for everyone, including older people, was something I had thought about for several years. Here I was, a perfect example of someone who is retirement age but was not ready to retire.”
She adds: “I also wanted to give something back to my new community. I wanted to open a center that would provide health and happiness based on a philosophy of natural wellness. Healthy living for all ages was my inspiration.”
The Casa de Beinestar Natural at Cornelio Merchan 794 and Padre Sodiro in Cuenca.
There is an abundance of natural and alternative health options available in Cuenca, Danielle says. “I wanted to draw on the best of what’s available here but combine different approaches and different disciplines to provide comprehensive service. The objective is to provide healthy solutions and cures through natural treatment, not simply to treat the symptoms,” she says.
“Sometimes, a particular approach does not work but another one does,” Danielle says. “It’s also important to recognize that a solution for one person is not the solution for someone else. For example, some people need to relax while others need to be energized.”
The Japanese garden at Casa de Bienestar Natural.
She continues: “One of my goals was to build a team of health professionals to work together for the benefit of all our clients.”
Among the professionals practicing at Casa de Bienestar Natural are specialists in balance, chronic pain management, diet, detoxification, acupuncture, emotional and neural health, massage therapy, life coaching, overcoming disability, cupping, beauty rejuvenation, nutritionist, cosmetologist and rolfing.
Casa de Bienestar Natural assistant director, Beth Shahda, says that the broad range of practices at the center results in the best solutions for clients. “We also have the expertise to interact with traditional medicine, to read and act on medical tests and medical histories that our clients bring us.”
Danielle’s special interest in helping older adults is a keystone at Casa de Bienestar Natural. “This is obviously very important to me because of my own age,” she says. “Old age is a misconception and, unfortunately, the belief that you are old has an impact on behavior that affects how people live their lives. I see too many older people deteriorate because they think of themselves as being old. One of my goals is to attack this idea and help people enjoy an invigorated, happy lives.”
Another of Casa de Bienestar Natural’s focuses is to provide services for both Cuencanos and expats. “I’m a foreigner so I understand the special needs of expats,” Danielle says. “Many on our staff speak English and we make special efforts to ensure that communication between clients and professionals is always clear.”
For those interested in learning more, Casa de Bienestar Natural is hosting an open house, Thursday January 24. The event includes a tour of the facilities and free presentations and free consultations. Casa de Bienestar Natural is located on Cornelio Merchan 794 y Padre Sodiro, behind the ECU911 headquarters. For more information, call 093 982 0306 / 07 281 5579 or email info@casadebienestarnatural.com
The professional staff at Casa de Bienestar Natural
Dr. Fenando Juca Tello, Specialist in Molecular and Neural Therapy.
Silvana Spano, BA, MA, Specialist in Cognitive, Emotional and Holistic Health.
Patrick Coady, BA, CMT, Specialist in Cognitive, Emotional and Holistic Health.
Marha Ochoa, Naturopath, Specialist is Emotional Micro Systems and reflexology.
Mary Wingo, Ph.D., Specialist in a variety of chronic, disabling conditions, can also evaluate prior medical records, including lab tests and diagnosis for a workable solution for maintaining wellness for life.
Gabriela Zuñiga, MS nutritionist and cosmetologist.
Vanessa Raber, Licensed in many forms of massage therapy, including Trager, Neuromuscular, Soft Tissue Release, Activated Stretching, and Sports massage; uses many alternative techniques including Chinese Cupping and Gua Sha, and lesser known but effective energy techniques such as Reflex Response, BodyTalk, and Quantum Touch, Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Essential Oils.
Martyn Luberti, licensed Massage Therapies, trained in many different forms of massage, including Trager, Neuromuscular, Soft Tissue Release, Activated Stretching, and Sports massage.
Olga Davidge, expert in the Sapphire Beauty Rejuvenation Software design to facilitate a deep relaxation process using subtle vibrational re-patterning possibilities of the Eductor, SCIO and Indigo and Eternale device (programs that have been created by a former NASA scientist Professor Nelson).
Yolanda Gomez, Holistic Therapies.
Karen Paterson, Balance Specialist, fall prevention techniques and brain enhancement activities.
Matthew Blau, Multidimensional Executive Coaching.
Roosevelt Rojas, Certified Rolfer at Rolfing.
