Spa NorthWest grows through its healthy mind, body programs

Kathleen Gallen will tell you she didn’t set out to launch an upscale boutique spa and yoga studio.

With a bachelor’s degree in political science, the Manatee High School graduate might have followed the footsteps of her father, retired Judge Thomas Gallen, into a law career.

Instead, she joined the Peace Corps and went to Slovakia.

After the Peace Corps, she was an office manager for a holding company. In an effort to deal with some of her own stress, she began to explore ways of keeping mind and body in balance and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

In 2006, she launched Gallen Massage and Yoga, since renamed Spa NorthWest.

“It was just me,” Gallen said of the one-woman operation back then.

That same year, she met her husband, Paul Ramshaw, a man of many talents, including musician, educator and artist.

Today, they are partners in the business at 2722 Manatee Ave. W., Suite 2.

“Kathleen is the front and I am the back,” he said.

Meaning, Gallen is the licensed massage therapist, yoga instructor and mediation teacher, while he handles the company web site and marketing.

“It is rewarding to see the results in happy clients. I feel like I have a calling to bring something like this to the community,” Gallen said.

Spa NorthWest has grown from one staff member in 2006 to 17 staff members and contractors in 2017.

“Meditation allows you to slow down the frenzied pace of life,” Ramshaw said. “People can have less anxiety and better health through meditation. It’s a glass half-full rather than a glass half-empty.”

Over the years, Spa NorthWest has not only added staff, but space. In late September or October, Gallen and Ramshaw plan to move the business to a larger building they have purchased in the 5700 block of 21st Avenue West, near Blake Medical Center. The extra space would allow the addition of seminars and alternative health offerings, such as acupuncture.

The Manatee Chamber of Commerce recently recognized Spa NorthWest as a finalist for the Small Business of the Year Award in the category for those with $250,000 to $1 million in annual revenue.

For more information about Spa NorthWest’s massage, yoga, skincare programs and packages, visit spa-northwest.com or call 941-713-1637.

This story was originally published August 14, 2017 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Spa NorthWest grows through its healthy mind, body programs."