Kahla Noel is growing her Cheney massage business

By BECKY THOMAS

Staff Reporter

Cheney native Kahla Noel has been busy lately.

Not only has she relocated her massage and esthetics business from Zen Hair Studio to a storefront in the complex at First and Cocolalla streets, she's also growing a new business angle: equine massage.

The former Miss Cheney Rodeo had horses growing up and has always loved the animals, so when she got into massage therapy, she found an avenue to reconnect with them.

“It's a way for me to spend time with horses without all the expense of owning one,” she said.

After classes and a summer of training with horses in Utah, Noel added an equine massage endorsement to her massage certification in August. Since then, she's been working with horses at a handful of local barns.

“Some owners just want it done for maintenance, to keep their horse healthy, and others have an injury and they need rehab,” she said.

Last week, Noel worked with a big gentle horse named Cooper, who stood quietly as she passed her hands over his neck and flank. Like a human massage, Noel feels for heat in certain areas of the body. Like humans, horses often carry stiffness in their necks and backs.

“It's kind of funny how quickly it carries over from human to horse,” she said.

Noel travels to do equine massage around the Spokane region, and she has also begun offering mobile massage to her human clients as well. Meanwhile, she recently completed renovating her new storefront.

“The community was so supportive of me when I was at Zen,” she said. “And most of them have followed me to my new place.”

Noel is available by appointment for massage, facials, makeup application and equine massage Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and every other weekend. For details, call 994-8809.

Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].