Community Highlights: Meet Marie Hucal of Apotheca Holistic and Apotheca Naturals

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marie Hucal.

Hi Marie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
My own long journey through healing is what has inspired me to open up a small wellness center with a focus on natural pain relief and a place where the community can have access to resources. I once was traveling far and wide as a professional snowboarder, which ended the day that I realized my back was broken and had to go for a major spinal fusion surgery. From this day forward, I had to learn how to live with chronic pain daily. I promised myself that I would make healing to be my full-time job, so that I could offer friends and athletes advice so they can navigate their outcome. My story began when I was relearning to walk and wanted to make a topical pain relief that worked well enough to replace medications. I researched herbal medicines and created Sassy Salve, a natural pain relief which I use every day. A few years later, I started a daily Iyengar yoga practice with the help of my incredible teachers, with a focus on alignment. I have seen profound improvements in my own body and spirit and hope I can be of some service to others one day in sharing the subject. Over years, yoga had helped me regain lost nerve function and control, so naturally, I became more curious about anatomy and muscle function from a scientific standpoint. In 2022, I graduated as a licensed massage therapist from Irene’s School for Myomassology and run my own practice from the wellness house currently. All of my own experiences have led me to this point, where I have an opportunity to share methods, tips, and healing touch to anyone who walks in the door looking for natural pain relief. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Every day comes with its own challenges. I am often faced with navigating new aspects of business and having to invest so much time and energy into understanding a new concept or a reason why taking this next step with actually take some stress off and support me in the long term. There is a constant balance of showing up with a smile and holding grounded space for others while staying on top of organization and my physical or emotional well-being. I continually rely on my daily practice to support me, so that I can show up best for my clients and offer quality service. 

As you know, we’re big fans of Apotheca Holistic and Apotheca Naturals. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
I independently run and manage two businesses under the name Apotheca. Apotheca Holistic Consulting offers massage therapy and group or personal yoga classes out of our wellness house based in North Corktown, Detroit, MI. My wellness practice is client-focused, meaning that I curate each session to the particular needs of each individual on a given day. As a myomassologist, I use a variety of hands-on methods during a massage session, to work with muscle groups or muscle firing patterns, which can offer relief from pain and tension to offer a therapeutic change for a client. I also incorporate a range of techniques from energy balancing to mobilization of joints to offer deeper effects of relaxation. Each yoga session or class is taught to all levels and is based on the students who attend, with an aim to address specific goals or ailments. We utilize a variety of props, deepen our understanding of foundational postures, and encourage students to build a home practice to support their goals in between sessions. 

Apotheca Naturals is dedicated to making and offering natural collection of herbal products that may contribute to healing and self-care practices.  All recipes are homemade in small batches with homegrown or intentionally sourced ingredients. I started Apotheca Naturals as way to share my herbal topical pain relief called Sassy Salve.  After major back surgery, I created this high-strength, herbal, and hemp-infused recipe to manage my chronic pain and have been using it daily since. It has a wonderful heating and cooling effect, brings ease to areas of tension, and works with inflammation of joints, thanks to the medley of herbs that actively form the recipe. My intention is to help those looking for natural relief by offering a variety of products that one can safely use daily to encourage positive health and living without the negative side effects of other medicine.  I am grateful to partner with other herbalists and wellness practitioners around the state and country who are helping use get these products into the hands of many. And, of course, I always offer to use Sassy Salve for my massage therapy sessions! 

Apotheca provides sliding scale pricing to meet individual needs. 

Based in the heart of the beautiful city of Detroit. 

Please contact Marie for a session, as our wellness house is by appointment only. 

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success as a concept of feeling aligned with one’s path and striving for a harmonious exchange between giving and receiving with others in community, practice, or the self. I do not see success as being one direct outcome of a goal but rather a series of events that offer information, inspiration, encouragement, and emotional understanding to bring growth to an individual over time. Since all life events can offer an opportunity to learn from our wins or mistakes, it means that we all have the change to feel successful in our own ways. 

Pricing:

• Sassy Salve Pain Relief: 1 oz jar $25
• Bodywork Sessions – price varies

Contact Info:

• Website: www.apothecaholistic.co , www.apotheca-naturals.com
• Instagram: @_apotheca_ , @apothecaholistic

Image Credits
John Hanson
Jaimie Skriba