Credit: Mary Jenkins
Pine Plains massage therapist and business owner Ana Reyes has always dreamed big. In 2021, the 32-year-old Mexican immigrant opened her healing and wellness studio, Bienestar, in the renovated Baden House at 2990 Church St.
“Bienestar is Spanish for well-being,” Reyes said. “I wanted the name of my business to have a holistic meaning and to be a positive reflection of my background and my future. I went over many Spanish words, and came up with ‘Bienestar,’ which was perfect — and it’s easy to pronounce in English.”
Reyes left her home in Mexico City at age 8 with her mother and brother. “We joined my dad in Amenia; he had already been working for a year at a dairy farm with some relatives,” she said. “Dad wanted us to come to the United States for a better future.” While their housing was provided by her father’s employer, her mother found a job as a housekeeper to help support the family.
For Reyes, the transition to rural American life was difficult. “Coming from our home in Mexico City to a small town like Amenia felt very isolating, especially because there was only a small Hispanic population,” Reyes said. Her father enrolled her in free home English classes provided to immigrant farmworkers and their families. “I took English classes twice a week, and with the help of my teachers in the Webutuck [Central School District] ESL program, I became fluent,” she said.
Reyes first dreamed about a career in physical therapy while in high school. “My parents worked as laborers, and I saw the toll it took on them firsthand,” she said. “I found myself rubbing their backs at the end of their workdays. It made me feel good to help them.”
Credit: Ana Reyes
But the high cost of post-secondary education cast a shadow over Reyes’ plans. “I worked extra hard in my junior year like everyone else for good enough grades to get into a university,” she said. “But I wondered, why even try? I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford it.” Reyes attended college fairs with her high school friends but was discouraged. “Attending those fairs was just so much small talk,” she said. “No way could I afford a physical therapy program.”
Reyes received DACA status (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and officially became a Dreamer. These federal immigration policies secure work permits, Social Security numbers, and driver’s licenses for immigrant children who enter the U.S. without documentation. “My status didn’t allow me to sign up for FAFSA [federal financial aid], so I still had no way to pay for the years of training I needed. It was too expensive.”
Undeterred, Reyes matriculated at Dutchess Community College. She paid her tuition with money she saved working at a pizzeria and earned an associate’s degree in business administration.
Reyes researched realistic career alternatives to physical therapy and decided upon massage. “It seemed like the perfect option,” she said. With a $15,000 loan from the Hudson Valley Credit Union cosigned by her father — which she paid off in four years — Reyes enrolled at Finger Lakes School of Massage in Mount Kisco, N.Y. “It was more challenging than I imagined: I studied anatomy, neurology, and physiology,” she said. “I learned treatment modalities like Chinese medicine; [the classes] opened my mind to many different treatment modalities.”
The Omega Institute, a non-profit educational holistic retreat center in Rhinebeck, hired Reyes right out of school. She also worked at Akasha’s Journey in Dover Plains, N.Y., specializing in integrated healing and wellness. Owner Maryalyce Merritt remembered her first meeting with Reyes. “Ana was relatively new to massage when I hired her, but at her interview I immediately loved her positivity,” Merritt said. “She was easygoing and professional. Clients were drawn to her.”
Reyes lost both positions during the pandemic. “COVID became my push to save money and look for options. I realized that I wanted to run my own studio,” Reyes said. “I had married my high school sweetheart by that time and had a child, but I managed to save all my unemployment money and COVID stimulus checks so I could start my business.”
Finding affordable office space was the next step: “I drove around nearby towns, looking for a studio. I passed a Pine Plains building on Church Street with a sign out front that said ‘recently renovated.’ I loved the space, it felt right.” Bienestar offers deep tissue massage, upper targeted body work, and energy and sound healing by appointment only.
Reyes juggles her studio hours around a busy home life. She now has two children: her eldest will be starting second grade at Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center in the fall. “My daughter is so excited: she loves school,” Reyes said. Her parents moved into Reyes’ tiny two-bedroom rental cottage after her father was laid off from the Amenia dairy farm following the diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer. “It’s been challenging,” she said. “But I couldn’t do this without the support of my family. I work my hours around my husband’s job, my kid’s school hours, and my parents’ needs.“
The prices at Bienestar haven’t changed since it opened, at least not yet. “My specialty isn’t covered by health insurance, so I am mindful of cost. I tell my clients that massage is good for them, but it’s also about what they can afford.” She treats all ages, and all types of problems — from sore triathletes and stiff desk workers to clients with joint injuries or anyone needing to relax.
Reyes still dreams of doing more. “Even though I speak Spanish, it has been hard to engage the Hispanic community,” she said. “They see massage as a luxury, but with all the physical labor they do, regular massage is very important for them. They shouldn’t wait until it’s too late. I’m working on that.”