Exhaling with Erin Scollans
Quick Take: Lindsey Bailey built Zen Where You Are from something she had to learn for herself: how to feel safe and at home in her own body. Now, from her cozy Rindge practice to community Acudetox sessions around the region, she’s creating that kind of space for others.
Originally a transplant from Buffalo, NY, Zen Where You Are owner Lindsey Bailey now considers the Monadnock Region her chosen home.
Her business name, Zen Where You Are, is actually a spin on one of her favorite quotes: “peace is not the absence of chaos, but the ability to remain present with it.” The quote took Bailey years (maybe even decades) to truly understand. And it was a long journey to actually learn how to implement that idea into her life rather than just admire it as a nice sentiment. But once she did, it completely shifted how she approached both her own healing and the way she wanted to show up for others. That shift is really the foundation her whole practice was built on.
Both massage therapy and Acudetox were helpful pieces in Bailey’s own spiritual journey, helping her to learn how to feel safe in her body. Zen Where You Are acts as a love letter to the old version of herself. Bailey’s goal is to give the experience and space where people can get real, tangible relief through massage and Acudetox, delivered with compassion and without judgment. She considers both helpful tools, pieces of the puzzle to help one’s overall wellness. Not only have these sessions helped her, but they’ve helped so many other clients feel physically better, calmer, more regulated, and generally more at home in their own bodies.
What Is Acudetox?
For those unfamiliar with the term Acudetox, it’s referred to as a NADA 5-Needle Protocol—a standardized ear acupuncture treatment using five specific points on the ear. Bailey’s license is specific to these five points: it’s a distinct, recognized protocol on its own, separate from the broader practice of full-body acupuncture. Sessions are quiet and non-verbal: no talking is required unless the client wants otherwise.
The five ear points are as follows:
Shen Men (or the “Spirit Gate”) – known as the calming point. Physically, it helps ease overall tension and supports balancing the body’s chi. Emotionally, it’s associated with quieting anxiety, settling a racing mind, and easing addictive cravings like nicotine, alcohol, sugar and drugs.
Sympathetic – supports the nervous system directly, helping the body shift out of fight-or-flight. Emotionally, it’s tied to easing restlessness and physical stress responses.
Kidney – traditionally linked to vitality and willpower, physically supports overall energy, and is emotionally associated with reducing fear.
Liver – associated with the body’s detox pathways. Emotionally, it’s tied to processing anger and supporting a smoother emotional flow.
Lung – connected to breath and the respiratory system. Emotionally, it’s associated with grief and the ability to let go.
Together, the five points create a whole-body, whole-person reset, which is part of why the protocol has been used for decades to support relaxation, ease cravings, improve sleep and calm an overactive nervous system. It’s a safe, natural way to address these areas without medication or talking involved. It’s the body’s way of finding natural balance. What the client is seeking relief from influences the frequency of the recommended sessions. Some clients book as needed; some stick to a scheduled routine.
An Integrated Approach to Bodywork
Alongside Acudetox, Bailey offers an integrated bodywork approach to massage. Rather than sticking to a single technique for an entire session, she blends different tools and modalities based on what a client’s body actually needs that day to support their overall goals. One session might look like long, flowy Swedish strokes easing muscle tension. And another might use Neuromuscular techniques to address specific holding patterns, speaking to the nervous system and settling into deeper work in the areas that carry the most tension. It’s less about following one set routine and more about listening to what the client shares, as well as the body in real-time. She’s always adjusting as the session unfolds.
Bringing Acudetox Into the Community
Bailey offers Acudetox in a few different formats, including private 60-minute sessions, as a massage add-on, and through community events like the walk-in sessions and sound bath add-ons she’s recently done at Hearth Magick in Peterborough. Community is at the center of her work and practice. It’s a way for her to bring relief to people who may not otherwise have access to it. Bailey notes the different kind of energy that emerges from a room full of people who are all quietly receiving treatment together. She also enjoys bringing Acudetox out of the treatment room entirely. She can bring it to workspaces, to nature, or to a gathering of friends and family in someone’s home. This makes it really easy to introduce the practice to people right in a setting where they already feel comfortable.
A Space Designed for Comfort
In her own space in Rindge, you can feel nurturing details everywhere you turn. Soft linens, heated memory foam, personal aromatherapy through Essence Ring nasal diffusers, weighted chest blankets, a heated, weighted back pad, and even heated hand mittens. Her products are all holistic brands that she trusts and uses herself (like Adama Minerals, Zion Health and Baar). And each session is tailored to the client’s request right down to the background music. In a day, she might use an ASMR Historian, bird sounds, the Grateful Dead, and Florence and the Machine. Bailey is ready to personalize the experience so it feels like home. At the end of each session, she offers gifted ear Acupressure seeds on the Shen Men spot of each ear as a gentle way to take the “zen” home.
At its heart, Bailey’s practice is trauma-informed and body positive, with the goal of every client feeling seen, safe and respected in their own body, exactly as they are. For those curious but not quite ready to book, Bailey offers a complimentary 15-minute Google Meet call. It’s a low-stakes, no-pressure way to ask questions, get to know each other, and figure out together what the right fit might look like.
Planting Roots in the Monadnock Region
Bailey is thrilled to think about the possibilities Zen Where You Are will bring her way. She’s looking forward to further planting her roots here in the Monadnock Region, networking/collaborating with other business owners and practitioners, and continuing to build a life and practice in a community that already feels like it fits. Say hello and follow along on her social page here.
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