Soleil Building: Northwest Connecticut’s One-Stop-Shop for Holistic Health

By Barbara Perkins

The Soleil building in Winsted

When driving through a familiar location, it’s not often we really look at the buildings, let alone notice or identify the businesses occupying the space. This is acutely true for 686 Main Street in Winsted, home to Soleil Healing & Arts. Tucked between the Moore & Alvord building and the law offices of Howd, Lavieri & Fitch, this little oasis of serenity could very easily be missed. Originally started by Kat Wynne-Brown & Jenna Marzullo, Soleil Healing & Arts was the manifestation of a long simmering, yet unarticulated dream the women shared. After employment in a variety of more conventional settings, Marzullo was frustrated with the limitations of the traditional counseling model and Wynne-Brown was looking to expand knowledge gained through her personal search for spiritual wellbeing. Wynne-Brown and Marzullo individually enrolled in the Transformational Energy Healing Certificate Program at Northwestern Connecticut Community College. Through their coursework, each realized their shared personal passions for holistic health modalities and artistic expression and longed to apply their knowledge and skills within a framework that would provide more than just counseling or personal development workshops. The two identified a basic concept, healing, and addressed its attainment through a variety of methods. The idea for the center took the alternative modalities of counseling, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, intuitive readings/mediumship, reflexology, herbal remedy consultation, Reiki and massage therapy and combined these practices with innovative applications to evoke new levels of growth and awareness. In addition to redefining holistic counseling, the women sought to foster community. During their first year in business, they met Kristina Berano, who had recently opened Star Yoga in Torrington. Just as Marzullo and Wynne-Brown recognized kindred spirits in each other, they found another in Berano, who was also looking to create community through access to yoga and other movement modalities. In November of 2009, the three women joined forces as Star-Soleil to become a one-stop-shop for a variety of talented holistic practitioners, holding classes, workshops and events in two locations. While the bulk of the classes take place at the spacious third floor studio above Reibman’s at 20 East Main Street in Torrington, the Winsted location continues to house Within Reach, home of Norfolk’s own medium, Patti Sinclair, and serves as a satellite/by-appointment space for the combined efforts of Star-Soleil. For more information about any of the programs and classes offered by Star-Soleil or Kat Wynne-Brown, Jenna Marzullo and Kristina Berano, visit their Web site at www.starsanctuaryforyoga.com.