Our Story
With the growing public interest in new healing approaches, our healthcare is beginning to focus on "whole person" care. Four Directions Wellness, affiliated with GW Center for Integrative Medicine, focuses on intuitively connecting body-mind-emotions and spirit for a person's health and wholeness.
Individuals seek Four Directions Wellness founder, Mara Benner’s, support to connect with their personal intuition: to find clarity in their life, to consider the mind-body connection with an illness; to receive relaxing healing techniques and to pursue their inner spiritual journey.
Prior to forming Four Directions Wellness, Mara has enjoyed over 30 years in healthcare, working at various times in hospitals, nursing homes, home health, hospice and elder protective services. She received a degree in Gerontology, and has worked at the federal and state level on healthcare and aging policy. One of the most important perspectives Mara has gained is as a family caregiver and seeing firsthand our healthcare system from the eyes of a patient. These combined experiences have provided a more complete picture of our need for integrative and “whole person” healthcare.
Mara has also undergone extensive training throughout her lifetime in mindfulness, healing modalities, spiritual exploration, and coaching. She is also currently in training for medical intuition. Among Mara’s expertise, she is recognized with the following:
Reiki Master
Certified Intuitive Counselor Certified Integrative Reflexology Practitioner
Certified Energy Medicine Practitioner
Certified Shamanic Healing Apprenticeship
Certified Qigong Training
Certified Crystal Healer
Interfaith/Interspiritual Ordination
Through all of her experiences, she recognizes that whether for preventative care, acute or chronic disease or to simply take a closer look at our inner selves, the body-mind-emotion-spirit connection is a critical journey for each person’s health and vitality.
Mara and Four Directions Wellness belongs to the following organizations:
Alexandria Chamber of Commerce Del Ray Business Association
Holistic Chamber of Commerce
International Association of Reiki Professionals
One Spirit Learning Alliance
Reflexology Association of America
