New Cafe and Meditation Space Now Open in West Highland

"You step into our cafe, no matter what you order, it's been curated with intentional practice in order to make you feel good," says Jose Guerrero, co-founder of Sacred Society, a wellness-centered cafe and meditation space at 3410 West 38th Avenue that celebrated its grand opening last week.

Guerrero, who formerly worked as the executive chef of Viewhouse, and co-founder Barbie Beltran have been working on the multi-use concept since the pandemic hit. Its mission is to infuse holistic healing in a neutral space for those who seek it out as well as those who happen to wander in for a latte. Sacred Society functions as a cafe and private event space, with an array of wellness services waiting behind the welcome desk, including a VR meditation experience, sound healing sessions, red-light treatments and vibroacoustic therapy.

"We're in the thick of COVID, people are going through some really hard times," says Beltran of her and Guerrero's brainstorming process. "What about a meditation center cafe to help bring serenity and peace?"

Over forty people can be seated in the cafe, which is decked out with foliage, warmly lit hanging lamps and ceiling-high windows to let in plenty of natural light. Upon entering the cafe, you'll find a welcome desk tucked behind vine-covered shelves filled with a variety of wellness-focused retail goods including self-help books, incense, crystals, candles and more.
The cafe offers a variety of curated bites, such as a gluten-free burrito from Bella Burritos; a housemade gluten-free croissant with sausage, egg, cheese and sun-dried tomato remoulade; a collection of pre-made salads; and a variety of pastries including muffins, eclairs and heart-shaped macarons. The cafe also offers smoothies, chia pudding, a daily soup and a collection of fruit-forward mocktails such as the Blue 75 with Sangha blue lemonade, Gruvi Dry Secco, fresh lemon and a blueberry garnish.

"The intention of the cafe really was to focus on adaptogens and nootropics — functional foods not just for the sustenance, but for the other purpose of inflammation, antioxidants, regenerating gut biomes," says Guerrero. The menu was carefully designed by Guerrero and Beltran with the intention of normalizing quick bites that feature health-forward adaptogens — plants, mushrooms and herbs that are celebrated in holistic wellness for their natural abilities to reduce stress, fatigue and pain as well promote a healthy immune system. Similarly, nootropics are celebrated for enhancing cognitive function, such as assisting with brain fog and concentration.

"You don't have to come and research, you don't have to know what adaptogens are," says Guerrero. "We're not trying to recreate the wheel here. All we're trying to do in our pre-practice to our guests, is making great decisions for you."
Sacred Society carries retail goods from small businesses that share similar health and sustainability-based ethics. One partner is the Boulder-based brand Hävenly Baked Goods from Swedish baker Katarina Schare, whose products are gluten-free, nut-free, and avoid refined sugars. Another partner is Sangha Juice from founder Alberto Gallardo, whose cold-pressed juices are available for retail purchase and are used in the mocktails on the menu.

"For me, the inspiration for this place came from a need to find peace, a need to feel serenity," says Beltran, who comes from a background in the beauty industry as an aesthetician and makeup artist. Beltran cites her struggles with mental health as the inspiration that steered her towards holistic healing, wellness and meditation.

"I found that that was the best way for me to learn more about myself," shares Beltran. "I started doing hypnotherapy back in 2017 to address childhood traumas."

The wellness center offers meditative experiences such as breath work sessions, guided meditations and sound journey experiences. It also offers specialty services such as a twenty-minute photobiomodulation therapy, which utilizes red light treatment to stimulate cellular repair, helping with muscle recovery, stiffness and general inflammation. Though the machine looks all too similar to a tanning bed, it rejuvenates your skin instead of damaging it.
"We just kept adding to it," says Beltran. "I have kids, and so for me, my four kids, I'm always looking for things to help them chill out." A service inspired by Beltran's family and the desire to find engaging ways to approach wellness is a meditative VR experience offered in a pyramid-shaped pod that Beltran designed with Sensiks, a sensory reality company based in the Netherlands.

"If you're going to create a space that is supposed to involve tranquility, there's so many different pieces and elements that go to it," says Beltran. "And that's really what the goal was, to hit all the senses."

Sacred Society also boasts its own recording label, Sacred Society Music Group, which produces meditative and ambient music utilized in many of its services. The vibroacoustic therapy experience features a vibration-based massage that syncs with an ambient soundscape, producing a sensory experience that can only be described as meditation combined with that front-row concert moment where you can feel the bass thumping in your chest.
"I don't think the flex is the car you drive or the home or the shoes. I think the flex is the health span," says Guerrero. "We talk about life span, right? What's the use of living a hundred years if you're miserable and achy and so on and so forth. That's why we've got to take action today."

Through all its various services, whether a VR trip to a galactic meditative space or simply a delicious burrito, Sacred Society is a space fine-tuned to encourage people to care about what we fuel our bodies and minds with. Guerrero refers to this kind of holistic self-care as the "health span."

"We're not saying come here and you're fixed. What we're saying is that it all exists within you and you're capable of it," says Guerrero. "But if you'd like somebody along the way with your journey, we would love to participate."

He concludes, "We want everybody to say, this is a me movement."

Sacred Society is located at 3410 West 38th Street and is open Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on the menu, services and booking sessions ahead of time, visit sacredsociety.com.