Danielle and Renee Gaudette.

Sisters Danielle and Renee Gaudette never thought they would enter a similar line of work, let alone manage healing businesses in the same neighborhood.

Four years apart and each with a different set of interests, it seemed that they were destined to go down different paths.

Yet somehow, their roads still converged. Today, Danielle manages the Arlington Dahn Yoga Center, and Renee oversees Water House Wellness, just down the street.

Originally from Watertown, the sisters have become a vital part of Arlington’s healing community. "Both Danielle and I grew up in an extremely loving and supportive environment," says Renee. "I do not think it is very far reaching to assume we’d both become involved in providing services to others."

Danielle discovered Dahn yoga after graduating from college in 2000, when the stress of searching for a job and a direction in life led her to a Dahn Yoga Center close to her parents’ home.

"It very quickly relaxed me," she says of her first class. "I had been really anxious; really worried about the world because of all the information I had been bombarded with in school. Dahn yoga started to bring a lightness of heart and a positive mind."

She found lasting peace after each session, something that she had never experienced before to that extent.

"I was waitressing at the time, and I would do a little meditation exercise under the counter at the restaurant at any spare moment I could find, just to feel that energy. It would make me feel so relaxed and centered."

Dahn yoga stems from a Korean tradition, unlike others that trace their roots to India. It incorporates qigong exercises, sitting meditation, and a focus on feeling energy flow throughout the body. The practice includes a series of exercises that help directly connect to each person’s energy system.

"Dahn means life energy," explains Danielle. "So there is a big element of Dahn yoga that is energy work."

She has managed the Arlington Dahn Yoga Center since 2007.

"I’ve always really loved to help people, and I wanted to help them the way that I’d been helped," she says. "We’re always so busy in our heads, focusing here, there, and everywhere: it’s hard to just connect with our bodies and minds. But that’s when real healing comes, when we draw the mind in."

Helping others also comes naturally to Renee, whose experience is mainly in the nonprofit sector. When she is not managing Water House Wellness with her partner, she is the director of sports and recreation at a local YMCA.

Like her sister, Renee never thought she would be managing a healing business. But her partner, a massage therapist, had piqued her interest in alternative healing modalities. "It was her vision and my business aptitude that led to Water House Wellness," says Renee.

She and her partner have been managing Water House Wellness since October of 2007. "We have offered different services over the years, including massage therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, reiki, physical therapy, psychotherapy, and thai yoga massage," says Renee. "Clients come from all walks of life, but Water House seems to attract quite a few athletes, cyclists, and marathoners."

Like the Dahn Yoga Center, Water House emphasizes the connection between mind and body, and its doors are open to anyone. “Our goal is to help individuals lead healthy, pain-free lives," Renee says. "We can tailor treatments to individuals’ needs." Those interested can make an appointment to see any of the six practitioners on-site.

All are also welcome at the Arlington Dahn Yoga Center, and Danielle encourages community members to drop in for a free intro session.

"Because we have such simple exercises that include deep stretching, opening the meridian channels, vibration exercises, energy meditation, and breathing exercises, they follow the natural rhythm of the body and people can very quickly start to feel the effect," Danielle says. "Anybody can jump in!"