Empower Wellness Spa: When Healing Becomes a Personal Mission
Founder Mariam Masha Hagopyn in one of her Ozone Saunas
After years of visiting, experiencing and reviewing luxury spas, wellness resorts and healing retreats, I have become especially interested in the story behind the treatment menu: What inspired the founder, and how did that journey shape the experience offered to clients?
That curiosity made my first conversation at Empower Wellness Spa in Encino particularly revealing.
I spent considerable time with founder Mariam Hakopyan, who impressed me with her depth of knowledge and intimate understanding of the protocols she developed. But what makes Empower particularly personal is the extraordinary health journey that led her to create it.
Following the birth of her daughter, now 10, Mariam says that years of underlying health challenges seemed to come crashing down. What followed was a complicated and, at times, frightening journey through a succession of serious health issues. Her history included jaundice, a brain tumor, malignant cancer and a condition in which polyps had spread throughout her body. Along the way, she experienced persistent inflammation, swelling, pain, brain fog, chronic fatigue and other unexplained symptoms.
For years, Mariam says she struggled to understand what was happening in her body. At various points, physicians suspected an autoimmune condition, yet definitive answers remained elusive. Living with symptoms that affected both her physical well-being and daily quality of life became an ongoing search for answers.
Eventually, Mariam was diagnosed with lipedema, a chronic disorder involving abnormal deposits of fatty tissue, and underwent three lipedema surgeries. Yet even after surgery, her desire to understand her health journey did not end. If anything, it became more focused.
Mariam began immersing herself in research, exploring different wellness modalities and studying the ways various approaches might support the body's natural systems. Years of personal experience gave her an unusually intimate perspective on what it feels like to search for help while dealing with complex, sometimes misunderstood health challenges.
What stayed with me most was that her journey was not simply about finding another treatment. She was searching for a more comprehensive approach to wellness—one that looked at the body as an interconnected system and considered areas such as lymphatic health, circulation, oxygenation, detoxification and nervous-system support.
That search became the foundation for Empower.
Mariam created the kind of wellness environment she wished had existed for her: a place where clients could receive personalized attention while exploring a range of non-invasive modalities. Empower's philosophy and treatment menu grew directly from her lived experience and her years of exploring different approaches to wellness.
There is an authenticity to that origin story that stayed with me. Empower isn't simply a collection of equipment or an assortment of fashionable treatments. The concept was born from a woman who had spent years looking for answers for herself and ultimately wanted to create a space where others could feel informed, supported and cared for.
My experience began in the red-light room, where I removed my spa robe and received full-body red-light exposure while using the rebounder and then the vibration plate. The combination of light, movement and vibration created a thoughtful introduction to the spa's comprehensive approach.
I then continued the protocol in a private room with Ozone Sauna Therapy. Having experienced ozone sauna therapy previously, I was interested in how it would fit into the larger Empower experience.
The difference was the personal attention. Julie was my dedicated guide, carefully explaining each protocol, checking on me throughout and making sure I had everything I needed. Her presence created an immediate sense of comfort and trust.
Julie also performed my Endospheres Therapy, a treatment using mechanical compression and vibration. Her attentive, hands-on approach made the experience feel individualized and reassuring.
What I appreciated most was the intention behind the combination. The experience wasn't about searching for one miraculous treatment. Instead, Mariam has created a menu of complementary modalities that can become part of a personalized wellness journey.
That distinction matters in today's crowded wellness landscape. The most compelling spas aren't necessarily those with the longest treatment menus or the most sophisticated technology. They are the ones where there is a genuine philosophy and caring behind what is being offered.
At Empower, that philosophy begins with Mariam's own story. Her determination to find answers for herself ultimately became the inspiration for a space designed to help others explore their own paths toward greater well-being.
For me, the most memorable part of the experience wasn't a particular machine or treatment. It was the combination of Mariam's deeply personal vision and Julie's attentive care—a reminder that even in an increasingly high-tech wellness world, human connection remains an essential part of the experience.
https://empowerwellnessspa.com/services/
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 130
Encino, California
16101 Ventura Blvd. Ste. 130, Encino
Text: (818) 208-9052