A holistic wellness center has opened in Beverly Shores, a place to join in group meditations and “ecstatic dance” sessions, and individual reiki treatments, healing breath work and sound bowl healing. 

Mirtha Lopez, who on Saturday will preside over the grand opening of her business, the Tonatiuh Mitotli Awakening Center, became interested in energy healing after her 24-year marriage ended in divorce. 

A friend invited Lopez, who lives in Portage, to Sedona after her marriage ended. “I didn’t know it would be spiritual at all,” she said. But her friend, a master reiki, took her on some meditation journeys, and Lopez says she found it helpful. 

Lopez became a regular at Trinity Healing Center in Highland, Indiana. She soon earned a certificate in reiki (energy healing) from a master reiki there and obtained Shamanic healing certification from Trinity.

“Breathing heals your body—it’s the most natural thing ever,” she says.

Lopez traded in her job at Victory Honda in Michigan City to open Tonatiuh (pronounced toh-nah-TEE-uh) Mitotli (the phrase means “sun dance awakening,” Lopez says).

At Saturday’s opening from 12-5 pm., after a ribbon cutting at 11:30, she’ll have what she’s calling a metaphysical market featuring tarot readings, a medium, nutritional guidance, and guided meditations. 

Going forward, she’s planning group sessions focused on men only and women only, as well as mixed groups and sessions for kids, in addition to Sunday “ecstatic dance” group sessions; the first one is Sunday. (See website for more info and schedules.)

Tonatiuh is located across from the Beverly Shores South Shore train station, in a classic midcentury fronted with glass. The building had sat vacant for years before being rescued by local developer Rob Harte, president of NWI Development Group. Its tenants include Cat’s Eye Vintage. 

Tonatiuh Mitotli, 1 E. Dunes Highway, Beverly Shores, 219-318-4731.