Saratoga Springs woman expands massage therapy business to offer hope, healing to survivors of abuse
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- Christina Owens, third from right, poses for a group photo during a grand opening celebration for Heaven on Earth Massage and Apprenticeships’ newest location in Orem on Tuesday, June 24, 2025
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- People receive massage services during a grand opening celebration for Heaven on Earth Massage and Apprenticeships’ newest location in Orem on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
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- Christina Owens poses for a photo with her daughter, Summer, and son, Preston, during a grand opening celebration for Heaven on Earth Massage and Apprenticeships’ newest location in Orem on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
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- This photo shows the grand opening celebration for Heaven on Earth Massage and Apprenticeships in Orem on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Pictured, from left, are massage therapists Luke Andersen, Ellie Carter, Katrina Smith, Emma Mildenstein, Christina Owens, Miss Orem 2025 Rylee Ramsey, Miss Orem Teen Brie Schroeder, Miss Orem Second Attendant Hazel Wheler and Miss Orem Teen First Attendant Harlee Wilde.
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- The outside of the Sleepy Ridge Clubhouse in Orem is pictured Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
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- Christina Owens poses for a photo during the grand opening celebration for Heaven on Earth Massage and Apprenticeships’ newest location in Orem on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
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- Christina Owens, center, poses for a photo with Miss Orem royalty during a grand opening celebration for Heaven on Earth Massage and Apprenticeships’ newest location in Orem on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Pictured, from left, are Hazel Wheler, Brie Schroeder, Harlee Wilde and McKenna Stewart.
Christina Owens spent close to a decade in a marriage that she says after a period of time became emotionally abusive.
In a January interview with the Daily Herald, the Saratoga Springs mother of two described how what started off as wedded bliss turned into a cycle of extreme verbal abuse and mental manipulation, fueled by her ex-husband’s alleged addictions to alcohol and drug use.
Her ex-husband, Jacob Holt Johnson was arrested late last year at a Bluffdale gas station on suspicion of killing his girlfriend and allegedly leaving her body in the back of an SUV.
Owens and Johnson separated four years ago and were divorced a year later.
Despite the trauma Owens said she endured during her marriage of nine years, she’s choosing to turn her hardships into a space of healing for survivors of abuse.
From turmoil to entrepreneurship
In 2021, as Owens was separating from her husband and in the midst of her own personal healing journey, she started a massage therapy business, offering services to others who have endured similar challenges in their relationships.
That’s when Heaven on Earth Massage and Apprenticeships was born.
“I started a home spa at that time, and I could only take just a couple of clients a week at first,” said Owens, owner and founder of the business. “I was really struggling, but massage therapy, emotional and active release techniques and all these different trauma therapies helped me so much. But learning to tune into my body made all the difference.”
Owens said she had been practicing as a licensed massage therapist since 2009, but she stopped for a time when the alleged abuse in her marriage become too much to bear.
But it was a profession she wanted to continue as it was something that helped her heal.
Research suggests that professional massage therapy and its calming atmosphere is one approach to helping people with unresolved trauma reach a sense of ease and tranquility.
Owens said when she resumed the practice out of her home, she began meeting others who were experiencing various forms of abuse.
“It was a really beautiful place for me to be able to help others,” she told the Daily Herald.
But as business picked up, Owens knew it was time to hire some help and possibly explore a bigger location.
She ultimately hired her own personal massage therapist, Katrina Smith, to take over the list of clients while she focused on administrative work and public speaking engagements.
Now, four years later, Owens is newly engaged and has a team of professional massage therapists and a brand-new home for her massage and wellness brand.
Owens said her inspiration to find a bigger location for the spa came after a request from one of her clients.
“A woman that I helped through leaving abuse actually asked me if I could teach her to do massage. She said that I changed her life completely, and that she didn’t just want to learn massage from anybody (and) she wanted to learn it from me,” she said.
Fast forward to Tuesday, when a grand opening celebration was held for the spa’s second location inside the Sleepy Ridge Clubhouse in Orem.
In addition to providing mental and physical wellness, Owens said she wanted to provide a program that helps single mothers prepare for their own careers in massage therapy.
“My goal is to help single mothers be able to make all things possible by receiving an education, doing healing, receiving healing services and learning and being able to have a good skill and trade to be able to support their families,” she said.
Increasing awareness of domestic and sexual abuse
During Tuesday’s grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony, several Orem City elected officials were on hand, as was city royalty.
Rylee Ramsey, who was recently crowned Miss Orem 2025, is an advocate for people who have endured sexual and domestic assault.
“My community service initiative is called the survivors mindset initiative. My ultimate goal is to help victims become survivors,” she said. “So (getting) active victims out of their situation so they can become a survivor, and then the survivors that want to help them become fighters for people who haven’t found their voice yet.”
Ramsey said in learning of Owens’ situation and how it translated into a business was inspiring to hear.
“I was just reminded that there’s not a single person alive that is immune to this,” she told the Daily Herald. “I have my story, (then) hearing her story, and how she’s chosen to move forward and help women and people get out of those situations; I got goosebumps thinking about it, and it makes me a little emotional. But (I’m) so grateful that there are women like her that are willing to step forward and help victims and survivors.”
According to a 2023 report by the Utah Women & Leadership Project, one in three Utah women will experience some form of contact sexual violence, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in her lifetime.
Additionally, the report notes that 41.6% of Utah women will experience psychological aggression, and more than 35% will experience coercive control in their lifetime.
Ramsey said that she’s experienced sexual abuse in the past, and when people come to her with stories of past abuse they’ve endured, it reaffirms her stance that more awareness surrounding the issue is needed.
“It’s something that we need to start talking about because it’s such a big problem, but it’s also one of those things where people don’t know how to talk about it because it is such a sensitive topic for so many people,” she said.
A sense of healing for all
Owens said this new beginning for Heaven on Earth Massage and Apprenticeships is the culmination of resilience, overcoming immense personal tragedy and the power of giving back to the community. She said complimentary massage services will be offered each month to women who are recovering and healing from domestic violence.
“Many other people helped us through it and we love being able to give and hand-up to others as well, in hopes that they will heal and pass it on,” she said.
Smith, head massage therapist at Heaven on Earth, praised Owens for her resilience, compassion and unwavering commitment to facing obstacles head on.
“She’s not only overcome tremendous challenges, she’s turned them into a source of strength for others,” Smith said. “She’s also been a miracle in my life, and I trust her guidance and support with all my heart. This new chapter is just the beginning of the healing she’s meant to share with the world.”
Heaven on Earth Massage and Apprenticeships is located at 730 S. Sleepy Ridge Drive, Suite 319, near the border of Orem and Vineyard.
