Wellness center in Oshkosh offers a little something for everyone

Cheryl Hentz

Contributor

December 15, 2025

OSHKOSH – Located in downtown Oshkosh, the Harmony Wellness Center provides a variety of wellness services designed to meet individual needs, with a focus on therapeutic and personalized care – including Sirona Wellness, a massage studio owned by Amanda Wilcenski.

Wilcenski said she began as a massage therapist some 12 years ago, working for two years at Massage Envy in Appleton, before branching out on her own in March 2015. 

Unexpected path

Though now she can’t imagine doing anything else, Wilcenski said a career as a massage therapist was not the path she originally saw herself following.

In fact, she said she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and worked in the marketing and advertising industry for a Racine-based company until she was laid off in 2008.

Unable to find another job in her field, Wilcenski said she took a job as a waitress to help pay the bills.

“What I really liked [with waitressing] was that it was a tangible service,” she said. “Because I liked it so much, I started thinking maybe I wasn’t meant to go back to work in an office.”

During that time, Wilcenski said she considered various options to find work that would truly fulfill her.

“I’ve always felt good about helping people,” she said. “That really fills me up.”

Around the same time, Wilcenski said she discovered and toured the Lakeside School of Massage Therapy in Milwaukee.
“They were the first accredited school for massage therapy in Wisconsin,” she said.

The more she explored potential career paths, the more Wilcenski said she leaned toward becoming a massage therapist.

So, she said she began classes at Lakeside School of Massage Therapy in January 2010, graduated in August and was licensed right after.

However, to maintain health insurance, Wilcenski said she held a full-time job for several years after graduation, building her massage practice on the side. 

Once she was married and under her husband’s health insurance, Wilcenski said she went to work at Massage Envy – and from there, her career in massage therapy took off.

Tailored experiences

As a massage therapist, Wilcenski said she believes some of her strongest attributes are her desire to help people and make them feel better.

Wilcenski said she especially enjoys deep-tissue massages – which are more therapeutic in nature – making up the bulk of her work.

She said she pairs them with relaxation techniques to enhance the experience.

“It feels relaxing, yet I’m able to get to the deep layers of the muscles,” she said. “That’s why a lot of people come to me, for that deep-tissue work.”

Wilcenski said her massage offerings begin at 30 minutes and can be extended in 15-minute increments, reaching up to 90 minutes.

She said she also offers cupping therapy with silicone cups.

“It’s a more dynamic kind of massage, because the cups are lifting everything up as opposed to [traditional] massage, which is pushing down on the tissue,” she said. “The effects of the massage last longer, too, when cupping is added. So, that’s become a niche market for me, as well.”

Wilcenski said she believes her “full-of-life” personality, warmth and attention to giving clients the exact massage they want are what set her apart from other therapists.

“I’m here to serve my clients and to help them feel better,” she said. “I always want them to leave feeling like they got what they wanted and their money was well spent.”

Wilcenski said she allows clients to pick the music for their session, rather than using the standard spa-like selections, and her heated massage table lets them control the temperature for comfort.

“I think I make people feel really cared for, and that’s what keeps people coming back to me, as well as what brings me so much referral business,” she said, adding that the majority of her business has been built over the years from referrals and word of mouth.

Another way her studio distinguishes itself, Wilcenski said, is by offering evening sessions for clients with nontraditional schedules or clients who want to go straight to sleep after a massage.

“My last appointment ends at 10 p.m., so someone can literally come to me, get a massage and go home and go right to bed – which is a nice benefit, especially for someone who practically falls asleep during their massage,” she said. “I think it’s a real treat to be able to get a massage and go home and go to sleep. I don’t know of anyone else in Oshkosh who offers late-night hours like I do.”

A hub for healing, creativity

Wilcenski said one of the connections she made early on in her career was with Madonna Hill – another massage therapist in Oshkosh.

In 2002, she said Hill started The Harmony Wellness Center – a facility featuring multiple treatment rooms that could be rented by other practitioners, including massage therapists, acupuncturists, Reiki and reflexology specialists and more.

In 2023, Wilcenski said she purchased the Harmony Wellness Center building from Hill – continuing the same model, using one treatment room for her own practice while making the remaining three available to other holistic practitioners.

“When I bought the building from her, I was able to continue to use the name – that was important to me because it was kind of a nod to her and what she started,” she said.

Among the practitioners at the center, Wilcenski said, are Sage, a massage therapist specializing in transformative body work and a certified life and business coach.

Two additional treatment rooms, she said, are available for hourly rental, offering a flexible option for new practitioners building their clientele.

Wilcenski said there is also a classroom area for workshops and classes related to wellness.

“It could be a great space for a counselor, a nutritionist or anything like that,” she said. “And you can’t beat the location being right on Main Street in downtown Oshkosh.”

Since acquiring the building and business from Hill in 2023, Wilcenski said she has focused on raising awareness of Harmony Wellness Center within the community.

“People walk by our place all the time, but no one necessarily knows what it is,” she said.

As part of those efforts, Wilcenski said she joined the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, which recently hosted a ribbon cutting for the center.

“One of the reasons I did the ribbon cutting and open house was to create some awareness about the center itself,” she said.

Wilcenski said the center also offers space for local artists to sell artwork on consignment.

“Art is a part of wellness, as well, so I’d like to give artists this opportunity,” she said.

Wilcenski said she feels a strong connection to downtown Oshkosh and takes pride in owning a building there.

“Downtown Oshkosh is a really cool place,” she said. “There’s no place else that has that atmosphere, that vibe, the history – I think it’s really special. I always wanted to live in a city that has a historic downtown like Oshkosh has and was happy to have that when I moved here in 2012. But now to think I actually own one of those historic buildings downtown, it’s even more special for me.”

To learn more, visit the Harmony Wellness Center Facebook page.