In a small studio on East Broadway Boulevard, Tucson healer Enery Santacruz has built a community around spiritual healing and cultural tradition.

Through her business, EnerVibes Healing, Santacruz offers reiki, sound baths and spiritual cleansings rooted in Mexican and Indigenous practices to help women release negative energy and reconnect with themselves.

What began as her own search for peace after personal loss has evolved into a safe space for others to heal and rediscover their roots.

EnerVibes shares its space with CuraVida Bodywork, frequently collaborating on events with owner Angel Valencia, who Santacruz calls “the yin to my yang.”

A curandera, or healer, Santacruz helps community members get in touch with their spiritual side and “reconnect our spirit within ourselves.” Every Wednesday, she hosts a Sana Sana Hermanas Circle that offers women a space to come together and receive a limpia.

Limpias are Mexican spiritual cleansing sessions that help rid the body, mind and soul of negative energy. After the session, the circle provides a safe space for participants to share their thoughts and feelings.

“I felt like I needed support here in Tucson. I needed that energy from the community,” said Ligia Bustamante, a regular member of the Sana Sana Hermana Circle. “(Here,) I just feel safe.”

Originally from San Diego, Santacruz opened EnerVibes Healing in 2021, moving to Tucson shortly after.

She uses ancestral medicine techniques she learned from her first mentor during her own healing journey, which began in 2016 after the death of her father.

“I did not know how to grieve,” she said. “I didn’t know how to deal with the emotions.”

She said she struggled to learn how to grieve someone she had previously felt anger toward and felt lost, struggling with her mental health.

“I went to a crystal store, picked one up and got a buzzing feeling in my hand,” she said. “It was an Apache Tear.”

Apache Tears are said to symbolize that no grief goes unseen.

After finding the stone, she felt inspired to buy more. With the guidance of her first mentor, she rediscovered her purpose: to help others heal.

“I do this to help people find themselves in healthy ways,” she said.

She’s especially interested in helping others who feel they’ve lost their way or want to reconnect with their Chicano roots.

“It’s to maintain our spiritual hygiene,” she said, explaining that spiritual hygiene is important for maintaining positive energy.

Some of the ancestral and traditional practices Santacruz uses include copal — a tree resin used in past ceremonies whose aroma releases relaxation and calmness to relieve stress, as well as indigo water and egg shells for protection.

Her meditation sessions include drumming, a sound she said “takes us back to the womb and instills calmness.” She also offers sound healing, using bowls and a wand or stick to create vibrations that promote relaxation and emotional release.

Santacruz believes that when people take the time to listen to their intuition, it can help center and connect them with their mind and soul — and with others.

“This is medicine for your soul,” said Debbie Federico, a Sana Sana Hermana Circle member and EnerVibes client. “Do it for you and others. You give off your vibes to everyone else.”

Emma Diaz is a Universtiy of Arizona alum and freelance journalist based in Tucson.

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