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Archive for the ‘Stress Management’ Category

Working Well Massage Expanding Our Chicago-based Massage Business

Posted in Health and Wellness, Massage Therapy, Nutrition, Stress Management, tagged , , , , , on August 17, 2011| 6 Comments »

Relaxing massage at Whole Foods Market's new Wellness Club in Lincoln Park

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

For the past ten years, Working Well Massage has provided quality massage services to Chicago area companies, schools, residents and shoppers at Whole Foods Markets. Now we are bringing our highly skilled massage therapists to Whole Foods Market’s new Wellness Club inside the Lincoln Park location!

Starting in September, 2011, Working Well Massage will offer hour-long massages (Deep tissue, Swedish and Sports massages) on a massage table verses on a massage chair. We have assembled some of the best massage therapists in the city of Chicago to offer our clients a relaxing therapeutic experience…in a Whole Foods Market Wellness Club!  Clients will be able to receive a great table massage–either at our chair massage station or in the Massage Room at the new Wellness Club–and then grocery shop. And since the Wellness Club will also be offering yoga and fitness classes our clients can get a massage before or after they workout!

More info to come about the Wellness Club, the massage services offered at Whole Foods Market and details on scheduling your table massage with Working Well Massage soon!

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Join Working Well Massage at Spa Night in the Wellness Club at Lincoln Park Whole Foods Market!

Posted in Health and Wellness, Massage Therapy, Nutrition, Stress Management, tagged , , , , , on August 9, 2011| 6 Comments »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Lorian Bates, Working Well Massage Therapist inside Whole Foods Market

Pamper yourself and get a sneak peek at the soon to be opened Wellness Club in Lincoln Park!  There will be a number of relaxing and natural spa treatments including manicures,  facials and mini-massages from Working Well Massage therapist’s Heidi and Lorian.

When: Thursday, August 11, 2011, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm,

Where: The Wellness Club is located on the Mezzanine level of Whole Foods Market in Lincoln Park
1550 N. Kingsbury, Chicago, IL 60642

Cost: Attending the Spa Night is absolutely free!

Register in advance by emailing mw.kbs.marketing@wholefoods.com and you will receive an exclusive gift, courtesy of Keeki Pure and Simple®.

Working Well Massage to provide Massage in the New Wellness Club!

Working Well Massage will be expanding our massage services by offering 60-minute table massages the Wellness Club starting in September. This allows us to provide longer massages than we can in our chair massage booths and gives us another way to meet the needs of our massage clients.

We welcome current and future Working Well Massage clients to visit us in our chair massage stations daily from  Noon to 8pm at both the Lincoln Park and the Gold Coast Whole Foods Markets. And then, in September clients can also  schedule an appointment with one of our massage therapists at the Wellness Club!

What is the Wellness Club at Whole Foods Market?

The Wellness Club will offer a wide variety of services to support healthy lifestyle change or maintenance. The goal of the Wellness Club is to create a community that has something for everyone who wants to make positive health choices. Services will include a comprehensive series of nutrition classes, breakfast and supper clubs, yoga, fitness classes, group support meetings and cooking classes. Members will also receive a 10% discount on many products throughout the store! Finally, members will have exclusive access to a local provider network that offers discounted complimentary services like massage, fitness club memberships, fitness apparel and healthy restaurants.

The Wellness Club will open on September 5th, 2011.

If you’d like more information on the Wellness Club, email lincolnpark-wc@wholefoods.com or call the Wellness Club at 312-587-0648.

Keep up to date with all the upcoming events at the Wellness Club on Facebook here.

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Rest and Relax With Ted Stark’s Nature Photo’s

Posted in Health and Wellness, Nature and Stress, Stress Management, tagged , , , , on August 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Recently I gained  a new Twitter follower, Ted Stark. Ted likely found me via one of my many posts about hiking in nature (with pics included). I checked out Ted’s website, and was visually inspired. Ted’s nature photos make me want to travel and see first-hand the many beautiful sights he captures in his pics. Ted also take great pics of wildlife and urban scenes, but it’s his nature photos that move me the most. To go to Ted’s Website and photo gallery, click on this link.

Ted Stark, photographer

For those of us that live and work in an urban environment, simply looking at photo of a restful nature scene can help relax us for a moment.  Nature pics take us out of our fast paced multitasking mode and give our eyes and minds something to focus on.

Check out Ted’s photos and see for yourself if you are moved or inspired. It’s more likely to relax you than a game of Angry Birds. 🙂



Who is Ted Stark and Why is He So Wild About Wildlife Photos?
From his website: Theodore A. Stark is a Colorado native and an avid nature, wildlife, and architectural photographer. He also does limited portraiture work, focusing in the candid style. Stark is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a degree in Management Information Systems. He and his wife, Erin, currently live in Centennial, Colorado.

Stark has been involved with photography since 2001 when he experienced a life changing event that, literally, changed his perspective on the world around. Add to that Stark is a Type I Diabetic and, as he puts it, “… I am aware that I very well may lose my vision at some point, so I should share what I can see while I still can.”

Find Ted’s tweets on Twitter here. And, if you are so moved by his work that you must have some for yourself, he does sell calendars, prints and books of his photography here.

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Stop By the Whole Foods Market Wellness Club Open House on Saturday, August 6, 2011, from 10am to 5pm

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Stress Management, tagged , , , , on August 6, 2011| 6 Comments »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Fresh fruit

Check out Whole Foods Market’s new Wellness Club at the Open house today, Saturday, August 6, 2011. There will be lots of samples of AWESOME Wellness Club food. And there will be fun games, tours of the Wellness Club,  sample yoga classes and many fantastic giveaways too!

Today’s Wellness Club Open House hours are 10a.m. to 5p.m. at the Lincoln Park store at 1550 N. Kingsbury in Chicago. The Wellness Club is located on the Mezzinine level of the store.

What is the Wellness Club at Whole Foods Market?

The Wellness Club will offer a wide variety of services to support healthy lifestyle change or maintenance. The goal of the Wellness Club is to create a community that has something for everyone who wants to make positive health choices. Services will include a comprehensive series of nutrition classes, breakfast and supper clubs, yoga, fitness classes, group support meetings and cooking classes. Members will also receive a 10% discount on many products throughout the store! Finally, members will have exclusive access to a local provider network that offers discounted complimentary services like massage, fitness club memberships, fitness apparel and healthy restaurants.

The Wellness Club will open on September 5th, 2011. Watch for exciting promotional events and prizes in July and August!

If you’d like more information on the Wellness Club, email lincolnpark-wc@wholefoods.com or call the Wellness Club at 312-587-0648.

Keep up to date with all the upcoming events at the Wellness Club on Facebook here.

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Are We Witnessing a Wellvoution? Workplace Wellness Programs Are Not Only Creative–They Are Neccessary!

Posted in Health and Wellness, Stress Management, Workplace Wellness, tagged , , , on August 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Most people in the United States Spend 40+ hours at work. And work today typically consists of sitting long hours at a desk in front of  a computer, bent over in forward flexion, necks and shoulders straining to hold the weight of the body up. We’ve traded our active work life (toiling in the fields or doing manual labor) for a sedentary workstyle–which means our bodies don’t get much exercise while we work.  It’s no surprise that obesity and “lifestyle” related diseases are on the rise. Yet what can employers do to combat this trend when the very nature of work is to have employees crank out electronic “work” via computer? Many workplaces are getting creative because they need to get the word done, but realize the costs of not providing movement and nutrition sport for their staff.

Read more to learn how workplaces can integrate and have integrated wellness programs and incentives into the workday:

• Wellness Programs Get Creative from the Wall Street Journal

• Worksite Wellness Program Uses Financial Incentives and Creative Programming to Reduce Absenteeism and Its Related Costs from the US Department of Health and Human Service’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality website.

• Health Reform Prompts Employers to get Creative with Wellness from Corporate Wellness Magazine

• Wellness Programs Get Creative from Forbes

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Practicing Relaxation Exercises May Positively Effect How You Respond to Stress

Posted in Health and Wellness, Stress Management, tagged , , , , on August 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

I came across an interesting blog from a Wellness Center in New York, The R.E.S.T. Initiative. I really like the post about relaxation and how practicing relaxation exercises may actually change the way your body responds to stress: How Relaxation Exercises Can Heal You – Mind, Body and Spirit.

An excerpt of the article is below:

“Dr. Herbert Benson was quoted in the US News and Planet Report saying, ‘What we’ve discovered is that after you evoke the leisure response, the very genes which can be turned on or off by tension are turned another way. The thoughts can actively flip on and flip off genes. The mind is not separated from your physique.’

His research demonstrates that equally as you may trigger well being issues within the physique by means of way of life choices, it is possible to also create superior well being by means of way of life also. This may be the very first extensive study to indicate how thoughts says can impact gene expression…

Studying to harness your own individual energy and to calmly concentrate inside is often a useful ability for managing hectic instances of tension. Fostering an capability to slow your breathing and decrease your heart rate by way of practiced relaxation strategies is often highly restorative, permitting you to think additional plainly and calmly. Equally as you’ll be able to harm your wellness through tension connected sickness, research are actually being completed to indicate that you can recover your physique by means of employing tactics that relaxed the mind and body. Positive outcomes from rest techniques were long thought to become “all inside the head” with the consumer, but Scientists are now beginning to discover much more definitive evidence that these approaches of relaxation response possess a biofeedback mechanism that alters gene expression.”

To link to the complete post click here.

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Chicago Urban Adventurers, Venture Out to Naperville’s Riverwalk

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Nature and Stress, tagged , , , on July 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Saturday night my man and I wanted to go for a walk. We decided to forgo an urban hike and went on a “mini-vacation” to fabulous downtown Naperville and strolled along the Riverwalk.

Map of Naperville Riverwalk and park system. Image by J. Porys.

With the recent rain, the river itself had flooded. The walking path down along the river was covered in high water.

Naperville Riverwalk at night in high waters. Image by J. Porys.

No matter, we walked along the upper portion of the Riverwalk and enjoyed the cool-ish breezes from the river and the trees and relative safety of the ‘burbs. It was peaceful, fairly uncrowded and beautiful even in the dark of the night.

Naperville Riverwalk at night, 7-23-11. Image by J. Porys.

For a link to info about the Riverwalk, including its history (built in 1981) and directions on how to get there, click here. For an artistic rendering virtual tour of the Riverwalk, click here.

Naperville Riverwalk in low waters and daylight. Image from http://www.napervillesdining.com/photo/Naperville-IL/riverwalk-naperville-water

Now, for those that live in Naperville, you may think, Sue, how can you live in Chicago and not know how wonderful our city is? As a long time city dweller, I admit my lack of suburban experience is evident. In venturing out of the city to explore new parks and forest preserves, I’ve come to appreciate what the areas surrounding the city of Chicago have to offer: Peace and quiet, lots more space and open areas, lovely parks and a nice change of pace from the hustle bustle of city life.  And shock of all shocks to us big city dwellers, Naperville has clean, safe, parking garages that offer FREE parking in the downtown district.

And Naperville has another big gem to explore in the daytime: Centennial Beach. But that’s the subject of yet another blog post! More on Naperville’s Riverwalk here from the Naperville blog.

Address of Naperville Riverwalk:

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Relax and Slow Down With Paul Collier

Posted in Health and Wellness, Stress Management, tagged , , on July 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Want to relax? Check out this short relaxation video on You Tube from Paul Collier. Link here.

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Celebrate Summer at Blackwell Forest Preserve

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Nature and Stress, tagged , , , , on July 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

We took a nice long hike this past weekend at Blackwell Forest Preserve. Although it was hot, we were able to hike along meadows, in the coolness of a few forests and along Silver Lake and the McKee Marsh.

Map of Southern section of Blackwell Forest Preserve. image by J. Porys.

Map of Northern section of Blackwell Forest Preserve. Image by J.Porys.

According to the DuPage Forest Preserve Site: The Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville is located on land that the retreating Wisconsin Glacier shaped 12,000 to 15,000 years ago. The glacier’s meltwaters left behind much of the soil that covers DuPage County today. After the glacier’s retreat, savannas with widely spaced oak trees formed on the higher ground while the lower-lying ground became home to marsh and prairie plants.

McKee Marsh. Image by Sue Shekut.

And we found out that the 13,000-year-old skeletal remains of a wooly mammoth were found within the marsh area many years ago.

Woolley Mammoth remains found in Blackwell Forest Preserve area. Image by Sue Shekut.

Blackwell offers boats for rent and has many campgrounds of Youth activities and family camping and picnicking events.

Rent a boat at Silver Lake in Blackwell and enjoy the day! Image by Sue Shekut.

You can rent canoes, kayaks and rowboats for use on Silver Lake by the hour or the day at Blackwell’s boat-rental area.  Oars, paddles and personal flotation devices are provided for rentals only and cannot be rented separately for use in private watercraft.

The boat-rental area is open weekends from the beginning of April through the end of September from 8 a.m. until sunset. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, it is also open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. until sunset.

Boats for rent in Silver Lake in Blackwell. Image by Sue Shekut.

There is no swimming allowed in Silver Lake though and I wouldn’t want to swim in it.

The fish can swim all they want but not us humans in Silver Lake! Image by Sue Shekut.

It’s too full of algae!

Future biodiesel source in Silver Lake? Image by J. Porys.

Still the cool lake water did provide us with some relief from the heat. Any many happy boaters paddled along the still lake waters the day we hiked there.

Silver Lake in Blackwell Forest Preserve. Image by Sue Shekut.

It’s OK to fish in Silver Lake where you can catch bluegill, catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye.

Fishing at Silver Lake. Image by Sue Shekut.

After Hiking a few miles in the hot sun, the forest provided welcome cool relief! Image by Sue Shekut.

Blackwell Forests offer a visual cornicopiia of colorful berries! Image by J. Porys.

As the sun began to set, Silver Lake became Mirror Lake in Blackwell. Image by Sue Shekut.

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What Do Flowers Do For You?

Posted in Health and Wellness, Nature and Stress, tagged , , , , on July 11, 2011| 1 Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Image by Sue Shekut

Flowers make me feel better,  more relaxed and give my overworked mind a rest from planning, analyzing and overall thinking. I send flowers at times to say I am thinking of you to those recovering from illness or for holidays and birthdays. My garden has some very pretty flowers and I can tend to them for a nature fix every day!

Tell me, what do flowers do for you? How do they make you feel?

For an article on the Therapeutic Effect of Flowers, click here.

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