It’s cold and dark. That just about sums up most of December, except for state of irrational exuberance that marks what we’ve come to call the holiday season. Beginning with Thanksgiving and even before, you have probably begun perusing recipes, scanning ads and websites, cleaning and/or decorating your home, and makin…

“I hope you don’t mind a little bald head.” “My skin is kinda dry from the cold.” “I just didn’t have time to shave today.” “I need a pedicure.” (stomach gurgles) “Oh! I’m so sorry!” This is just a short sample of the hundreds of different ways clients apologize to me about their bodies.  I’m sure every massage therapi…

“For some the experience is meditative, blissful and ecstatic. For other’s it’s emotional, even transcendent, but in all circumstances it is a powerful and unforgettable event.” –GongLab Attendee I didn’t know what to expect when I agreed to attend GongLab.  I had experienced several 15-20 minute gong baths during shav…

I am absolutely grateful and humbled to have been a part the Heartwood community for the last 4 years, surrounded by some of the finest practitioners in the country in the unique and well-functioning model of a wellness clinic that Heartwood Center is and has been for over 15 years. Through the Founder’s, Nancy Floy, v…

Vickie Dodd, an internationally known pioneer in the field of Sound as a form of Bodywork Therapy, is premiering at Heartwood for the first time for her program “Our Voices, Our Medicine.” Heartwood Center for Body Mind Spirit, a holistic health services center in Evanston, hosts the weekend program on October 24-26 in…

One of the most amazing aspects of Heartwood Center is the collaboration between the practitioners and teachers who have businesses there. I have the utmost respect and admiration for my colleagues, and I’m especially grateful that they inspire me to be better. To improve the quality of care I give my clients. Some of…

Consider this scenario. You have come down ill. You arrive in the waiting room of your general physician’s office. You fill out the appropriate forms, pay your co-pay, and are taken to a treatment room. Here a nurse asks you a handful of questions, takes your blood pressure, pulse and temperature. You may sit another 1…

When asked to write this blog entry I immediately said “yes” having no idea what I was getting myself into. I am not a Buddhist, but I attended Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche’s program because I wanted to learn more about the practice and what it means to be a Buddhist. During the weekend I struggled with finding a way to bri…

In massage school, we talked all the time about trades.  Massage therapists, we were told, work on each other in their down time. They exchange massages with other professionals, using their time and skills to compensate each other.  We would connect with each other, with other therapists in the community, and we would…

Heartwood is collaborating with Curt’s Café, a not-for-profit organization, to bring their café and inspirational concept into the former Perla Café space across the street from Heartwood Center. Curt’s Café is well known for the work they do at their North Central Street location with at-risk boys and young men. Their…