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The Stress Management Center of Marin in Larkspur is a new facility with a stunning yoga studio, rooms for massage and space for lectures on health and wellness. The numerous classes and programs at the SMC are designed with one thing in mind: to ease the stress that pervades our everyday lives. So in a sense, customers can “pick their own medicine” (the good-tasting kind, of course). Try this scenario: you walk into the Stress Management Center with an aching back and a testy demeanor. A nice person greets you at the door and, noticing your edginess, asks whether you’ve been there before. You admit that you have not, so she invites you to sit down and talk about your needs and expectations. Are you looking for a massage therapist? If so, what kind? You’d like to try some art therapy? Yoga en espanol? Special-needs yoga? Prenatal? No problem. Perhaps you came because you heard from a friend that the SMC yoga teachers give personal attention to each student, or that the classes are utterly relaxing. In any case, people at the SMC make you feel comfortable from the moment you walk in - and they seek to provide what you want. The first question may be, “What are you hoping to get out of a yoga class?” It won’t be, “Will that be cash, check or charge?” Part of the SMC’s motto is: “We combine physical, spiritual, emotional and energetic therapies in a practical, realistic format.” Yoga is the foundation for owner and director Robin Reilich Gueth, but she wanted to give people “the whole body of knowledge which is yoga – not just movement.” She strives to reach people on all levels and to give them a broad spectrum of knowledge on health issues so they can improve their own quality of life. In fact, she encourages people to bring a notebook to class. Her unusual approach is shared by everyone involved with the SMC, including Natalie Kraft, her right-hand woman, bodyworker and public relations specialist. Robin says that she has been fortunate to attract some outstanding massage professionals as well as longtime yoga teachers because of the holistic nature of her project. About the business, she says, “Things have just fallen into place.” The physical space of the SMC reflects its mission of ease and comfort: soft shades of paint soothe the eyes, hardwood floors in the yoga studio greet your bare feet and a tall barrel ceiling lets in natural light during the day. The space was custom designed by the renowned local Feng Shui master Bhaskar Deva (a professor at College of Marin) for calming and de-stressing. The public’s response to the SMC so far has been encouraging. Robin reports that nearly everyone who takes a first class buys a series. Ties with the medical community have also been forged quickly. Lee Lipsenthal, M.D., is teaching a program at the SMC for physicians, and many doctors recommend that patients attend classes. Lipsenthal is the Medical Director of Lifestyle Advantage, and former Vice President and Medical Director of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, with Dr. Dean Ornish, in Sausalito. As an expert in the field of heart health, he also works with the SMC to develop cardiac-supporting yoga. Since yoga can lift depression and anxiety, ease a high-stress lifestyle, normalize blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels and raise immune function, it is an ideal exercise for many people. Yoga has also been shown to relieve back pain and aching joints, increase freedom of movement and soothe injury or chronic pain. It’s good for the circulatory and respiratory system, and promotes relaxation. The SMC’s yoga is about becoming aware of the body and quieting the mind. It isn’t about accomplishing something extraordinary; that may come in time, but it is not the focus. Instead, people at the SMC invite us to explore what it is that helps “peel a layer off”. They see people everyday leading stressful lives that tax the body and mind. Helping those people feel better in their bodies and in their lives is the SMC’s mission that is realized daily. The Stress Management Center is located at 1165 Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur. They can be reached at 415-461-2288 or on their website at www.SMCmarin.com |
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Copyright ©2003 The Stress Management Center
of Marin |
