The Crazy Wisdom Community Journal • January - April 2016 • Page 34
Continued from page 32 and non-intimidating.” Imagine has an inviting lounge with a fireplace and tea, coffee, and snacks. “Sometimes people have sat and talked for two hours after yoga class,” he said. The yoga rooms themselves have heated floors — not for hot yoga, but just for a more comfortable experience. There are large windows looking out on a wooded area. When the weather is good, sometimes yoga classes move outdoors to the large deck surrounded by trees. There is also a workout area with up-to-date equipment, including treadmills, elliptical machines, cycling bikes, weight machines, and free weights. The studio also has lockers and showers.
Imagine Fitness and Yoga had its grand opening last June. In addition to a yoga space, there is also a workout area with treadmills, elliptical machines, cycling bikes, weight machines, and free weights. Imagine employs three fitness trainers, who provide group and one-on-one fitness sessions; two massage therapists; seven yoga instructors, who teach different styles; and a Tai Chi instructor. Farah himself teaches what he calls a “bare bones” yoga program for beginners who might otherwise be too intimidated to attend a full yoga class. Men especially, he said, are often embarrassed and have no idea where to start, and he eases them into a yoga practice. Jackie introduces beginners to cycling on Imagine’s spinning bikes. Farah said he is focused on helping people make fitness a part of their lives, and spoke with satisfaction about the people he’s met who “didn’t even think they would do [a particular activity] once” and ended up coming back repeatedly and starting to feel better. “If I ever retire from dentistry, you’ll find me there full time,” he said. Imagine Fitness & Yoga is located at 3100 West Liberty Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. More information is available online at www.imaginefitnessandyoga.com. The studio’s phone number is (734) 622-8119, and questions can be emailed to imagine@ imaginefitnessandyoga.com.
A
mber Kessler opened a new salon, Amber Naturally Raw Hair, inside the Sola Studios in the Arbor Hills Crossing shopping Kessler center. A licensed cosmetologist since 2006, she specialized in cutting and bridal styling at the Douglas J. AVEDA Salon for nine years, also receiving training in razor cutting, men’s cutting, airbrush makeup, and bridal styling. She is committed to using toxin-free products. “Your skin is the largest organ in your body and it absorbs everything you put on it; this is why I choose safe products,” Kessler said. She uses two non-toxic product lines for general styling: Neuma, which is non-toxic and green, and Intelligent Nutrients, which is certified organic and food grade. She said she is the only stylist in Ann Arbor using Intelligent Nutrients. She said that all products she uses are professional quality and made following cruelty-free practices.
Amber Kessler opened a new salon, Naturally Raw Hair, inside the Sola Studios in the Arbor Hills Crossing shopping center. The color line Kessler uses is All-Nutrient, which is also organic and made in the United States. She said the color makes hair “very shiny” and “gray coverage is awesome!” Another service she provides is a raw avocado conditioning treatment — actually cutting open an organic avocado. “It’s great for frizzy hair and adds lots of shine,” she said. Using natural, non-toxic products, she said, is not only healthier, but improves the condition of hair, instead of just “coating it with silicon,” which she said many mainstream products do. Kessler said she especially likes doing bridal styling and short haircuts for women. “I’m so happy my career has helped me become a day-maker,” she said.
Naturally Raw Hair is located in the Sola Studios at 3050 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. She can be reached by email at sprighairamber@gmail.com or by phone at (734) 383-0103. A photo gallery of her work is online at www.flickr.com/ photos/amberkessler.
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n March 2015, Megan Zakar took over the sauna program at the Tranquil Being Healing Arts Center. While the infrared sauna has been at the Center for several years, owner and founder Sharon Marie Lawlor was focused on other modalities offered there, and had not promoted the sauna program much. A current student at the Naturopathic School of Healing Arts, Zakar had the interest and ability to spread awareness and make the sauna available.
Megan Zakar
The sauna is an mPulse® Full Spectrum Infrared Sauna. Zakar explained that it uses different wavelengths of infrared heat to “reach into” various layers of the body: skin cells, the circulatory system, and internal organs. Because of this, it is able to be programmed to use combinations and cycles of the different wavelengths for different intended effects. The programs available are detoxification, relaxation, pain relief, weight loss, heart health/cardio, and skin rejuvenation. It feels different than a typical rock and steam sauna, said Zakar, as it is dry heat. “It’s easier to sit in,” she said. She also explained that the infrared sauna is more detoxifying than the rock and steam saunas, and does a better job of stimulating the lymphatic system, which she said is “very clogged” in the average person.
In March of last year, Megan Zakar took over the sauna program at the Tranquil Being Healing Arts Center. The sauna is designed for one or two people and is in a private room. Single or couples sessions are available. Clients can undress completely to sweat if they wish, or wear a set of clothes to sweat in and change afterward. The bench and floor are lined with organic cotton towels, and a cold washcloth and more towels for drying off are available for the end of the session. Since the room is private, clients can leave the sauna at any time to rest from the heat for a moment or drink water if they wish. The different sauna programs range from 30 to 45 minutes, but the room is always booked for 60 minutes to allow for a relaxed and unhurried experience. First-time sauna clients receive a discounted rate of $28 for an individual or $40 for a couple. Other promotions are listed on the Tranquil Being website: www. tranquilbeing.com/infrared-sauna. Megan Zakar can be reached at saunasessions@ gmail.com or by phone at (248) 835-4445.
Please note that the “What’s New” column is an editorial (not paid-for advertising) feature of the Crazy Wisdom Journal, and the editors may or may not include what you submit. Whether the editors include material or not will depend on space considerations, as well as other editorial issues, such as the need for high resolution jpgs and the overall mix of stories included in the “What’s New in the Community” column in a given issue. If you would like to submit information to be considered for this column, please email communitynews@ crazywisdom.net or drop off or mail to the store: What’s New in the Community, 114 South Main, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. The firm deadline for submissions for the next issue (May through August 2016) is March 1, 2016.