Massage in Wilmette

Elvis Dur wants you to shut your mind off. "Nowadays everything is so fast, everything is so hectic . . . Just be [here]. Just relax 100 percent," he says. "Here" is Body in Balance, a haven that treats massage as a component of healing and rejuvenation. Dur's holistic approach is influenced, in part, by his experience working with body and emotional challenges as a physical therapist in Romania. When he and his family came to the United States, Dur began anew with massage therapy, but "I offer a different approach." Before each massage, Dur offers clients hot tea and asks them questions about their day, their week, and their mysterious third arm. "In this job, you need to talk to people," he says. Based on customers' massage preferences and emotional goals, Dur customizes treatments to help soothe tension and liberate minds from strain. After the massage, clients can sip hot tea in the relaxation room as quiet music and aromatherapy waft through the air.

Lisa Faremouth Weber, the founder and owner of Heaven Meets Earth, wanted her studio to be a sacred space where students could come for a regular yoga practice and leave refreshed. That's why her commitment to student health reaches beyond the classes and into the very nontoxic paint that coats the studio's walls. Heaven Meets Earth is one of Evanston's only green yoga studios, featuring sustainable bamboo floors, an eco-boutique, and paper products made out of still-living trees.

Certified instructors lead the studio's workshops, teacher-training, meditation classes. They teach students to control their breath and build strength during Sacred Vinyasa classes, and also branch out into Pilates and dance-fitness classes. Teen, child, and family classes instill a sense of peace and focus in the light-filled studio, which features a wall of inspirational quotes.

At Complete Chiropractic & Rehab, Dr. Nick Mendez, D.C., searches for the underlying causes of illness and alleviates spinal pain using traditional chiropractic techniques. He and his staff work to treat a wide range of disorders, ranging from allergies and asthma to sciatica, pinched nerves, and lower-back pain.

The book Necessities: Chicago said Massage Therapy Center of Winnetka has Chicago's best massage therapists. Past clients include a member of the 2010 U.S. Olympic bobsled team and several White Sox players during the 2005 World Series. For a highly targeted muscle melting procedure, opt for trigger-points therapy, which identifies irritable muscles and improves their attitudes with masterful manual compression. Shiatsu, which is also known as acupressure, is an Eastern method of applying finger, palm, and thumb pressure to points on the body that are impeding the ki (or energy flow) and causing pain, stress, and chilly blood. Massage Therapy Center of Winnetka's menu also offers a classic Swedish knead, prenatal massage, and procedures such as neuromuscular therapy and performance-enhancement sports massage to treat and prevent pain caused by muscle exertion and falling pianos.

After more than 25 years in the business, European-style facials are second nature to Advanced Treatments of Skin Care’s aesthetician Anna. She relies on opulent and preservative-free Bio Jouvance Paris products, as well as Estelle Professional Skincare products, to perform each facial. She’s mastered ultramodern skincare techniques as well; her repertoire encompasses diamond-tip microdermabrasion, chemical peels, and nonsurgical face-lifts.

Licensed massage therapist John Slipke helps allay aches with neuromuscular therapy, a medical-massage technique that aims to ease muscle pain, bursitis, and injury-related discomfort. At the start of each appointment, Slipke chats with the client to pinpoint probable causes of tenderness, which may include sciatica, plantar fasciitis, or repeatedly watching Old Yeller. He may also identify pain triggers by analyzing the body's posture. Throughout the session, the client shares feedback, noting when pressure alleviates aches and crackling when attached to a guitar amplifier. After the kneading massage, Slipke crafts a custom wellness plan-including a pain-prevention regimen-with the clinic's internist or chiropractor. Robledo Medical & Wellness Center does not offer prenatal massages.