Wellness center caters to what women want

Published 12:01 am Monday, October 10, 2011

EVERETT — Ready for a little exercise on your lunch break? The Women’s Wellness Center, a unique nonprofit in downtown Everett, offers lunchtime, before-work and after-work fitness classes for women from all walks of life.

At any one time, you might find a businesswoman, a stay-at-home mom o

r a woman who has been out of work for more than a year working out side-by-side in the same class.

The organization has made it a priority to stay affordable so it’s accessible for all women. There are no contracts, sign-up fees or cancellation charges.

Membership is $18 per month but you don’t have to be a member to use the services. It simply allows access to the circuit and a special member price for the classes and services.

“We don’t want to be the place that they are paying for but not using,” said program coordinator Angie Fair.

New students can get a 10-for-$10 class deal. Students can mix and match classes or use all 10 tickets for a single class such as yoga, Zumba, Tai Chi Chih or belly dancing.

Fair believes this deal gives women the opportunity to get outside their comfort zone and try something they might not have considered doing before.

A new stress-reduction class that ended last month was called Breathe for Your Health. It proved so popular that the center hopes to offer it again soon.

Yoga classes of all kinds are popular, too. Fair said all of the instructors have completed 200 hours of yoga instruction certification and are very open to helping students of all abilities.

Much of the yoga is prop intensive. Because some women can’t afford the equipment and others, such as businesswomen, can’t conveniently carry it with them, the Wellness Center keeps yoga supplies and fitness balls on site and available for those who need them.

The training circuit — a room with strength training machines and cardio stations — takes 30 minutes to complete if participants strictly adhere to the program for an optimal workout.

But the center does not require women to follow the suggested program. They can work at their own speed, skip some elements to create a shorter workout or work at a slower pace and maximize the experience.

“We don’t believe in cookie-cutter stuff,” Fair said. “We show them how to use the equipment and do a short orientation with them. But once they’ve had that, they take it from there and do what works best for them.”

She also said that many working women say they appreciate the circuit because its intensity doesn’t wipe them out for an afternoon of work. Since the circuit always rotates, it’s rare to have to wait for a machine.

Another thing that’s unique about the center’s workout rooms is that there are no windows facing the street. Participants are not on display.

“The privacy is one of the things I think women appreciate the most,” Fair said. “And the fact that there are no men here. Women who feel uncomfortable in a traditional gym, for whatever reason, usually find it more comfortable.”

There is also privacy for other services, including massage and Reiki as well as breast, cervical and colon cancer health screenings. Since the screening program came to the center five years ago, they have screened 6,242 women for breast and cervical cancer and 2,258 for colon cancer.

“Of those screenings, 26 cervical cancers and 155 breast cancers were diagnosed so it is definitely saving lives,” Fair said.

In September, the organization held a successful fundraiser that will help provide more health screenings and memberships for women who can’t afford it and also for those facing chronic, serious illness.

The Women’s Wellness Center also carries art and jewelry by local women artists. These sales help fund the center’s programs.

On the Web

More information is available at www.womenswellnesscenter.org. The facility is a fragrance-free zone.