Affiliated Practitioners

In keeping with their commitment to treating the whole person, the Center for Conscious Living is affiliated with an adjunctive staff including a chiropractor, certified massage therapists, and Feldenkrais® practitioners.

Chiropractic Wellness Center

The services of the Chiropractic Wellness Center and Michael J. Dalan, D.C. in Naperville are also available for clients needing nutritional counseling and chiropractic consultation.

Chiropractic, the art and science of healing with focus on the spine and its attendant structures, addresses health with the guiding philosophy that the doctor is merely a facilitator of healing and that the body, when given a proper chance and environment, will heal itself. While chiropractic care is not a panacea, it successfully addresses many conditions which were previously thought of as being solely in the domain of the M.D. Chiropractic can be used in the treatment of many types of sports injuries and organic disorders, and, of course, disorders of the spine. Dr. Dalan also serves as a source of information regarding nutritional disorders. Each patient is addressed as an individual.

Dr. Michael J. Dalan studied at the prestigious National College of Chiropractic in Illinois prior to working as an associate doctor in the Chicagoland area. He has created a treatment system more appropriate to establishing a state of wellness in the whole person, rather than merely treating symptoms. His practice today consists of corporate heads, elite athletes, and anyone who is interested in being as well as he or she can be.

Phone Dr. Dalan at 630-527-8855 for an appointment.

Therapeutic Massage

Massage is part of a holistic approach to better health and well being. It is an ancient healing art. It is one of the oldest and most natural forms of maintaining and promoting the life and health of the human body. It benefIts the physical, mental and emotional systems of the body in many ways, and fulfills the basic human need to be touched.

Physical Benefits

Mental and Emotional Benefits

Types of therapeutic massage offered:

Swedish: Intent is to relax and rejuvenate the body. Focus is mainly on circulatory benefits, and release of tension build up in physical, and emotional systems. Stretching and mobilization of joints. Pressure may range from light to medium, or per client's request.

Deep Tissue: Intent is to locate and release specific muscles from acute or chronic pain usually due to muscle exertion. Adhesions within muscle fibers are broken up and released. Trigger point therapy is utilized as well as stretching and mobilization techniques. Pressure: deep.

Sports Massage: Designed for serious athlete or "weekend warriors". Focus depends on individual need. Pre-event, post-event, injury recovery, and maintenance. Muscle energy techniques used, body mobilization and stretching. Pressure: medium

Acupressure: Energetic bodywork based on oriental principals of "chi" flow. Specific points are located, to release stress and tension, and re-establish energetic balance in psyche and body. Unlike acupuncture, no tools or needles used, only fingers and thumbs. Pressure: light to medium.

Michael McAleese, CMT, CR, CST, or phone 630-968-7827 for an appointment.

School of Holistic Massage and Reflexology--contact Mike MacAleese for more information.

Feldenkrais® Method

The Feldenkrais® Method was developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984), an engineer and physicist and the first European black-belt in Judo. Moshe Feldenkrais was one of the leading pioneers in somatic education. He applied the rigor of his scientific training to the study of awareness and movement. Dr. Feldenkrais's teachings reveal that our thoughts, feelings, actions, sensations, and emotions are all related to our self-image. Therefore, the Feldenkrais® Method has a wide range of applications to behavior, whether for purposes of physical and emotional health, artistic expression, sports performance, or the enjoyment of everyday life. This method allows you to not only improve your knowledge of yourself but also the efficacy and quality of your actions.

What makes the Feldenkrais® Method unique is its focus on:

• learning rather than therapy  
• process rather than only results 
• awareness rather than just mechanics  
• movement and function rather than posture and structure. 

"Learn ease and grace in movement; it is more important than you think." Moshe Feldenkrais

The study of Feldenkrais includes an understanding and a concrete application of many principles:

• physical organization of the moving body in relation to gravity 
• proportional distribution of work through the whole musculoskeletal system  
• self-regulated process of the nervous system  
• primacy of "learning to learn" over learning specifics  
• integrity of the person as a sensorial, emotional and intellectual being  
• embodiment of consciousness itself.  

The Feldenkrais® Method utilizes the following:

• reducing effort and speed  
• increasing sensitivity  
• finding options and variety within the range of comfort and ease  
• exploring nonhabitual movements  
• relying on oneself instead of imitating a model  
• following a gradual progression towards complexity  
• maintaining a global vision of the body and of the whole person in movement. 

There are two learning modalities within the Feldenkrais® Method, Awareness Through Movement® (ATM) and Functional Integration® (FI). In ATM lessons, the teacher leads students through sequences of slow movements done lying down, sitting, or standing. Each student is thereby involved in a personal process of guided discovery. The FI lessons are similar in intent but customized to the individual needs of the student. The practitioner communicates primarily through touch, offering new possibilities and qualities of movement.

Constance Butler, MA, PT, ICMT, phone 630-969-6456.

Judy Polkow, MHS, PT, phone 630-832-8131.

Julie Francis, MS, CFT , phone 630-858-6683.