NEW WOMEN’S CLINIC: Across the street at 4727 44th SW (Suite 207), West Seattle Women’s Health and Midwifery is now open, providing birth services as well as health care for women at all stages of life. Dr. Shari Luchino, DNP, ARNP, CNM, is the provider and nurse/midwife anchoring the clinic. She’s having an open house 10 am to 3 pm this Sunday (June 2), all welcome.

With the help of West Seattle Chamber of Commerce board chair Dave Montoure (left), the ribbon is cut and the party’s on till 1 pm at Westwood Village’s newest business, Massage Envy (WSB sponsor, featured here earlier this week).

If you’re going to convince kids to get up and get moving, the message needs to get to the adults in their lives too – and that’s exactly what happened this past week during the Family Health and Fitness Carnival at West Seattle Elementary School.

WS Elementary counselor Laura Bermes for sharing a report and photos – she says more than 200 people were there:

In collaboration with WSE School Nurse, Terri Helm-Remund, the evening’s dinner and festivities were hosted by the Hope Heart Institute and Molina Healthcare and featured community organizations from Camp Long, Apple Corps, Cascade Bicycle Club, First Tee Golf, the West Seattle YMCA, Neighborhood House, the Farmer’s Market Alliance, Southwest Pool, Washington Dairy Council, and Neighborcare Health. The goal of the Hope Heart Institute and Molina Healthcare Family Fitness Carnival was to teach students and their families about healthy eating, active living and heart health. The evening included a healthy dinner, games, prizes, and health tips. Families blended smoothies by pedal power, took a swing at golf, and danced with a local Zumba instructor and Seattle School District Parent Leader Yui Dirksen! Teachers, staff, parents, and community members volunteered their time, and everyone had a blast!

WSE has also participated all year in “Fuel Up to Play 60,” stressing movement and nutrition.

It’s the American Cancer Society‘s 100th birthday, which is why “Walking On Logs” is decked out in purple. Local ACS supporters are encouraging everyone to do the same, to ‘Paint the Town Purple’ today. And it’s a chance for a reminder about next month’s ACS fundraiser, the annual Relay for Life of West Seattle – this time around, running from 2 pm Saturday, June 29th, until 8 am Sunday, June 30th, at West Seattle Stadium. And besides the always inspiring milestones along the way – organizer Kate Flanagan tells WSB that Relay for Life will include a free concert by popular kid-music band Recess Monkey at 6:30 pm that Saturday. Find out more about R4L at westseattlerelay.com or on Facebook.

Walk with us! This Friday [May 24], 8:00 am, meet at south goalpost at Hiawatha soccer field. Walk for 20 minutes with us and bring your dog, friends – anyone welcome! Walk longer with some of us, or less …. it is all fine!

Questions? Call Carol at 206-938-4204. No RSVP needed, though – just show up. Hiawatha is at 2700 California SW.

Our Massage Envy staff is amazing. We have 15 talented massage therapists, each trained in multiple modalities. In addition to being licensed health-care professionals in Washington, each passed a 3-part interview which included a practical massage with myself and my experienced Clinic Administrator, Amanda. They were evaluated on 6 criteria and had to score well in all six categories to come aboard. We had to turn away several applicants and get a lot of massage to select these wonderful, gifted people. It was tough. My neck and shoulder have never felt so relaxed.

I’ve worked in health care for the last 15 years, in a variety of settings. I’ve never seen therapy apply to such a variety of issues. It was a natural fit to open a business designed to make people feel good right away. The more you have massage, the better you feel. It’s as healthy as working out, but instead of sweating, you lie down. Our American lifestyle is pretty stressful. Americans don’t have any pause rituals like afternoon tea or siestas. Pausing is essential to a healthy balanced life.

Massage Envy invented the concept of a gym-type membership for massage. The response has been huge because people always leave feeling great and want to have more of that well-being feeling. Regular massage is addictive and we have a great program that makes it affordable and convenient. Parking and public transport are plentiful; we’re open 7 days a week, 8 am-10 pm Mondays-Fridays, 8 am-6 pm Saturdays, 10 am-6 pm Sundays. It’s pretty easy to fit it into a busy schedule. As the local owner, I spent a year vetting the Massage Envy brand to gain a comfort level with the brand for professionalism, convenience, and value. I visited over 50 Massage Envys around the US in several states. I talked to a lot of therapists about what made their job rewarding (or not) and took note. The consistency and quality of massage is strikingly good. I found a manager talented in delivering on customer service and systems that work for our staff. She has several years’ experience in the wellness industry. Because of my history as a health-care provider, spending long hours in the operating room, it’s important to me that my employees have state of the art equipment that preserves their bodies. We take care of our clients, we take care of ourselves and we take care of each other. It’s hugely rewarding to all of us to make people feel so good, run a better race, wake up less stiff, move with ease and less pain, go to sleep soundly, recover from surgery — I could go on and on and usually do if you give me half a chance. I believe in massage. If you are the type of person who likes massage, please come and give us a try – 2513 SW Trenton, on the north side of Westwood Village, 206-456-3400.

And this Saturday (May 25th), it’s the grand opening, with a ribbon-cutting at 11 am, followed by complimentary chair massages, healthy treats, and a water bar until 1 pm.

We thank Massage Envy-West Seattle for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

Center Studio, in the heart of White Center, is an inclusive space where our community can connect – a one stop shop for holistic fitness for our bodies craving strength, sweat & stretch and our minds seeking balance, focus & peace. We offer all levels of Yoga classes as well as Prenatal, Kids & Family Yoga, private Thai Yoga Therapy, special workshops, and more! Our Pilates classes will ground your body and strengthen your inner core. Our Above the Barre classes combine ballet, yoga, pilates and strength to work your mind and body. To bring your wellness full circle, we have two intuitive and nurturing Massage Therapists who bring 14 years of experience to combine a variety of bodywork specialties including Massage Cupping – an ancient detoxifying healing modality – Swedish, Deep Tissue, Prenatal Massage, Aromatherapy and more.

Founded by West Seattle resident Lonjina Verdugo, a New Mexico transplant and Seattle resident of 15 years, Center Studio encompasses her vision of bringing together mindful movement, art and community. “After spending lots of quality time with my family in White Center I realized – *this* is the place. I launched Center Studio in Spring of 2012 and the response has been great. People always say to me ‘I’m so glad you opened the studio. We need this in White Center!’ It’s been an exciting journey so far and I can’t wait to see what happens next.” Through her own personal journey she has realized that mindful movement and its underlying lessons can change you from the inside-out as well as the outside-in.

Looking to rent a unique venue? When we are not using it for classes, Center Studio can be used for photography/video shoots, workshops, rehearsals, meetings, birthday parties you name it! The open, light-filled space is perfect for inspiration and celebration. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Center Studio is at 9611 16th Ave SW (in the heart of White Center). Please visit us at www.whitecenterstudio.com for more information on classes, massage, special workshops & events, and on Facebook for insights, updates and specials. (And here’s a WSB coupon!) Center Studio is a stop on the White Center Art Walk and welcomes artist inquiries.

We thank Center Studio for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
If you were garage-saling along Alki late this morning – you probably saw the hundreds of walkers who hit the paths/sidewalks for Walk With Us to Cure Lupus. Many were part of groups formed for the fundraising walk, like Team PlasmaLab:

The 5K is one of many around the country raising money for the Alliance for Lupus Research, seeking a cure for the auto-immune disease that ALR says affects up to 1.5 million Americans.

From words of hope, to walks of celebration, the “Style ’13″ fashion fundraiser by and for West Seattleite-founded/led Northwest Hope and Healing was a success – so we hear from Captive Eye Media‘s Edgar Riebe, who shared the video highlights from last night’s event at Showbox SODO. Edgar says NWHH announced a fundraising total of $120,000, more than last year – we will check today for any additional details. Next big benefit for NWHH is the annual Alki Beach 5K Run/Walk, August 25th.

West Seattleite-founded/led Northwest Hope and Healing has a unique mission for breast-cancer patients – It helps them handle everyday life even as they cope with the daunting challenge of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. The video above produced by West Seattle-based Captive Eye Media introduces you to some of the people NWHH has helped – in other words, people like those you’ll be helping if you go to its Style ’13 benefit fashion show at 7 pm tomorrow. West Seattle businesses are involved as sponsors and supporters, including Carmilia’s, West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), and Coastal. Online ticket sales are over but you can get yours at the door at Showbox SODO – details here.

Meet Julia Tran, Michael Chow, and Lisa Hernandez, three of the people you’ll find at the new West Seattle Vision eye clinic that’s about to open at 6505 California SW in Morgan Junction. We stopped by Tuesday to meet them as they finish preparing the new space for a “soft open” later this week. Tran and Chow are optometrists; Hernandez is an optician. Another doctor is on the team but couldn’t join us for the Tuesday chat – Donna Matney, who, Chow points out, is also a published author with her own website.

West Seattle Vision is part of a locally owned mini-chain of clinics owned by Chow – this is the fourth one, and a fifth will open soon at South Lake Union. Each has its own name and identity, but they share doctors; Tran has been working at the company’s Auburn clinic and probably will still keep some hours there for a while.

Chow says she was the inspiration for the West Seattle clinic – they’ve been talking for more than a year about her having her own practice, ideally in this area, which Chow, who lives in Issaquah, has observed is a “cool little community, so tight-knit.”

Asked what will set them apart, the team says their modern technology will be a major factor, as will the time they spend with patients – while many eye exams run about half an hour, Tran explained, “we have 45 minutes.” Meantime, some old trappings of the typical eye exam have fallen away – you don’t need to have your pupils dilated for a doctor to see inside; new technology, they explain, allows photography into the eye so that they can even look “down to the cellular level.” And the process of narrowing down the prescription to correct your vision is “quicker and more efficient” than the old “which is better – one? or two? one? or two?” etc.

Technology also has improved for taking measurements to fit glasses, Hernandez says. And they plan to offer a wide range of frames, including high-end designs, and some full of color, which she says “is huge right now,” as well as a good selection for kids. Coatings are easier to clean, harder to scratch, these days.

And there’s one more place technology comes into the equation – they will offer online appointment-booking, which is accompanied by options including text messaging to remind you of your appointment.

Some things, of course, you just can’t determine technologically. They plan to adjust their hours depending on what their clients request – watching to see whether 9 to 5 makes more sense on weekdays, or maybe 10 to 6, while they’ll start off with one night a week – Wednesdays – open until 7. They say West Seattle Vision will have Saturday hours, too. So keep an eye out for signs of their “soft open,” to be followed by an official grand opening sometime this spring.

P.S.: They won’t be doing major surgery, but they will offer “medical eye care” for relatively minor problems.

Side note: West Seattle Vision’s impending opening is part of some big changes in that commercial building on the west side of California SW, just south of Fauntleroy – Pet Elements also has just opened its new space next door, relocating from a small freestanding building about a block away.

Thanks to longtime WSB’er “k” for photographing the sign installation at West Seattle Vision, taking over much of the former Windermere Fauntleroy space (closed after WF merged offices with Windermere in The Junction) in the 6500 block of California SW. We’d been working on a story but since the sign’s up – here’s what we know so far: It will be a group practice of optometrists, part of the Northwest Eye Care Network. Their opening date isn’t firmed up yet, but we’re told they’re getting close. Their Facebook page includes sneak peeks at the remodeling they have been doing inside the building. We first mentioned an eye clinic was on the way in this March 15 story about the new tenant for the rest of the space – Pet Elements, moving from its original location a block south.