Low-cost natural weight / wellness classes begin May 27 in Hancock

HANCOCK -- A group of natural wellness experts from Finlandia's Jutila Center for Global Design and Business will launch a series of low-cost community classes called "Perfect Weight and Wellness" at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27, in Room 324 of the Jutila Center.

Subtitled "Bringing Balance to Your Relationship with Food and your Body," the series will run on Wednesday evenings through the summer and cover topics ranging from mind-body wellness to why popular diets don't always work.

Patty Markham Peterson, RN, of Keweenaw Natural Wellness will introduce the series with her class titled "The Physical Body and the Energy Body," based on her experiences working locally in natural wellness since 1997.

Patty Markham Peterson, RN, of Keweenaw Natural Wellness, is an energy healer. She is pictured here teaching a previous class on wellness at the Jutila Center in Hancock. (Photo courtesy Patty Markham Peterson, Keweenaw Natural Wellness)

"As I work with clients I see how much energy affects their health," Peterson said. "In this class, I'll talk about how that happens and how we can manage our energy to stay healthy."

Peterson has taught previous wellness and intuition classes, which have grown in popularity since beginning about three years ago. As part of the current series, she will also teach the classes "Eating Without FEAR" (June 24) and "Conscious and Unconscious Beliefs and Body Weight" (Aug. 5).

Kim Menzel, LMSW, of Indigo Creek Counseling; Vicki Usitalo, RN, of Preventive Health Maintenance; and Katie Alvord of North Coast Holistics will present additional classes in the Perfect Weight and Wellness series.

Menzel, a clinical psychotherapist who works closely with area health care providers in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders, will present the classes "Mindfulness and Body Image" (June 10), "Overcoming Self-Sabotage" (July 22) and "Food as a Metaphor" (Sept. 9). Menzel has been in practice since 1994 and has operated Indigo Creek Counseling since 2006. She specializes in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

Usitalo, a registered nurse who has worked locally in natural health since 2002, specializes in field control therapy, a method of internal cleansing which uses homeopathy and herbs. Her June 17 class will focus on ways this method can reduce fatigue, support weight management and improve overall wellness.

Alvord, an award-winning writer and educator with training in holistic health and nutrition, will present the classes "Journaling for Perfect Weight and Wellness" (July 8) and "Popular Diets vs. the Unique You" (Aug. 19). She will also host the class "Tapping for Wellness" (June 3) on neural tapping, a technique related to acupressure and designed to promote self-healing.

Alvord stressed the low-cost aspect of the classes.

"Especially with the economy now, we wanted to offer classes that are both practical and affordable," she said. "We hope the holistic approaches we'll cover will help people save money on medical bills, too."

All classes are $10 at the door, and will be held at Finlandia's Jutila Center for Global Design and Business at 200 Michigan Street in Hancock. All will run from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings, with informal discussion to follow. For more information, call 487-7451 or email NorthCoastHolistics@gmail.com.

For a complete schedule of the classes, visit the North Coast Holistics Web site.