Wellness With a Local Address
For Chris Manola, community wellness happens in actual rooms, with familiar faces and people willing to give some of their time.
Her work through Humble Warrior Yoga is one part of a wider commitment to Crete, Illinois. Chris leads sound meditation, teaches yoga, volunteers with the Crete Lions Club and has recently joined the Board of Directors of Friends of the Crete Township Community Center.
Each role is different. Together, they reveal a philosophy that has become central to her life after a 35 year career in commercial real estate.
“Your inner peace can transform the world,” Chris says.
She has chosen to start close to home.
Creating a Place to Slow Down
On the last Monday of each month, Chris leads guided sound meditation and breath work from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Crete Township Community Center, 25930 S. Cottage Grove Avenue.
As a sound meditation guide and certified yoga instructor, she uses crystal singing bowls, guided meditation and breath work to create an hour centered on slowing down and becoming more aware of stress.
Chris sees that need as increasingly relevant.
“Our nervous systems are not equipped to handle the relentless demands of modern life,” she says.
Her aim is to introduce practices participants can return to during ordinary moments, long after the singing bowls become quiet.
She also teaches yoga Tuesdays from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Crete Park on Main, located at 1374 Main Street.
Service Takes Different Forms
The community center has since become part of another chapter for Chris.
She was appointed to the newly formed Board of Directors of Friends of the Crete Township Community Center, a 501(c)(3) organization created to support the facility. Its work includes hosting social activities, classes and civic events, raising funds for operations, identifying grant opportunities and developing programming for Crete Township and surrounding communities.
That appointment complements Chris’s other civic involvement. She serves on local nonprofit boards and is a founding member of the Crete Community Runners Association.
At the Crete Lions Club Recycling Center, service becomes particularly hands on.
Chris volunteers at the center, located at 1215 Douglas Lane, and encourages others to participate. Volunteers can come Monday through Friday from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. or Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Even one hour each week is useful, she says, and profits generated through the recycling center go back into the community.
Her contribution was recently recognized when she was named Lion of the Year by the Crete Lions Club.
Showing Up After Retirement
Chris retired from commercial real estate in 2021 after 35 years in the industry. She has also built a career as a film actor, earning 25 IMDb credits.
Yet her current work carries a distinctly local focus.
There is no grand theory required to understand it. A meditation class can give someone an hour of quiet. A yoga class creates routine and connection. A morning spent sorting recyclables can generate money that stays in the community. Serving on a board can help create programs that neighbors will eventually use.
For Chris, those small acts add up.
Learn More
To register for Chris’s monthly sound meditation at the Crete Township Community Center, call 708.722.1857 and leave a message. Yoga registration is available through Crete Park District.
Learn more about Humble Warrior Yoga, Friends of the Crete Township Community Center, the Crete Lions Club Recycling Center and the Crete Community Runners Association. Recycling Center volunteer inquiries can be sent to cretelionsclub1215douglas@gmail.com.
