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Body Central
The Heart of Wellness in New York City
New York, New York
www.bodycentralnyc.com
by Sarah Zimmerman

The first thing that strikes you about walking into Body Central, a wellness center in the heart of New York City's Greenwich village, is the feeling of serenity. Only five floors above the bustling sidewalks packed with NYU students and neighborhood artists, founder Dr. Jo Ann Weinrib has managed to create the ultimate urban oasis. The entrance hall features pale wood floors, curving walls, and colorful artwork by Dr. Weinrib's husband David, a sculptor and curator of the Sculpture Garden at Pratt University Then there is Dr. Weinrib herself, a petite woman with auburn hair and a porcelain complexion whose soft voice belies the hectic popularity of her five year-old business (apparently Body Central is becoming the place to go for Manhattan's premier artists, writers, actors, and dancers).

Dr. Weinrib, a practicing chiropractor and fine art photographer, asked me to fill out an extensive questionnaire before my visit. Armed with my medical history (including details of my recent back surgery), she then led me to a small, comfortable room where I changed into a robe, and she gave me a complete examination, including blood pressure readings, and flexibility and reflex tests. As important as her diagnostic care, however, was Dr. Weinrib's air of genuine curiosity and concern. She asked me where I felt I might hold tension in my body, and then gave me an uncannily accurate assessment of my back pain, and offered helpful guidelines to pursue in physical therapy.

Besides the compassion and attentive care of its staff, Body Central's unique treatments are powerful draws. In addition to nutritional counseling, personalized fitness programs, pilates classes, and beauty treatments inspired by Ayurvedic medicine (Dr. Weinrib and her husband lived for two years in India), Body Central offers several therapies that are simply not found anywhere else in New York.

There is the justly acclaimed Sinus Treatment, which uses eucalyptus aromatherapy, Traumeel analgesic gel (a homeopathic anti-inflammatory), electrical stimulation and warm compresses, all designed to heal even the most pollution-exposed, allergy suffering New Yorker (the treatment was recognized in New York Magazine's "Best Spas in the City" 2002 issue). Another treatment that seems to have been custom-made for stressed out Manhattanites is the Jaw Release, specifically designed to relieve TMJ and jaw clenching (something we New Yorkers specialize in). The treatment applies ultrasound to the jaw and neck, and includes a moist heat application, subtle cranial adjustments and a facial massage.

Dr. Weinrib has also created a prenatal program, CranioSacral therapy treatments, and a Mastectomy Massage, specially designed for women recovering from breast cancer.

I opted for the "Anti-Aging Massage," having recently celebrated what some might term a "traumatic" birthday. I was led into a small treatment room, lit only with several votive candles. There, veteran massage therapist Renata Pilato (a former textile marketer) explained that the treatment incorporated techniques from Swedish Massage (to increase circulation and reduce inflammation), lymphatic drainage (to aid in detoxification) and reflexology and accupressure (to deliver stress relief to areas of particular tension). Normally quite talkative, I gradually lapsed into a stunned silence as Renata carefully and thoroughly worked on each limb. As I lay on the heated treatment table, I could feel the tension slowly leave every part of my body, even easing from the bottom of my feet (who know one's soles could be tense?).

By the end of the hour, I felt uncharacteristically tranquil. One measure of my newfound serenity was that I remained unperturbed by a subway ride home in which I rode in a car literally sandwiched between strangers. While others around me cursed and jockeyed for position next to the doors, I merely smiled to myself. While I have no idea if I looked younger that night, I must say I felt younger, calmer, more optimistic. Which is a very good way to face the New Year. That, and a resolution to make Body Central a regular appointment in my 2004 calendar.

For more information about Body Central, please call 212-677-5633 or visit their web site: www.bodycentralnyc.com.