All STRESSED Up
and Someplace
To Go

) The job. The bills.
> The in-laws.
Maybe what you need
is an hour in salt water.

I

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

ASSISTANT EDITOR

A guest enjoys some relaxation.

)

lose your eyes. Now imagine
you're sitting beside the sea.
You hear the calm, soothing
sound of the waves behind
you. Overhead, the sun is
warm and comforting. A soft
breeze flows through your
hair.
You feel safe and comfort-
able. Your cares are drifting
away into the sea. Each wave
takes a worry out farther,
farther, farther into the
ocean. As the water crashes
gently against the hot sand,
you feel yourself more and
more relaxed. Your arms are
relaxed. Your legs are re-
laxed. There's absolutely no
tension in your shoulders or
neck.

All right. That's enough.
Any more and you'll be so
rested you'll forget to finish
reading this article.
It's in. It's cool. It's the '90s
thing to do.
It is relaxation. And one
local facility is dedicated en-
tirely to seeing that, no mat-
ter what shape a person is in
when he walks through the
door, he leaves feeling calm
and collected.
The Parker Clinic, of
Bloomfield Hills, is the De-
troit area's only "therapeutic
relaxation center," run by
Claudia Parker and Jerry
Stutz. Among its offerings:
massage, relaxation tapes,
light and sound therapy, a

sauna and a flotation tank.
The pair met five years
ago. Mr. Stutz was in prop-
erty management. His Mure
wife had her own massage
clinic in Rochester, leased in
one of Mr. Stutz's buildings.
"One day I walked into her
office and asked to use the
phone to call the chiroprac-
tor," he says. "For years, I'd
had severe, chronic lower
back pain."
Ms. Parker suggested a
massage instead.
Mr. Stutz was wary.
"Believe me, I had my con-
cerns," he says. "But six
months later I got off the
massage table, and it was
the first time in five years I

wasn't experiencing debili-
tating pain."
With increased treatment,
Mr. Stutz says, his pain dis-
appeared completely. It's a
typical experience for a num-
ber of their clients.
"We have people who have
chronic headaches who, after
regular massage, get rid of
them," Mr. Stutz says. "One
man told me he hasn't had a
sick day since he started
coming here."
Ms. Parker got into the
business 15 years ago. She
was doing design for major
office complexes when some-
one offered her a trade: mas-
sages for decorating advice.
By the third massage, she