Ever since Laura Zaranski opened East Wind Acupuncture 13 years ago in Chestrton, she had a goal of one day filling the gap in the health services provided.

The acupuncture, massage therapy and Chinese herbal medicines at the clinic have provided treatment modalities for thousands of patients. But Zaranski said the clinic hasn’t been able to focus as much on the other component of Chinese medicine: Lifestyle enhancements that focus on self-health and wellness.

That gap has now been filled.

At the start of this year, Zaranski, MS, L.Ac., opened East Wind Studios at 101 Second Street in downtown Chesterton. The studio offers a variety of classes, including yoga, tai chi, meditation, qi gong, zumba, and pilates, and monthly workshops featuring specialists who address topics as diverse as healthy relationships to intense yoga.

“I’ve always had a vision for my clinic to include all aspects of Chinese medicine,” Zaranski said.

This Monday, a ribbon cutting ceremony held in conjunction with the Chesterton-Duneland Chamber of Commerce will officially launch the opening of East Wind Studios. The public is invited to the event, which will be from 4 to 6 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 5 p.m. Refreshments will be available.

The studio has nine instructors, each with extensive experience and qualifications in their respective fields, Zaranski said. Group classes run Mondays through Saturdays.

The studio does not have memberships, but instead invites people to attend classes on a drop-in basis or to purchase punch cards entitling them to attend any of the group classes. The cost is $15 for walk-ins, with a 10-class punch card for $125 and a 20-class punch card for $200. Discounts are offered for seniors and students.

In addition to the fee-based classes and workshops, East Wind Studios offers free classes open to the public every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on various health, fitness and wellness subjects.

The studios opened at the start of January and began offering a full slate of classes from the start. So far, yoga and meditation have been the most popular.

“It’s been really postive,” Zaranski said. “We’ve had so many people stop in and say they’re so excited to have a local yoga studio.”

The studio is a natural extension of Zaranski’s passion to help others live healthy lives. She majored in biological sciences in pre-med and studied natural medicine. She was intrigued by Chinese medicine, noting that it’s a medical system thousands of years old that has helped maintain the largest populations in the world. As a post-graduate, she focused on Chinese medicine, a four-year course of study. She noted that both Eastern and Western medicines are needed, with the Western system particularly vital in acute and emergency situations.

For more information, call East Wind Studios at (219) 728-1647 or e-mail at yoga@ewstudios.com

 The full scheduling will be online.

Posted 2/25/2011