Meditation Class
Worry and chatter drain away as the gong's third ring resonates deep inside you, and you stop fretting that you might sneeze or pass gas and give yourself over to pure presence. That's because meditation is taught with calm discipline and no gimmicks at the nonprofit Missouri Zen Center, founded 28 years ago by Zen master Rosan Osamu Yoshida. He's a scholar (he teaches comparative religion at Toyo University) and a gentle man (he's spent half his life guiding people to insight at this cozy house in Webster Groves). The center's beginners class welcomes newcomers every Monday night, and it's a good choice: When you're dismantling your defenses, you don't want a teacher with a barbed wit. 220 Spring, 314-961-6138, missourizencenter.org
Calm Retreat
Maybe you don't wanna "reach out" or "link in." Maybe you want to turn inward, away from the buzzing, blooming profusion of modern life. Head for the Ozark hills of Ava, Mo., and the blessed silence of the Trappist monks at Assumption Abbey. You don't have to be Catholic, nor scintillating. Just quiet. Walk in the woods, eat the monks' simple good food, honor the peace of the place, and maybe buy a fruitcake; it's their livelihood. Route 5, Ava, Mo., 417-683-5110, assumptionabbey.org
Boot Camp
Despite his fancy name, Brady Toliver II, the director of Buck's Boot Camp in Forest Park, is a pretty straightforward guy. The 29-year-old certified trainer, a former All-Conference defensive tackle for DePauw University, coaxes peak performance out of his thrice-weekly camp's constituents, regardless of their original fitness level, and guides them toward a healthy integration of "mind, body and soul." The results are incontestable: Our participating friends' silhouettes have grown sleeker, while our slacker butts have not. 314-568-0003
Place to Volunteer
The old saying about teaching a man to fish? Teach him to read, and he can learn how to fish, cook, sell, start a company and teach grad students marine biology. The YMCA Literacy Council has waiting lists of students (one in six Missourians can't fill out a simple form), and how you help is up to you: Sort books for babies ... read stories to toddlers ... help school-age kids realize reading matters ... or bring an adult into sync with the surrounding world, as all those squiggles start to make sense. 2635 Gravois, 314-776-7102, ymcastlouis.org/literacy
Gentlest Place to Learn Yoga
When you're recovering from an injury or trying to survive a corporate merger, you don't want somebody to light a fire in your chakras. You want a teacher who will meet your body where it is right now and guide it forward ever so gently. At Big Bend Yoga Center, the instructions are clear and calm — you can even get a private tutorial, if you're nervous — and levels offered range from beginner to kundalini to a challenging high-energy workout, with massage therapists to soothe stretched muscles at every stage. 88 N. Gore, 314-918-9642, bigbendyoga.com
Hair Stylist
Kristy Hobbs came of age in the '80s, slicing and styling the radical 'dos of her friends — skaters, punk rockers, new wavers. These days, she's one of the most sought-after stylists in town — her clients at Clayton's Dominic Michael Salon, several of whom have been with her for at least two decades, often book a year's worth of appointments at once. A two-time attendee of Aveda's London Hair Academy, Hobbs cuts and colors both genders, and she points to three keys to her success: being a good listener, knowing the client's everyday lifestyle and being able to tie a look to the season's fashions. 8220 Forsyth, 314-721-4230, dmsalon.com
Massage
Relaxation massages, a staple of most spas, greatly boost one's enjoyment of new pink toenails. When you spend your day hunched over like Bartleby the Scrivener, though, they hardly do the trick. The Center for Mind, Body & Spirit in U. City offers an abecedarian menu of truly therapeutic massages, from Aromatherapy to Zen Shiatsu; tables are equipped with BioMats, which offer a heated surface and emit negative ions (said to accelerate relaxation and healing). But anyone can invest in accoutrements — what's singular here is the superlatively trained staff of therapists, who listen to the story your muscles are telling them, rather than just blindly applying bodywork techniques. 7649 Delmar, 314-725-6767, centerformindbodyspirit.com
Manicurist/Pedicurist
There are a few basic requirements when it comes to a decent mani/pedi: a clean salon, sterile equipment and a paint job that won't be chipping come tomorrow. Nail guru Shadawn Adams of Michael Isaiah Salon goes above and beyond — she whips leathery heels smooth as a baby's bum, polishes nails fit for an interview at Vogue and schools you on how to maintain dazzling digits in between appointments ... and yes, the polish is still on two weeks later! 11940 Manchester, 314-966-3233
Social Conscience
A Jesuit philosopher as well as a clergyman, the Rev. John Kavanaugh directs Ethics Across the Curriculum at Saint Louis University — a prim way of saying that he can recognize the moral principles at stake in any situation. The man went to Africa before rock stars made it trendy, warned his students about soul-killing consumerism before anybody knew the word, convinced generations of the dignity of human life and has taught thousands of St. Louisans — from Billiken shooters to chiefs of medicine — how to think deeply. slu.edu/centers/ethics
Spa
When you spend upwards of $100 for a spa experience, it better be extraordinary. The Spa at Four Seasons is the real deal and the ultimate in luxury, quality and atmosphere. In addition to a decadent menu of services, including the Caviar Facial and Lemongrass Body Scrub, you have access to the relaxation lounge, steam room, sauna and whirlpool the day of your treatment. 999 N. Second, 314-881-5800, fourseasons.com/stlouis/spa
