Creating Space for Stillness
On the last Monday of each month, Chris Manola invites people in Crete, Illinois, to step away from their routines for an hour and become still.
Through Humble Warrior Yoga, Chris leads guided sound meditation and breath work sessions from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Crete Township Community Center, 25930 S. Cottage Grove Avenue. Crystal singing bowls, intentional breathing and guided meditation are used to create an environment where participants can slow down, settle their attention and practice techniques for managing everyday stress.
“Our nervous systems are not equipped to handle the relentless demands of modern life,” Chris says.
Her work is grounded in a straightforward idea. Peace should not be something people experience only when everything else stops. It can be practiced and carried into work, relationships and ordinary moments.
A New Chapter After 35 Years in Business
Chris arrived at this work after a long career far removed from meditation rooms and yoga mats.
Before retiring in 2021, she spent 35 years in commercial real estate and earned numerous professional designations along the way. That experience gave her a firsthand understanding of demanding schedules and the pressures that can accumulate over years of professional life.
Today, she is a sound meditation guide and certified yoga instructor. Along with her monthly meditation sessions, Chris teaches yoga every Tuesday from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Crete Park on Main, located at 1374 Main Street in Crete.
The work reflects the philosophy behind Humble Warrior Yoga, where wellness is approached as a balance between inner strength and deep peace.
Chris also has a creative career. She is a film actor with 25 IMDb credits, another chapter in a life that has continued to expand rather than simply slow down after retirement.
Service Beyond the Yoga Mat
Community involvement has become equally important to Chris.
She volunteers at the Crete Lions Club Recycling Center at 1215 Douglas Lane, where additional volunteers are regularly needed. The center welcomes volunteers Monday through Friday from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Chris emphasizes that even one hour of help each week can make a difference, with profits from the recycling operation going back into the community.
Her service with the organization was recently recognized when she was named Lion of the Year by the Crete Lions Club.
Chris is also a founding member of the Crete Community Runners Association and serves with local nonprofit organizations, extending the same community minded approach she brings to her wellness work.
Supporting a Community Center’s Next Chapter
That involvement recently grew with Chris’s appointment to the newly formed Board of Directors of Friends of the Crete Township Community Center, a 501(c)(3) organization supporting the center where she holds her monthly sound meditation sessions.
The board’s work includes helping the Community Center host social activities, classes and civic events. Friends of the Crete Township Community Center also plans to raise funds for the center’s operations, identify grant opportunities and develop programs and events serving Crete Township and surrounding communities.
For Chris, the appointment connects several parts of her life. Wellness, volunteerism and community building may take different forms, but each depends on people being willing to show up for one another.
“Your inner peace can transform the world,” she says.
In Crete, Chris is putting that belief into practice close to home.
Learn More
Chris Manola’s sound meditation sessions are held on the last Monday of each month from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Crete Township Community Center, 25930 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, Crete, Illinois. Call 708.722.1857 and leave a message to register.
Chris also teaches yoga Tuesdays from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Crete Park on Main, 1374 Main Street. Register at Crete Park District.
Learn more about the Crete Township Community Center, Crete Community Runners Association, and Crete Lions Club Recycling Center. To volunteer at the Recycling Center, contact cretelionsclub1215douglas@gmail.com.
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