Through heartache and devotion, Sheila Scheick is like a butterfly who has embraced changes and challenges in her life, transforming into something new and unexpected with colors that radiate strength, compassion and clarity.

A licensed and nationally certified muscular therapist, Sheila founded Zen Muscular Therapy and Wellness Center in 2001. Located off Route 128 in Woburn, Mass., Zen’s mission has been to help clients gain balance of body, mind and spirit through pain relief, stress reduction and education. The path that led Sheila here is a story unto its own.

With a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in education, Sheila spent several years as an alternative education teacher and teaching English as a second language. She later sought out new challenges and growth in the insurance industry, but felt out of her element in the corporate world. It was in the midst of this transition that something terrible happened–something that would deeply affect her and change her life forever. Sheila’s younger sister suffered a severe asthma attack that resulted in a traumatic brain injury, leaving her in a persistent vegetative state (PVS).

“At the time that this happened I wanted to find some alternative therapy to help her or, hopefully, heal her, and, at the very least, supplement the physical therapy she was barely getting at rehab,” Sheila says. “Her muscles were weak and atrophied, so I took a couple of massage and reflexology classes to learn techniques to work on her muscles and energy points. Once I started taking the classes, I realized how much I loved the work and decided to quit my job and go to school full time. Best decision I have ever made!”

Sheila had arrived at the place she was intended to be. She had found something to be passionate about--building a business, not just with brick and mortar, but with genuine love and dedication.

Starting with just one tiny room in a fitness center in Burlington, Mass., the Zen Muscular Therapy and Wellness Center has evolved into a full-service spa and wellness facility. Focusing on massage therapy, yoga and meditation, Zen maintains that one can greatly improve his or her overall well-being and overcome common ailments such sciatica, carpal tunnel, back pain and neck or shoulder injuries.

“The best thing about what I do is helping people achieve pain relief,” Sheila says.” There is nothing better than when a client comes back in and says they felt great after their last treatment and that they can turn their neck to check for traffic while driving or play with their kids again.”

Now centrally located at the Cummings Trade Center, with several treatment rooms  including a large couple’s massage room and a beautiful yoga studio, Zen is serving the Burlington, Woburn, Winchester, Billerica, Wilmington, Bedford, Lexington and the greater Boston community. Sheila successfully manages an experienced staff of 13 massage therapists and yoga instructors whose talents include deep tissue/sports massage, myofacial sport bodywork, Swedish massage, hot stone massage, reflexology and reiki.

Renowned for their exceptional service, the Zen Muscular Therapy and Wellness Center has been the recipient of the Readers Choice Gold award for the Best Massage in Burlington and the Readers Choice Silver for the Best Massage in the Region. In addition, it has been a leading contender for the last four years on BestSurveys.com for Best Massage Provider.  

Tailoring to the specific needs of its clients, Zen offers private yoga and meditation instruction, prenatal massage, stress reduction treatment and even Corporate Chair massage, which involves therapists traveling to and providing various services in the workplace.

“We really focus on the client’s overall well-being. We focus on providing specific work for our clients’ needs whether it is an injury, chronic pain or just relaxation,” Sheila explains. “We may have a client that has several muscle spasms in their low back. We would tailor our treatment to work on that specific need without having to go through a ‘massage routine’ that was learned in school. The therapists at Zen are all very invested in helping the client achieve the best outcome from their treatment, whatever the goal is.”

Sheila’s heartfelt approach to business is at the core of her success. She has helped clients achieve comfort and clarity in body and mind by providing services that are as meaningful as they are purposeful. In addition to offering discounted rates to military personnel and their families, teachers, police officers and firefighters, the Zen Muscular Therapy and Wellness Center also gives back to its community through various charitable contributions.

“I used to be a teacher so I know firsthand how hard this work is!  I think that teachers deserve so much and I wanted to give back in my own way,” Sheila says, adding that having several friends who are police officers and firefighters also inspired her desire to give back.

As such, Zen has donated generously to several community charities over the years, including local education foundations, churches and NuPath, formally CMARC, an organization that provides programs and services for people with disabilities.

NuPath does “so many great things for persons with disabilities,” says Sheila. “With my sister being in a situation where she could end up being a recipient of a similar service and one of my therapists’ having a family member who currently IS a recipient of their wonderful services, we thought it would be a great thing to be able to work with them more.”

Currently, Zen is offering a community yoga class on Sunday mornings starting at 10:30 a.m. in April and May. In an effort to make this program accessible for all budgets, Zen is offering it for $5.00 per class. And as a true community venture, Zen offers its space and services for these classes at no charge and donates all proceeds to NuPath.

“We have wanted to offer something to the community that would allow people to try yoga who maybe could not afford to pay the regular cost,” Sheila says. “At the very least, we wanted to introduce yoga to people so that if they wanted to take a few of the poses into their everyday life to help them keep their muscles lengthened and de-stress they could,” Sheila says.” “We think everyone should practice even a little bit of yoga in their daily life…people would be amazed at the benefits!"
The eternal student, Sheila says that she loves learning new techniques and is always on the lookout for new seminars and workshops to take to increase her knowledge— Sheila’s future goals are to incorporate a nutritionist into the staff and add other alternative therapies such as acupuncture to her business--all part of the ongoing effort to help people integrate wellness techniques and practices into their everyday lives.

Through her journey, Sheila Scheick has evolved and developed her dream—celebrating each new opportunity to bring comfort and calm to people’s lives. “It is the most incredible feeling to be able to help people” Sheila says"…probably a cliché but it’s really true!"

^{Programs at the Zen Muscular Therapy and Wellness Center range in length from 30 to 90 minutes and cost range from $40 -$125. Zen is open seven days a week: Mon-Fri 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. To set up an appointment for a session email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (781)359-9300.}

Written By : Jessica Layne

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