BY
MICHAEL
TOMPKINS
REMEMBERING
RUTH STRICKER
Founder, Owner and Executive Director of
The Marsh, A Center for Balance and Fitness
♥
RUTH STRICKER was referred to as many things in the spa industry,
having brought forward the Yin Yang principles to Western wellness
centers and spas: a visionary for “the resiliency of the human spirit”;
the conscience of the spa industry; the founder of “the center of the
future”; a supporter of mental health and fitness, art and science; an
international humanitarian and a compassionate leader; the creator
of mind-body. But to me she was a friend.
Being the daughter of a minister, Ruth
grew up in a service-oriented family
and those roots set her on the path to a
life of integrating Eastern and Western
philosophies, and in many ways began
the process of Yin Yang early on.
Using this metaphor, pairing
emotional and physical health recalls
Ruth’s words of “the resiliency of the
human spirit,” to find our own sense of
wellbeing in our mind-body connection.
Looking at her body of work, the
assimilation of the Yin and the Yang
is undeniable.
Ruth graduated from Macalester
College with a double major in physical
education and religion, setting the
foundation for her life’s work. The
association between exercise and
cognitive components blazed a new
trail in the health and fitness industries,
setting the stage for optimal health
decades before the practice became the
standard recommendation by medical
professionals.
In 1985, Ruth founded The Marsh,
A Center for Balance and Fitness—the
first known site to blend allopathic and
alternative disciplines. Think about
that! Nearly 35 years ago, The Marsh
became “the center of the future” by integrating
spa and health club alongside
a medical approach. In 1992, Ruth’s
pioneering efforts sponsored a threeyear
research study on mindful exercise
where its findings indicated that combining
physical exercise with cognitive
strategy was superior to exercise alone
in promoting psychological benefits.
“Mindfulness”—how often do we hear
that word now?
Head and heart came together
when Ruth married Bruce Dayton.
Ruth’s work expanded as a compassionate
international humanitarian
making trips to China where they
funded a research project to study
Qigong & Tai Chi as it relates to health
and recovery for cancer patients.
Ruth and Michael in 2019 at the unveiling of an
artistic casting of her hands.
30 PULSE ■ JUNE 2020