Conscious Living: Fun Things to Do in the Chicago Suburbs

1. Sing & Dance at Flowering Heart Center
Located in Wheaton, Flowering Heart Center offers a group singing experience called kirtan, a style of singing focused on human unity, uplifting positive vibration, and connectedness. If dancing is more your style, they also offer offer Ecstatic Dance Sundays, importing some of Chicagoland's favorite DJs to the burbs to get your blood pumping and your feet moving. Visit their website here.

2. Try a Writer's Group
A quirky, offbeat Writer's Group for Millennials in Elmhurst offers you the chance to get in touch with your inner voice and experiment with writing. Express yourself through fiction, memoir writing, songwriting, or short stories, or sit, listen, and be inspired as others share their stories.

3. Take Free Meditation Classes at a Meditation Center
Need to de-stress, refocus, or recharge with a little self-care? Science of Spirituality in Lisle teaches a simple technique for meditation in uplifting meditation classes. Classes are free and suitable for new and experienced students alike. (Bonus: Sometimes there's free food)

A full schedule of events is available on their website.

4. Try Open Mic Night at The Burning Bush
The Burning Bush is a Wheaton-based art gallery and event space, offering Open Mic nights, Drum Circles, and other fun activities to the community.

Check out their meetup page for more details.

5. Do Inner Work
For personal development junkies and those interested in self-improvement, 12-Step meetings offer a safe space to heal from the past and find joy in the present. Meetings can offer help managing emotions (Emotions Anonymous), to freeing oneself from addictive or consuming relationships (Codependents Anonymous), to healing one's relationship with themselves after a childhood marked by parental alcohol use (Adult Children of Alcoholics).

These deep-dive programs bring together friends seeking self-improvement through vulnerability and authentic sharing. Meetings are free of charge and hosted in many formats and times, online, over the phone, and in person across Chicagoland.

6. Be the Change: Volunteer for a Cause You Love
Do you have a cause or a hobby that lights up your soul? Check out VolunteerMatch and discover volunteer opportunities in your area that match your interests and hobbies via their filter feature, and connect with organizers to share your time in service to something meaningful to you.

7. Take an Authentic Yoga Class
Check out Abhyaasa Yoga in Naperville for a down-to-earth authentic yoga experience.

8. Have an All-Day Retreat at King Spa
King Spa offers a spa & relaxation experience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with features like an in-spa movie theater, multiple salt and crystal caves for various health ailments and benefits, hot saunas, a wet sauna and soaking tubs of varying temperatures to try.

Services like full-body scrubs, acupressure, and foot massages are also available. King Spa is great in big groups, with a friend, or the lone wolf may enjoy traveling solo and curling up on their king-size lounge chairs with a good book after a long day of soaking.

9. Enjoy Free Vegetarian Food, Workshops & Cooking Classes
VeggieFest Chicago, the country's largest vegetarian food festival in Chicago. Foodies, health nuts and veggie-curious will delight in their vegetarian cooking classes, offering classes on various cuisine - including Mexican, Thai, and American.

Workshops led by doctors and medical professionals teach about vegetarian diet choices, health benefits, and making the transition to a plant-based diet in an effective and sustainable way, with options to get your veggie questions answered in a Q&A with speakers at the end. Classes generally end with free food afterwards. Visit their website for details and a complete schedule.

10. Take an Art Classe at DuPage Art League
Explore your creative side at DuPage Art League in Wheaton. Check it out here.

Your Turn: What are your favorite conscious places, events, things to do in the burbs? What would you add to this list?