Photo: Tate Carlon
With some advice from local gurus, make this your healthiest year yet.
Yoga is a great and versatile way to strengthen both the body and mind in equal measure. At CorePower Yoga, you can take Bikram classes at temperatures from 85 to 105 degrees. For beginners, start with CorePower Yoga 1, which teaches new students the fundamentals. There’s also Yoga Sculpt, which combines yoga with strength training and free weights, and CoreCardioCircuit, which is designed to boost endurance through a combination of yoga and cardio. Shannon Jarvis, a retail buyer for CorePower, thinks of yoga as a lifestyle, rather than a quick-results fitness challenge. Her tip for a resolution? Make your exercise routine something you’ll want to do 365 days a year. “Find something you love this new year and stick to it,” Jarvis says.
At The Pilates Body, members of all ages—from their teens to their 80s—improve their core strength, stability, balance and spinal health, and learn how to prevent injury. The studio even offers tailored programs to clients who have had hip or knee replacements, or who are coping with the effects of osteoporosis or breast cancer. The studio is intimate and is a space where anyone can be comfortable to focus on their health and body movement. Owner Lisa Hein believes in the power of Pilates, because it helps to sustain the body over time and works all muscle groups. Tune in in 2019, she says. “Listen to your body,” Hein says. “Most importantly, have fun.”
Ways 2 Wellness, part of HealthEast’s services, provides patients with nutrition, fitness and mental wellness courses. The team includes personal trainers, dietitians, life coaches and even a psychologist, to tackle health holistically. Chefs and nutritionists provide recipes, offer cooking gear demos, and help build a diet. Fitness classes include yoga, barre, Pilates, boot camp and more. Clients can also work with life coaches on issues related to relationships and work. Ways 2 Wellness programming is available to anyone, including non-HealthEast patients.
Food: Everyone needs it, but a lot of us don’t know how to properly nourish our bodies. Sue Moores, a nutritionist at Kowalski’s, teaches customers how they can eat well. Moores provides customers with resources, helps put together a plan based on their needs,
and empowers them to value the deliciousness of good food. She emphasizes how many interesting and nutritious foods Kowalski’s stocks that shoppers might not even know about, and challenges everyone to try one new food a week in the new year—even if it is just a different kind of apple. “Broaden your horizons and become adventurous eaters,” Moores says.
If you’re looking for a more substantial change to your diet in the new year, visit Tailor Made Nutrition, where they offer dietary supplements and consultations with naturopathic doctors. Tailor Made focuses on “clean” eating, so all products are gluten-free, and many are dairy-free; most are also free of artificial additives. Staff includes two naturopathic doctors and an acupuncturist. “Some individuals need a major overhaul [with] baby steps,” says owner Penny Winzer. “Others are ready to jump in aggressively. We are here to help with products, services and a referral system.”
At Radiance Medspa, the ethos is that feeling good on the outside helps you feel amazing on the inside. Head esthetician Elizabeth Anderson says that clients who are happy with their physical appearance are more likely to exercise and make positive personal and lifestyle changes—it’s not vanity; it’s self-care. Her approachable and attainable resolution? Protect your skin from the sun. Radiance can help fix signs of aging and pigmentation on the skin, in addition to your daily routine. “Wear sunscreen every day so you can prevent damage to your skin,” Anderson says.
Healing and working through trauma and other mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, relationship conflicts and dealing with chronic illnesses is what the Counseling Psychologists of Woodbury do best. Mental health professional Elizabeth Fleming recommends setting a small goal each day of the new year, which can make larger tasks feel more reachable. “Start each day with a success: make your bed, brush your teeth, and remind yourself that accomplishing a small goal means you have the potential to accomplish even more,” Fleming says.
Blissful Balance focuses on wellness of mind, body and spirit. They offer massage, meditation, and wellness and fitness classes. Not only do they create a safe and judgement-free environment for individuals to express themselves, but they also want to build a healing community where people can work together. They hope that clients will support each other and spread positivity and love. Owner Amanda Riley says, “Forget resolutions. Make small lifestyle changes in phases. Pick one to implement, and after that [becomes] a habit, add another. If you do one a month, by the end of the year, you have 12 healthy habits under your belt and a totally different world.”
