NYC Wellness Weekend

It’s been a while since I have check in with my little corner of the internet. There is so much I have been wanting to share. I guess the best way to do that is to just start.

If you’ve been reading along for a while, you know I love New York City. Any excuse to go back, I am there. I especially love finding unique New York experiences depending on who I am traveling with. With the kids, it’s one itinerary. A couples trip is another.

A couple of months ago, I went to New York City with two girlfriends who are as passionate about wellness and self-care as I am. We thought it would be fun to go to the Big Apple with a focus on visiting innovative businesses in the wellness-sphere.

I really enjoyed researching and digging around for places that would leave us inspired and coming back rejuvenated.

Below is a quick synopsis of what we did on our NYC wellness weekend. If this type of travel sounds like your idea of fun too, save this post for your next trip. We found some great little spots I think you’ll enjoy.

Clean Market

One of the first places I found in my research for this trip was Clean Market. This Upper East Side destination is a wellness mecca. It is part cafe, part green beauty boutique, and part spa. The whole vibe is fresh and modern.

For services, they have some really great offerings: infrared sauna, cryotherapy, cryofacials, and vitamin IV drips by Nutri-Drip. We chose to try a Nutri-Glow drip along with a cryofacial.

The Nutri-Drip experience is basically just like having an IV put in. Instead of antibiotics or whatever you would have at the hospital, ours was filled with glutathione, a powerful antioxidant.

While we were relaxed on their comfy chairs and the drips were going, the cryofacials came to us. A cryofacial is basically a heavy dose of very cold air shooting at your face. This cold air shocks your skin and makes you all rosy and fresh.

One thing we didn’t do but also looked incredible is the infrared sauna followed by a full-body cryotherapy session. We knew we were heading to dinner afterwards, so showering and getting ready wasn’t in the cards for us…this time. If you have time, definitely do it!

Tip: If you just want a little taste of a wellness experience on your next NYC visit, this is a perfect contender.

Rise by We

Are you familiar with WeWork? They are pioneers in the shared workspace movement. If you live in a medium to large city, odds are you have heard of WeWork. Rise by We is an wellness offshoot of the We Company. In their words,

“Rise by We is The We Company’s vision for the complete wellness experience. Leading with movement, community, and rejuvenation, Rise celebrates social wellness as the key to elevating quality of life.”

I mean…really. How much better does it get??

In addition to a worthy mission, the workout rooms and spaces are decked out to support each of the different workouts. The “Flight” room is filled with cardio equipment for Orange Theory style workouts. The “Insight” room was designed for yoga and more mindful movement. And finally, the “Turf” space was equipped for a more athletic conditioning experience. I booked us into the 7am Turf Performance class on our first morning in the city.

The Turf Performance class was… So. Much. Fun. Our instructor, Robin, led us through an active warm-up, then a tabata session with kettlebells, followed by sprints. From there, we broke up into pairs and went through a varied circuit of athletic movements, changing stations every minute.

After the class, the plan was to head back to our hotel, but we took a peek at the spa, and got totally sucked in. We sauna’d, steamed, face masked and took full advantage of all the spa amenities.

Tip: A day pass to Rise by We is $35. If you plan to visit, bring a bathing suit and a change of clothes so you can take advantage of the spa after your class. Towels, toiletries, dryers and such are all available.

Stretch*d

If you are exercising on a regular basis, shoot, if you are SITTING on a regular basis, you need Stretch*d in your life! Stretch*d is an assisted stretch studio. A team of trained stretchers are at your service to help stretch out your joints and muscles, leaving you loose and limber.

Stretch*d is the brainchild of Amanda Freeman, who created the SLT class we took the next morning. The concept came out of a need for athletes and desk jockeys alike to get the much needed movement to keep our bodies agile.

Tip: We did the 25 minute Quick-e session, but if you can swing the 55 minute session, I would definitely try to do that. Wear stretchy clothes.

FaceLove

When I was on the Stretch*d website looking through their options, I noticed something called “FaceLove”. Immediately, I was intrigued. Turns out FaceLove is a separate company that works in partnership inside the Stretch*d studio. According to their website,

“Their core principal is that massage should be a routine human maintenance, to help offset certain adrenaline-producing consequences of modern life. Helping inflammation, tension, and pH imbalance within your body. What they were craving for themselves – the perfect sensory surrender experience to be accessible, affordable and spontaneous- is what they now provide, for you.”

The experience was beyond dreamy. Thirty minutes of head, neck and face massage. If I could describe it, I would say it was like a blend between a massage and a facial – but so much more.

Tip: Do NOT miss this! Probably my favorite experience of the whole weekend.

ReCover NYC

ReCover is a studio solely dedicated to recovery modalities. No matter the stressor, whether it be internal stress, sports, or injury, ReCover has something to help you heal.

Their services include infrared sauna, hydromassage, air compression, PEMF, and NuCalm. The NuCalm caught my eye because I had never heard of it. The description said that a 30 minute NuCalm session had the same restorative benefits of a 2-3 hour nap! Of course that is what we signed up for.

Our NuCalm session started in a comfy chair that reclined all the way back. Our guide gave us some Gaba cream to put on our necks and electro pads to put behind our ears. Then, we got some mask goggles and headphones.

Apparently the way it works is that the electromagnetic waves along with the audio puts you in a Theta sleep stage. Theta is a light level of sleep with excellent restorative benefits. The way I describe the experience is that you feel like you are in that state when you are dreaming, but if someone talked to you, you would easily wake up. Cool, right?!

Tip: If you are chronically exhausted or stressed, give this a try for a deep rested feeling and all the benefits that come from rest.

SLT (Strengthen – Lengthen-Tone)

Researching what fitness classes we should try during our brief time, SLT stood out pretty quickly. Using a platform called a Megaformer for the whole 50-minute experience, it was intense. Per their own description,

“If cardio, strength training and pilates had a baby, it would be SLT.”

The instructor sailed through the directions which involved turning around and grabbing on to different parts of this contraption. It seemed like there was an endless supply of handles, pulleys and positions we could get in. Sweat poured out of every pore. I kept looking at the instructor with each command thinking he was kidding, but turns out he was serious. Whenever I was clueless as to the next move, I kept sneaking a peek at the girl next to me who seemed to be having zero problems keeping up. Apparently there was a reason for that.

Turns out the “girl” next to me was the founder of the class and concept, Amanda Freeman. She talked to us afterwards and was super gracious. We told her we had tried her new venture, Stretch*d, the day before and she filled us in on how the concept came about. It was really a treat to meet the woman behind two of our incredible NYC wellness experiences.

Tip: Try this class for an amazing full-body strength and lengthening experience. There are studios all over the city!

Sundays Nail Studio

During a quick visit to the new Hudson Yards…neighborhood/mall/complex, we made a pit-stop at Sundays Nail Studio. Sundays is a non-toxic nail studio that has a completely different vibe than most nail places I’ve ever been. Light and airy, this salon feels more like a minimalist’s apartment than a nail salon.

Although it had been on my list, it didn’t make the cut for official reservations. So we got in for a a couple different quick services. I loved my express manicure, but wished I could have stayed longer. Next time, I would definitely reserve a spot for one of their meditation manicures, which involves listening to a guided meditation while getting your nails down.

Tip: Book a guided meditation manicure!

Where we ate:

We did not have one bad (or even mediocre) meal during our visit. Each place varied in it’s level of elegance and price, but they all had nutritious and delicious offerings. I would be happy to return to any of these places.

Springbone Kitchen – specializing in homemade nutrient-rich bone broths

ABC Kitchen – farm-to-table restaurant where the veggies are the star of the show.

Divya’s Kitchen – a heavenly Ayurvedic vegetarian restaurant

Dig Inn – a fast casual chain all over the Northeast, but still something we don’t have near us, so we enjoyed every bite.

Hu Kitchen – another fast casual restaurant that has all of the healthy ingredients we want more of, but none of the yucky stuff (like soy, gluten, refined sugar and more).

So Much More

Our three nights flew by and left us with so many places left to try. Fortunately, the spots we hit up all lived up to our expectations. Not one dud. The only downside was knowing how many more experiences were out there that we didn’t get to! We decided it was just a reason to return 🙂

Posted by Ale & filed under Life, Travel. This post has 3 comments.