Five Ways To Hit Refresh on Your Wellness Regimen This Spring
Got the spring-cleaning itch? Drop the broom and instead make time to reset the mind, body, and soul in ways big and small.
Find Your Zen at a New Yoga Studio/Café Hybrid
The best part of a workout? Arguably, the post-workout snack. So it’s a good thing the Life Alive + Down Under Wellness Collaborative offers both. The brainchild of popular plant-forward restaurant Life Alive and Down Under School of Yoga, the studio-slash-café opened its first location in Harvard Square in March, with a South End outpost slated for this month. Calm your thoughts with heated yoga flows and meditation, then nourish your body with grain bowls, greens, colorful smoothies, and, of course, plenty of caffeine.
22 JFK St., Cambridge, 857-320-2896; 505 Tremont St., Boston; lifealive.com, downunderyoga.com.
Take a “Forest Bath”
No, it’s not an actual bath—although that would be relaxing, too. Shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing,” is a Japanese contemplative practice that involves fully immersing yourself in the woods, particularly in the form of a slow, meditative stroll meant to fine-tune the senses to the atmosphere around you. This month, Tower Hill Botanic Garden is hosting multiple events led by local certified forest therapy guide Nadine Mazzola. With stops along the way for guided mindfulness and sensory awareness practices, the one-mile walk through the grounds is practically guaranteed to take the edge off.
11 French Dr., Boylston, 508-869-6111.
Move with Purpose
They say what goes around comes around, so you might as well get fit in a way that benefits you and someone in need. Each month, row-and-sculpt studio Sweat Fixx’s instructors donate their time to a “Karma Fixx” class, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting an organization or cause close to the studio’s community. This month, the Southie outpost is raising money for Hospitality Homes, a nonprofit providing out-of-town medical patients and caregivers access to host homes during treatment.
323 Dorchester Ave., South Boston; and other locations; 617-581-5577, sweatfixx.com.
Get Clean Meals Delivered Right to Your Door
Looking for the benefits of a juice cleanse without, you know, actually giving up solid food? You can, in fact, have it all. Beacon Hill juice bar Nourish Your Soul’s powerhouse clean-eating program—which offers up to five days of meals delivered direct to your home—is chock-full of energizing, nutrient-dense plant-based dishes, including coconut-topped chia pudding and cauliflower-chickpea rice bowls, plus the signature cold-pressed juices.
282 Cambridge St., Boston, 617-936-8747; 15 Thompson St., Winchester, 781-570-5121; nourishyoursoul.com.
Escape It All with a Weeklong Ayurvedic Retreat
Trendy as it may be, Ayurveda isn’t anything new. A millennia-old Indian natural healing practice, it focuses on achieving balance in the body through diet, massage, herbal remedies, and exercise. At Kripalu in the Berkshires, a five-night Ayurveda self-care immersion program led by health counselor Erin Casperson includes yoga, meditation, and mindful eating, plus sessions on the most important kind of self-care: sleep.
57 Interlaken Rd., Stockbridge, 866-200-5203, kripalu.org.