Fitness & Wellness Blog

By Melissa O'Shea, Director of Nutrition, exhale Spring has sprung and so has the produce that warmer temperatures bring. The changing of seasons is a time for new beginnings and the perfect opportunity to give your refrigerator and shopping list a refresh. Move over winter squash and make room for these veggies, which will be popping up at your local Farmer’s Market over the next several weeks! Asparagus - One of the quintessential spring vegetables, asparagus is loaded with Vitamin K, which helps keep bones strong, and Folate, which promotes cardiovascular health. Roast the spears on a baking sheet with olive oil and a touch of sea salt and throw into

By Madison Wright, Core Fusion Teacher + Blog Coordinator Summer is here and the sun is bestowing its magnificent, vitamin D filled rays across all that is outdoors. For those of us living near and above the Mason Dixon Line after those brutally cold winter months, the summer sunshine feels as exciting and obligatory as a massive stack of gifts on Christmas morning when you’re six years old. You know it’s coming every year, but days feel like weeks and weeks feel like months and it just can't get here soon enough! Yes summer sun, we love you and we are thrilled you're here! As with all good things, we must

You know that feeling that nothing else matters? You know the one we’re talking about. It’s like when you’re midway through the thigh section and your quads are burning and you don’t think you can make it through another moment but there you are and you’re doing it, and you don’t notice until it’s over, but everything else that was so important five minutes ago, like the emails you haven’t responded to yet, all the things you’ve still got left to do, just isn’t as important anymore. Instead of worrying about the impression you’re making on others, you start to realize the impression you’re making on yourself. Yeah. That feeling.

By Quyen Ly, exhale esthetician + skincare extraordinaire You've seen it in magazines, social media, and it seems like the newbie on the beauty scene – but if you thought double cleansing was created to dupe you into buying more products, let us enlighten you. It’s quite the opposite, actually. The method is actually centuries-old, and has been popular in Japan, Korea and China for hundreds of years. Recently, it has grown popular here in the states. Double cleansing is exactly what you might have guessed. It means washing your face twice with two different types of cleansers: an oil cleanser or balm first, and next with a water-based cleanser. Usually,

By: Robert MacDonald, exhale’s rockstar acupuncturist and National Director of Healing Intention is everything. This Valentine’s Day, we think it’s time to give your inner sweetheart a little love. Perhaps it sounds a little corny, but hear me out: too often at this time of year, we are hyper-focused on having the “perfect” relationship – so focused that we lose sight of our own intention. But luckily, the sentiments of this little holiday can be turned into a meaningful tool to manifest the conscious "intention" of love into your own life, in a beautiful and meaningful way. So amid all the cupids, candy hearts and love notes, take a moment to

By Quyen Ly, exhale esthetician + skincare expert extraordinaire My skincare regimen started when I was very young. I think I’ll always remember my grandmother and aunts yelling and lecturing me about their precious face (which is actually my face, too.) In my youth, whenever I had a flare-up or a pimple, they always knew exactly what was wrong. They would either get me a product to treat it, or use acupressure or herbal soups. Here’s how they knew what to do: face mapping. It’s a popular method in ancient Chinese medicine that focuses on the different areas of your face and, judging by the location of the acne or flare-up, can

By: Laura Benge, exhale’s National Spa Director and wellbeing expert Is it just us, or is everyone a little worn out these days? As a new season approaches, we’re itching to rest, reset, and get glowing for spring. And after a cold winter under scratchy sweaters and cold wind, our skin (and our energy) could use a little boost. In just a few minutes a day, there’s an easy at-home practice can make you glow – it boosts circulation, sweeps away dead skin cells, stimulates the lymph nodes, improves digestion, improves the appearance of cellulite, and helps the cells and the body renew and remove waste. The practice? Dry brushing.

We’ve all heard it a million times: getting enough sleep helps you lose weight, manage stress, and combats the big bad guys like heart disease and depression. But it’s not always easy to get some solid shut-eye — that’s why we’re hoping this bedtime meditation from our resident mindfulness expert, Robert MacDonald, will do the trick.https://player.vimeo.com/video/193549204 Sleep Meditation by Robert MacDonald copyright © Exhale Enterprises 2016 All Licensing for added footage and music under Creative Commons.Running Waters by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Artist: Http://audionautix.com | Lengthened from original duration.Timescapes 001 - Sky, Sunsets, Storm, Moon - free Creative Commons time-lapse and slow raw footage.  CC by Debate FilmsBeachfront

By exhale esthetician and skincare extraordinaire, Quyen Ly They’re everywhere, and you’ve probably heard of them: pollutants and their resulting “free radicals” in the air around us. They come from light, pollution, cigarette smoke, and more — and they can damage your skin. Here’s what you need to know, and how your skincare routine can fight the damage. The science: why free radicals are dangerous Each free radical is missing an electron — so they’re on a destructive mission, within the deep layers of your skin, to make themselves whole. This triggers inflammation and destroys keratin proteins that protect your skin. The end results? Hyper-pigmentation, age spots, blackheads, breakouts and

When we turn the clocks back each fall, many of us are glad for that “extra hour” of sleep. But believe it or not, the time change can make you more tired — or leave you feeling out-of-whack. In fact, a 2013 Sleep Medicine Reviews study proved that falling back actually makes you more likely to lose sleep as your body adjusts to the new schedule. Here are a few simple ways to reset and move forward after falling back: Set a calming bedtime routine – with an early dinner, time to unplug from electronics, and dimmed lighting to help your body feel ready to sleep. Sunlight is your new BFF – natural light can