Healthwise Yoga & Wellness Studio

Revitalize and restore with soft movement and invigorating stretching. Gentle Flow Yoga is a vinyasa style yoga class that focuses on gently opening joints, releasing stored tension from the muscles, and calming the busy mind. This class is for all levels.

Soothe the body and quiet the mind with indulgently slow and gentle movement that promotes relaxation, restoration and rejuvenation. Some restorative poses are offered to help relieve the effects of chronic stress, including weakness and fatigue brought on by our daily fast paced lifestyles. Cultivate awareness by bringing our attention to areas we hold tension, and consciously releasing and letting it go.

In a warmly lit atmosphere, enjoy a mindfully crafted yoga sequence focused on organically slow-flowing postures, calming breath, and extended stillness to surrender and release the energy of the day. This class is intentionally created to restore, refresh and nourish you for a restful night’s sleep, and is available for everyone from newcomers to avid yogis.

De-stress from the busy week by nurturing yourself with a meditative candle lit yoga practice. Friday Night Bliss highlights our signature yoga classes, each week offering something a little different. Grounded in a foundation of deep breathing and healing movement, you’ll be given the space to allow your mind and body to completely surrender and relax as you move into your weekend.

Explore the postures and fundamental principles of Vinyasa yoga. Learn what your body can do as we move through this full body flow linking breath to movement. This class will strengthen muscles and improve overall flexibility. At the close of this class you will feel rejuvenated and centered. This is class is great opportunity to deepen your yoga practice.

Different from a vinyasa flow, a Mediative Slow Flow Yoga class offers guided, gentle breathing in concert with calm grounding postures. Each class closes with a restorative posture and a meditation that promises to leave you feeling centered in mind, body and spirit. This class is great for all levels of experience and one that will revitalize you throughout the week.

Revitalize and restore with soft movement and invigorating stretching. Gentle Flow Yoga is a vinyasa style yoga class that focuses on gently opening joints, releasing stored tension from the muscles, and calming the busy mind. This class also includes restorative poses that promote relaxation through emphasis on breathing and supported poses using props such as blankets, bolsters, and blocks.

Restorative yoga is built upon the premise that support creates release. In restorative yoga, the body is fully supported with bolsters and blankets, allowing for full release of tension in the muscles and in the mind—allowing for a state of deep relaxation and ease. You will learn restorative postures you can do in your home to help decrease the effects of daily stress.

Explore the connection between mind and body and learn to focus on the present moment in this deep vinyasa practice. Partially self-paced, you’ll breathe and flow intentionally through a series of sun salutations, standing poses, balances and meditative floor postures. You'll leave class feeling rejuvenated, relaxed and more connected to yourself.

Yin yoga is a meditative practice with a physical focus that goes beyond stretching the muscles by stimulating the connective tissues, ligaments and joints. In this class, through long durations of passive postures, you’ll have the opportunity to improve your flexibility and mobility, calm your mind and deeply relax. Yin is a perfect complement to more dynamic forms of yoga.

Explore the art of Sun Salutations to warm your body, invigorate your breath and prepare you for the day ahead. Sequences are fashioned with foundational yogic stretching and movement, inspired breath and contemplative stillness in mind. Linking the mind-body-spirit connection, this is a yummy session for all levels.

Treat yourself to this midday break of guided meditation! This brief and powerful meditation practice is focused on deep relaxation and has been shown to help improve sleep, calm anxious thinking and lift mood. This meditation practice, referred to as iRest, is a modern adaptation of yoga nidra, an ancient practice that supports psychological, emotional and physical well-being. Comfortable, warm clothing is recommended. You can practice iRest lying down or sitting. Meditation cushions and yoga mats will be provided – feel free to bring any blankets, eye pillows, or other props that may be helpful to your relaxation.

Yoga for Emotional Health, taught by a licensed psychologist, brings attention to the mind as well as the body. Each week, class will begin with a brief contemplation related to emotional health. Yogis are then invited to internally practice the concepts shared while engaging in a combination of slow flowing movements, balances, and joint-opening poses. This class welcomes all-levels and abilities and leaves you feeling stronger both outside and inside.

Why Should Kids Practice Yoga & Mindfulness? Children have a wonderful ability to be fully present in what they do. They notice smells, sounds and the way the world feels to their touch. They notice tiny bugs, shapes in the clouds and rocks at their feet that look a little different from the rest. Children with a greater capacity to access the stillness and presence of the immediate moment will be healthier in mind, body and spirit. Through mindfulness and yoga, children are able to strengthen and preserve this skill, ensuring that important neural connections are fortified and new ones are established. Research in the area is growing rapidly, shedding light on the powerful behavioral, cognitive and physiological benefits to children that come from the practice of mindfulness and yoga. How Does Mindfulness & Yoga Benefit Little Ones? The effects of mindfulness and yoga are measurable, with many studies showing that they cause structural changes in the brain that strengthen and develop various qualities. They also treat and protect against an abundance of mental health symptoms. Here are some of the powerful and proven effects of mindfulness and yoga: Emotional When life becomes turbulent, mindfulness and yoga can provide children with powerful skills to find balance and support themselves physically, mentally, emotionally, academically and socially. One of the ways mindfulness and yoga can do this is by nurturing an increased awareness of body, thoughts and emotions. With heightened self-awareness, children have a greater capacity to manage their emotions and respond effectively and thoughtfully to situations, rather than react on impulse. Self Anything that can empower the little people in our lives to take full flight is important. Mindfulness and yoga not only lift self-acceptance, confidence, self-esteem and resilience, they bring a lasting sense of calm to young bodies and minds. Physical Mindfulness and yoga can effect important physical changes in children, including improved posture, range of motion and strength. Being a kid takes a lot of energy – there’s so much to learn and do! But with a stronger immune system, better quality of sleep and a decrease in tiredness, aches and pains, they’ll be ready to light up the world. Mental With mental health issues on the rise, it’s more important than ever to strengthen our children mentally. Mindfulness and yoga have accumulated an impressive amount of evidence showing their capacity to heal and protect against the symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety. In addition, there is growing evidence suggesting that mindfulness and yoga may have enormous potential to ease the symptoms of ADHD and autism. Social Mindfulness and yoga are proven ways to nurture empathy, kindness, patience and compassion—fundamental building blocks to forming close, successful relationships. Mindfulness and yoga can also reduce aggression and empower children to respond to situations and people thoughtfully, without the heat and high emotion that does damage. Academic Many schools are starting to introduce mindfulness, encouraged by research that shows its incredible potential to strengthen learning by improving the executive function of the brain. Central to executive function is the ability to focus and concentrate, provide a considered response rather than an impulsive one and the mental playing with ideas necessary for finding solutions. Mindfulness and yoga have been consistently proven to have a positive effect on children, as well as the capacity to provide them with skills and qualities that will nurture them well throughout their lives.

Adolescence is an adventure, a time for teens to experiment and discover who they are and where they fit into the world. The brain changes that teens go through are phenomenal, driving the sometimes baffling, sometimes dramatic, sometimes wonderful changes that come with adolescence. As part of these changes, teens will feel deeper and more intensely than they’ve ever felt before. They’ll be more creative, funnier and more driven to seek social connections as their ‘tribe’ shifts from family to friends. This is all a very normal, healthy part of the shift towards adulthood, but with so much going on, the path can be a complicated one. Anything that strengthens adolescents in mind, body and spirit will be valuable in helping them to navigate their way through adolescence and emerge beautifully into adulthood. Mindfulness and yoga can provide this powerful scaffold by helping to balance the massive brain changes that come with adolescence. An abundance of research has shown that mindfulness and yoga cause measureable changes in the brain by strengthening existing connections and establishing new ones. Here are some of them: Emotional The emotional centers of the brain undergo dramatic changes during adolescence. This means that teens will tend to feel things with more intensity than ever. Their highs will be brilliant and their lows will be awful. Eventually the intensity will settle down, but in the meantime, mindfulness and yoga can nurture the self-awareness teens need to manage their emotions and respond effectively and thoughtfully to situations, rather than on impulse. Self During adolescence, teens will experiment with who they are and where they fit in to the world. This is an important part of them growing into the people they will be when they step into the world as adults. They’ll find amazing ways of looking at the world and they’ll seek to stretch the edges of themselves to find what they’re capable of. This is where they surprise themselves and the people who around them. Mindfulness and yoga can give them a solid foundation from which to stretch into this self-exploration by lifting self-acceptance, confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Anything that gives them solid ground from which to fly is a great thing. Physical Mindfulness and yoga have been shown to improve posture, physical strength, and range of motion. There’s something else it does which is particularly important during adolescence. We know that stress can compromise immunity, but mindfulness and yoga can push back, strengthening the immune system, improving sleep quality, reducing tiredness and aches and pains. Just what a teen needs to light the world on fire. Mental Adolescence tends to come bundled with a decent amount of stress, which affects the part of the brain responsible for learning and emotions. Mindfulness and yoga have a proven capacity to heal and protect against the symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety. Social Mindfulness and yoga are proven ways to nurture empathy, kindness, patience and compassion, all of which are vital to forming healthy friendships. They can also reduce aggression and boost emotional intelligence, empowering teens to respond effectively and thoughtfully to situations and people and build strong, positive social connections. Academic Mindfulness strengthens learning by improving the executive function of the brain. Central to executive function is the ability to focus and concentrate, and provide a considered response rather than an impulsive one and problem solving. The world is still unfolding the benefits of mindfulness and yoga. What is certain though, is that they have an incredible capacity to strengthen and nurture the development of teens in key areas, readying them to be the amazing adults they are all capable of being. Healthwise Studio offers Yoga and Mindfulness services for teens too! We offer these services in three different formats: Classes, Series, and Workshops.

Functional Nutrition is based upon the foundational way that food and fundamental underlying factors affect your mind and body. These include: Environment: your current diet, quality of food available to you, level of physical exercise, air and water quality and any toxin exposure. Mind-Body Elements: psychological, spiritual and social factors all can have a profound influence on your health. Your health is viewed in the context of you as a whole person, not just in terms of an isolated set of symptoms. Genetic Makeup: while your genes and family history may make you more susceptible for some diseases, your DNA is not an unchanging blueprint for your life. Emerging research shows that your genes may be influenced by your environment as well as your experiences, attitudes and beliefs. You may be able to change the way your genes are activated and expressed. By appreciating any underlying causes and triggers for imbalances, your functional dietitian is able to appreciate how your body’s biological systems are affected. The function of these systems directly impacts your health. Some occur at the cellular level while others are related to larger physiological functions, including: Digestion and absorption of nutrients and the health of your digestive tract Immune system function How you produce energy How your body rids itself of waste and toxins Regulation of hormones and neurotransmitters Inflammatory responses Structural integrity Psychological and spiritual balance Most imbalances can be addressed. Some are able to completely restore optimal health and others can be substantially improved. Prevention is key. Each system in the body requires key nutrients. Improving how your body’s systems function can have a major impact on your health. A functional approach expands the tool kit and personalizes the approach. Solutions may include therapeutic foods, nutritional supplements, mind-body practices, or lifestyle strategies. The Functional Medicine Tree is a visual that helps to explain these concepts. The leaves and branches represent symptoms and diagnosed health conditions. A functional approach moves deeper into the trunk of the tree to which systems are out of balance and causing the symptoms of chronic disease. This perspective empowers you to design a wellness plan that is rooted in simple, yet powerful lifestyle strategies to restore balance and optimize health. Individual Functional Nutrition Consultations “Food is so much more than calories. Each bite provides information for well-being.” Our functional dietitian will spend time with you, listening to your history and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that can influence your health. In addition to learning your story, your functional dietitian will ask about your mental well-being, emotional health and social factors. Considering these areas helps your practitioner see your health in the context of you as a whole person. Through a therapeutic partnership, you will collaboratively design your wellness plan that may incorporate therapeutic foods, select nutritional supplements, mindfulness practices and various lifestyle strategies. Private, one-on-one appointments with our Functional Nutritionist are available and can be scheduled via email or phone. Click Here to email (kplessel@healthwisestudio.com) our Functional Nutritionist about a private appointment or call 651-846-9095.

What is Ayurveda? The term Ayurveda translates to mean the knowledge, or science of life (Ayur = life and Veda = science or knowledge). Ayurveda is a holistic approach to health that is often considered to be the oldest of the healing sciences. Its aim is to provide guidance regarding food and lifestyle so that healthy people can stay healthy, and individuals with health challenges can improve their health. Rather than managing disease directly, Ayurveda is a health-creating system that serves as a guide to wellness, healthy lifestyle, and healthy personalized diet. In this sense, Ayurveda is a guide to a deeply customized self-care and self-nourishment plan designed to cultivate balance in your body, mind, and spirit. The basic premise of Ayurveda is that by maintaining balance in both the mind and the body you achieve optimum health and well-being. Treatment and prevention come about through lifestyle practices (such as yoga, meditation, pranayama or breath work, and diet) as well as herbal and oil remedies. The goal of Ayurveda is to teach you how to attain optimal health and wellness through a deeper understanding of yourself and your own unique nature in relationship to the world around you. What can Ayurveda help me with? As a health-creating system, Ayurveda is well suited to offer health and wellness support throughout our entire physical and emotional systems. Whether we are experiencing a minor health concern or a chronic illness, Ayurveda can help us to restore balance and strengthen the parts of us that are healthy. Ayurveda is a wonderful adjunct treatment to Western medicine. Western medicine is skillful in its focus on treating the 5% of the body that is ill—Ayurveda supports, nourishes, and strengthens the 95% of us that is well, creating a stronger and more resilient internal environment less susceptible to further disease and discomfort. Ayurveda can offer relief in such areas as: Sleep Irritable bowel Digestive issues Headaches Anxiety Fatigue/low energy Skin conditions Weight management Women’s health

When you enjoy the scent of a flower, you’re experiencing the aromatic qualities of Essential Oils. These naturally occurring, volatile aromatic compounds are found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers and other parts of plants. They can be both beautifully and powerfully fragrant. Essential Oils have long been used for food preparation, beauty treatment and health-care practices. They are ideal for aromatherapy as well as other applications. Essential Oils can enhance your emotional and physical health naturally. They can be used as single oils or in complex oil blends depending on desired benefit. The type of compounds present in an essential oil determine both the oil’s aroma and the benefits it offers. Want to learn more about Essential Oils? We offer a FREE Essential Oils 101 class most Tuesdays at 6:30pm! In the class you’ll learn: Why use Essential Oils? The specific ways oils that can enhance your physical and emotional health Which oils are the most useful for your wellness and the wellness of your family How to get started using them Have questions or want to be notified about upcoming workshops and seasonal events?