As we start a new year, we decided to shine a light on a client committed to her wellness year after year. Robin Albanese has been a long-time client with The Academy and Sphericality (our brick and mortar studio.) She has been an active member since the fall of 2013.

Robin's Wellness Journey

Robin had spent years commuting to NYC before joining us, sitting at a computer, and traveling for work. She also had a child late in life, and the weight gain during pregnancy combined with her sedentary lifestyle had caught up to her. She was interested in the barre classes offered, as they were the type of exercise recommended by her chiropractor. A neighbor invited her to check it out, and she's been with us ever since!

Her favorite part of our programming is the community of strong and committed women. Her second favorite element of our program is the classes.

"Dorian and the instructors are super-talented, brilliant, and fun! I can usually count on a giggle or two each time I take a...

Goal Setting That Works!!!

Discover this simple exercise to help you set meaningful goals for your life through your wellness.

Means & Ends Goals:

Ends Goals are defined as an outcome that describes exactly what you want.

Means Goals are the plan and path or "things" to help you achieve your Ends Goals.

A common mistake people make when setting goals is to confuse means goals for end goals. When they mistakenly do this, happiness is not achieved because it isn't what they really want. Then, as a result, they go back to old patterns. 

Here is an example.

Eve wants to lose 30 pounds.  Is this a means goal or an end goal? She thinks it's an end goal, but is it really?

Why does Eve want to lose 30 pounds?

Her doctor told her that the extra weight has made her pre-diabetic.  If she doesn't lose it, she could develop type 2 diabetes.

If she develops type 2 diabetes, she will never be able to take that wine tasting tour of Napa Valley that she's dreamed of for years. The...

Wondering how to be festive and healthy this holiday?  We are here to help you this week with tips on just how to do that!  Make sure you check in every day!

Here’s an awesome, tasty and festive dish you can make for your holiday party or meal that we found on The Food Network (we made one little change to make it even more healthy.) Roasted Brussel Sprouts With Pomegranate and Hazelnuts.

Here’s the Healthy:

Brussels sprouts are a cruciferous vegetable (that means really good for you) high in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  They may also come with added health benefits, including the potential to reduce the risk of cancer, decrease inflammation and improve blood sugar control.

Pomegranate seeds get their bright red color from polyphenols. Polyphenols are are powerful antioxidants. Pomegranate juice contains higher levels of antioxidants than most other fruit juices. It also has three times...

If so, the holiday  season is ripe with opportunities to "feed" (pun intended) your struggle with emotional eating. Come to the chair twice a day, it’ll help.

It doesn't seem right, but the holiday season's joy usually brings with it some degree of stress. For many women challenged with emotional eating, this is the month when they also struggle with managing their weight.

How are you going to handle your diet and wellness with the stress of the holiday season? 2020 has been a very "different" year that has brought a significant amount of added pressure to everyone's lives.

So, why not try a different strategy to manage holiday stress and stress-induced eating? Instead of attempting to change or control your environment's triggers, come back to you. Ground yourself. You can't control the abundance of Christmas cookies, bread dips, and saucy foods that will be around you. But, you can make a choice to help yourself.

Set aside some time today to ground...

Do You Turmeric??

Over the weekend as I sat at my desk and planned out my topics and schedule for this upcoming week. I took a sip of my Turmeric Latte that I was enjoying and thought…Hmm That’s a great topic…The Incredibleness of Turmeric.

If you are currently using turmeric, good for you! Keep it up! And if not, you might want to hop on the turmeric band-wagon after reading this blog.

Some cool history and fun facts about turmeric.

• Turmeric often referred to as The Golden Spice or Indian Saffron.
• Turmeric is a plant that has been used by Ancient Far East cultures dating back 5000 years.
• Turmeric was widely used in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine.
• Turmeric has been referred to as the “wonder drug of life.”
• There are about 120 species of the plant, but the most widely used is called Curcuma Longa L.
• The biological properties of turmeric weren’t scientifically determined until about the middle of the 1900’s

This is a pretty hot topic....

Don't Stress The Season

My good friend and fellow passionate person about women's health, Dr. Jennifer Montes, recently referred to stress as the new smoking, times three. I agree. I experienced a serious health issue when I was in my mid 30's. After 12 months of trying to figure it out, the diagnosis was IBD, Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The treatment was to "calm down." So that I did. I resigned from my stressful job and the daily commute to New York. Although it was not a pleasant experience, I am grateful that I learned about stress ravages at a relatively young age.

One of the most important things I can do as a wellness coach is to share my experience with and educate my clients about the terrible effects of stress. Some stress in life is necessary. It pushes us to get things done. But chronic stress is extremely detrimental to our physical and emotional health.

Chronic stress upsets our hormonal balance. If you are a woman over 40 like me, you have enough hormonal change...

It's a family affair! We decided to choose this inspiring group to be our superstars for November! Like many families, they were unable to be together during this trying time. However, these 5 ladies were able to focus on their health and wellness together without being together and keeping it going through the pandemic. Lisa, Claire, Alyssa, Marianne, and Lindsay are a very close family. Lisa and Claire are sisters, Alyssa is Lisa's daughter, Lindsay is Claire's daughter, and Marianne is Claire's daughter in law. They do everything together, including family vacations, weekly dinners, and celebrations. This is their first time jumping to health and wellness together, and it has brought them even closer!

Alyssa and Lisa have been members of the Sphericality since 2014 and 2017. Alyssa has always enjoyed the classes and the atmosphere. Now that she doesn't live in the area, she's happy she can access the classes virtually. Lisa started with our 6-week challenge 6 months after a knee...