The holidays are busy, with lots of demands on your social calendar and your wallet. But it’s important to take time for yourself this time of year, to give yourself a chance to reset before the new year and to decompress after the holiday season.

Luckily, there are a lot of ways you can find your inner peace around Columbus. Whether you’re looking to unplug and head out into nature or to treat yourself to a spa day, you can find the perfect soul-recharging activity for you.

Visit a float spa

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There’s nowhere quite like Ebb & Float for a day full of relaxation. They have just about every service you could imagine when it comes to chilling out, but today, we’re focusing on the float spa. Climbing into the heated, extremely buoyant saltwater tank kind of feels like slipping into a little bit of magic. Hour-long floats start at $90.
Location: 231 North 5th St, Columbus, OH, 43215
Website: ebbfloat.com

Relax in a salt cave

Sweat out the stress in a sauna

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If you’re looking for a relaxing way to unwind, lö-lu | nordic sauna is the place to be. This sauna offers an authentic Finnish-style experience, where you can enjoy rounds of heating up, cooling down, and relaxing in a space that fits up to 7 people. The sauna is heated to a perfect 180 – 200°F, and free street parking is available nearby. Prices vary.
Location: 1408 S. 4th St., Columbus, OH 43207
Website: lö-lu | nordic sauna

Book a getaway

Featured image via Facebook.

The post Here’s How To Decompress After The Holiday Season Around Columbus appeared first on Columbus Navigator.

Nestled at 449 E Main St., THE WELL isn’t just another fitness center; it’s a vibrant, women-owned local business that’s bringing a whole new level of holistic health and community to the heart of Columbus.

Imagine a place where your workout is just one part of your journey to wellness, where physical fitness, mental clarity, emotional well-being, and social connections blend seamlessly. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, it’s now a reality.

THE WELL Collective takes a holistic approach to health, focusing on the whole person.

It’s founded on the belief that true well-being goes beyond just physical fitness. It’s about the complexities and challenges of womanhood, and it offers an innovative approach tailored to meet these needs. From the moment you step into THE WELL, you’ll feel the difference. It’s a space designed for women, by women, and it’s all about empowering you to live your best life.

What can you expect from THE WELL? A range of innovative fitness classes including Sculpt, Build, and Recover, each designed to support your strength goals while honoring your individual journey. Whether you’re a fitness newbie or a seasoned athlete, THE WELL has something for you. And with personalized training, you can chase your fitness aspirations with tailored guidance and support that understands your unique needs.

But THE WELL knows that being well isn’t just about moving your body.

That’s why they’ve introduced Nourish Juice Café right inside the facility. This isn’t your average juice bar; it’s where nutrition meets taste, offering a vibrant selection of cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and on-the-go nutrition that will leave you energized and ready to take on the day. It’s about nourishing your body and your taste buds!

And because wellness is also about connection, THE WELL is committed to building a well-connected community. Through various events and social activities, THE WELL is a place where women can find their tribe, fostering connections that go beyond the gym.

Mark your calendars for the grand opening on February 10, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

It’s not just an opportunity to check out the facility but to sample fitness classes and enjoy bites and cold-pressed cocktails from Nourish. It’s a celebration of wellness, community, and the beginning of your journey to a more holistic, empowered life.

Ready to join a community where your wellness journey is supported in every way? Your journey to holistic health and meaningful connections starts at THE WELL.

The post THE WELL Collective Columbus Offers A Holistic Approach To Women’s Well-Being appeared first on Columbus Navigator.

Specifically, a scalp detox. Getting your scalp squeaky clean is so much more than washing your hair. Like all of the other skin on your body, your scalp absorbs anything you put onto it.

The build up of those applications can cause serious issues for your scalp that can lead to all kinds of unwanted issues like dryness, dandruff, excess oil, and more. If you’ve been hoping to restore the natural balance of your noggin, then a scalp detox is the answer.

Think of a scalp detox as a facial for your scalp. By massaging the scalp using a brush or exfoliating scrub, dead skin cells can be cleared out, clogged pores unclogged, and build up can be removed.

Of course, you’re completely capable of detoxing your scalp at home. The first step is brushing your hair regularly. This helps to loosen anything that’s gotten a little too cozy on your scalp, as well as helping with the distribution of oils.

If you need a little more oomph, you can do an exfoliation treatment at home. From sugar-based scalp scrubs to DIY clay hair masks, these remedies can easily be done from the comfort of your own space.

Of course, there’s nothing quite like treating yourself to a day at the salon. Leaving the deep clean up to the professionals means that you get to sit back and relax while your scalp gets treated.

So where can you get detoxed in Columbus?

Next comes the cleanse, which purifies the scalp with a little help from wintergreen-derived salicylic acid, a cleanser that gently balances sebum levels. The final step is protection in the form of a leave-in treatment that leaves your scalp feeling nourished and balanced.

The Head Spa at Evan Joseph Salon is quite the destination for those looking for some scalp love. Their scalp treatments all utilize the state-of-the-art Spa Mist treatment machine. The machine creates a soothing mist of warm, microscopic water particles which allows the treatments to be delivered to the scalp more effectively. You can learn more about the wide variety of services offered right here.

At Lennonheads they offer a scalp detox treatment that exfoliates your dry scalp, removes product buildup, and creates a foundation for healthy hair. The treatment is followed by a moisturizing masque and if you really want to make your head happy, you can add a 15-minute stress-relieving scalp massage to your visit.

No matter which route you choose, your scalp will thank you for taking care of it. Now get out there and get exfoliating, Columbus!

The post The Best Places To Go In Columbus For A Scalp Detox appeared first on Columbus Navigator.

Going to the salon is so much more than just getting a haircut.

For people like Niki Levengood, the owner of Tame by Niki, it’s a place to feel safe, comforted, and understood. As a single mom who opened her first small salon stall at 20, Niki wanted to create a place where women, clients, and employees could feel good, look good, and feel loved and cared for.

“We all need a break from life sometimes,” Niki told me. “The two hours you are in my salon, you leave feeling reenergized and confident.”

From a young age, she knew that she had a passion for hair and she was fortunate enough to have parents to help cultivate that passion.

She launched her first big salon in 24 and she hasn’t really looked back since. Early on in development, Niki did things that she thought clients would like, but as she grew she realized that being her authentic self and reflecting herself into her space brought her the clients she wanted to work with.

“I love the beach, I love to feel relaxed, I always feel a lot of weight on my shoulders and I wanted a place where I could go to work and feel at peace,” she explained.

Part of that peace included giving other women an opportunity to work in a supportive, team-based environment. She believes that when the salon works as a team, the clients enjoy their experience more.

“As women, we are so busy and we feel like we have to conquer the world. If you don’t feel confident on the outside, you can’t feel confident on the inside. In our everyday lives we should really encourage each other,” said Niki. “I think it’s our job, in general, to spread love, give love and help people feel great.”

Right now, Niki is working on expanding the brand she’s worked so hard to build. In her salons, they’ve always done weddings, both hair and make-up, and Niki knew that she wanted to have her own cosmetic line.

As she moves to grow her empire, her “express yourself” vibe is inherent in everything she does. That fire and passion to succeed is largely influenced by the impact her son has had on her life.

“My biggest motivator and my best friend is my son Dylan. He has shown me empathy, he’s the reason I do what I do,” she said. “Women have the capability and the heart to do whatever we desire.”

Tame Salons specializes in color, extensions, lashes, cuts, balayage, and more. You can schedule an appointment to become a #tamebabe by visiting tamehairsalons.com. The salon is located at 246 Granville Street Columbus, OH 43230.

The post Tame Salon Is The Perfect Place To Practice A Little Self Care appeared first on Columbus Navigator.

Shaun Fitzpatrick is on a mission to share the benefits of hemp with Columbus.

Carolina Hemp, the franchised store Fitzpatrick owns and operates, prides itself on being an education focused hemp store, taking time to teach every person who comes through their doors about the benefits provided by using hemp and CBD products. From the benefits of CBD oil for senior citizens to explainers on how to use CBD products to help your dog, Carolina Hemp has a variety of resources, both online and in person for those looking to take a dip in the hemp pool.

“If you’re completely new to it, or you have some experience, I can walk you through that process,” explained Fitzpatrick. “I’ve got the education center back here where we play videos and have charts and stuff. Everybody’s comfort level is going to be a little bit different with the product, you have some people that have no idea what they want.”

When it came to finding the perfect spot for the shop, which opened in 2020, Fitzpatrick didn’t have any one place in mind. Although his roots were in Westerville, he looked everywhere from Franklinton to the suburbs.

As it turns out, the educational component of the business isn’t just for customers. Fitzpatrick struggled to find a location for the shop initially, because people heard “hemp store” and would be scared off due to preconceived notions about the product.

After searching, he found a charming spot in Clintonville, near the Graceland Shopping center. The building is cozy and it has a decent sized parking lot where Fitzpatrick hopes to host events with live music post-pandemic.

There’s a relaxing atmosphere when you first walk through the doors at Carolina Hemp, and although I couldn’t see it because of his mask, I’m fairly certain Fitzpatrick greeted me with a smile.

His passion for hemp-based products is just as clear as his desire to truly help people. That desire to do good is also evident when you look at how Carolina Hemp is partnering with the local community.

Hemp For Hunger is an initiative from the Carolina Hemp Company to help fight food insecurity and more for local households. Carolina Hemp is accepting donations of essential household items, canned goods, winter clothing, and personal care products. All of the donations from the event will go to The Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center, a community-based social services agency.

Hemp For Hunger will run through March 15. Fitzpatrick says the store hopes to run the even four times throughout the year with in-person events happening as soon as it’s safe to do so.

“At some point we’ll be able to do an actual event around it with a food drive and have something going on outside,” explained Fitzpatrick.

Carolina Hemp Company is located at 5212 N. High Street. They’re open Tuesday-Saturday from 12-7 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. which means you can stop in to check out the store or to donate your items for the drive any day of the week except Monday. For more info about their products, you can visit their website here.

The post The Carolina Hemp Company In Clintonville Wants To Educate The Local Community And Do A Little Good While They’re At It appeared first on Columbus Navigator.

Even though it’s *technically* a pop-up for now, the store will be open for a full 12 months. They are bringing the whole lululemon experience, with in store murals and a wide variety of their items for you to browse and try on before you buy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0HQdxMgWUy/

In true lululemon fashion, the shop will host regular free yoga Sundays in the coming months. You can catch the first one this Sunday, July 21st with an outdoor yoga pop-up class on Russell Street at 10:30am. More information and event registration can be found here on eventbrite .

The original Short North lululemon store closed nine years ago when the Easton store opened. With a continually growing number of Yoga studios in the downtown area it definitely makes sense they are back!

Updates and events will be posted on the lululemon Columbus Facebook page.

The Short North lululemon pop-up is located at 640 N High St.

The post Lululemon Is Popping Up In The Short North appeared first on Columbus Navigator.

CEO and Owner Valerie Schrader owned her studio in 2007, going on a mission to bring the liberating exercises and arts to the community. Since her first opening, she has moved locations to accommodate even more apparatus’ since she had so much success at her smaller location.

Our intern, Hannah, and I were both complete newbies, but we headed up to their spot at 9032 Cotter St. in Lewis Center to give it our best shot. I had never done aerial arts before but I was certainly ready to try! I’m so glad I did because it was the most empowering feeling of accomplishment when you did a move correctly.

We tried both pole and lyra. What’s Lyra? Aerial Hoop. Think hoola-hoop, suspended from the ceiling. Yeah, I did that. They also offer silks and hammock which I can’t wait to come back to try!

Hannah was a little unsure when I first told her what we’d be doing but she was a trooper!

There are two different types of poles, ones that are static and ones that move. Us newbies were on the static pole until the very end.

We obviously were in an intro class, but even within the intro classes, there are people of different levels. It was so fun to see the people who had been doing it for a while and how much they could do!

For the aerial hoop class, we were on the lowest-hanging hoop but there were others that flew above my head.

Our instructors were super helpful and talked us through every move. They’re also super encouraging when you do a move right! Doesn’t everybody love for the expert to tell you “nice job”?

I’d say I did better at pole and Hannah did better at the aerial hoop. Maybe her long legs were getting in her way with the pole? Let’s go with that.

This is me spinning out of control, our instructor had to stop me.

The most satisfying feeling is when you’re trying one move over and over again, and then you finally get it! I was not referring to the move I was attempting in that picture…

So my final product? The martini (that’s what this fancy move is called) on the spinny pole.

This is certainly a workout to take you out of your comfort zone. It was like nothing I’d ever tried before and I’m so glad I did. Not only did I feel like I was flying, but I felt super empowered to be learning something new and unique.

One of the best parts of this studio as a whole is that it’s incredibly diverse. Valerie said that one of her main goals in opening this studio was ensuring that it was a safe space for everyone. It’s a very body positive atmosphere as well as a safe space for all gender identities.

They offer classes for all ages and all levels. They also have party packages so you can bring your whole crew for the new adventure! For a full list of classes check out their schedule here!

The post Infinity Aerial Is The Most Empowering Workout Around Town appeared first on Columbus Navigator.

Studios are beginning to pay more attention to who their clientele is and the limited range of people that traditional yoga spaces bring in.

Ashton Colby, a yoga instructor RYT200, is part of a new initiative in Columbus to create inclusive and accessible yoga classes. For those that aren’t familiar with the RYT200 yogi term, it means that Ashton completed 200 hours of yoga teacher training.

Ashton found that in many yoga classes, they would use language particular to the women’s body or to the man’s body that he couldn’t connect with because he is transgender.

“It takes me out of my zone when we assume that bodies are just this way or that way,” he said.

Ashton teaches yoga at various studios around Columbus. I had the pleasure of attending his class as part of Stonewall Columbus’ “Beyond Binary” event. They hosted a series of events celebrating and acknowledging gender identity outside the binary identities of man, woman. In his class, he focuses on connecting with your body and breath and allowing each individual to practice in their own way.

One of the classes that Ashton teaches regularly is Queer Yoga. The Queer Behavior organization here in Columbus hosts a series of Queer Yoga classes at various locations around town. These classes can be found at It Looks Like It’s Open studio and Art Outside The Lines, amongst others.

Ashton also teaches at Yoga on High, a studio that he says is making big strides toward inclusivity.

Ashton is one of the minority instructors that teaches the ABC Inclusive Yoga class. This class is every Saturday at 2 p.m. and it is free to the public. The teacher rotates but one of the most frequent teachers is the founder of the program, Sarah Dryer.

I attended this class and felt like it was the most interpersonal class I’ve ever taken. Every step of the way it was about you and your intentions.

My favorite part was the end during Shavasana (that’s the part where you lay down and do nothing and congratulate yourself for going to class). Sarah asked me if she could get me something for my head and I said “no thank you” and then she congratulated me on taking my practice into my hands. “Yes! No thank you!” she said. I’ve never smiled so big in a yoga class before. It was my time on the mat and I could do it however I wanted.

The rest of the class was fabulous too, of course. I left feeling refreshed and ready for the rest of my day, but that part really stuck with me.

The ABC Inclusive Yoga class is one of the most recent additions to the studio’s efforts to be inclusive and accessible. The whole project began about a year ago when Sarah approached Yoga On High owner Michele Vinbury about not feeling like the studio was inclusive during her teacher training program.

When Sarah approached Michele she wasn’t expecting much to come out of it. She expected to express her opinions, thank her for being a mentor during her teacher training, and go about the rest of her life. Bust instead, Michele met her with enthusiasm about making the studio a better place.

Sarah started going to workshops on what it means to be black, a woman, a member of the LGBT+ community even though she already identified as those things. She said that just because she identified that way didn’t mean she had the right to tell others about their experience.

“I started going to workshops on the opposition of those movements,” Sarah added. “I started really understanding that if I wanted to be of service, I had to understand all sides in a way that no one else is investing time in doing.”

The first thing they did was hold a class on inclusive conversations. They did activities to talk about what it means to embrace your biases and know what your biases are.

“We talked about the fact that we can’t pretend we’re not bringing the outside world into the studio,” she said. “Yoga is the perfect fertile ground for empathy because we’re all coming here for peace anyway.”

They held multiple other seminars and classes over the months to talk about the fear of biases. One of their seminars included a lecture from Dr. Michele Winship about body image and intersectionality. The programs became very academic, allowing the yogis to continue to learn and grow and bring their practice to a more accessible level.

Yoga on High makes a conscious effort to hire people of color, various body types, and members of the LGBT+ community.

Soon Ashton approached the team about gender-inclusivity. Gender-neutral bathrooms were added to their space and he said this was a huge step for the studio and for Columbus in general.

The Yoga on High Foundation has tons of other programs revolving around inclusive and accessible yoga such as Yoga For Mental Health, Yoga for Amputees, and the Power of Transformation program for inmates.

Sarah said that the prison initiative gives these inmates a resource for their transition when they get out of prison. The teachers that they connect with while in prison will still be available when they get out.

“They have a home to continue to practice and teacher that are familiar,” Sarah said,

Yoga on High also offers many scholarships for their teacher training programs as well as pay-what-you-can class passes.

“I don’t think yoga should be a luxury,” Ashton said. “The people that need it most are the people who it’s probably harder to get access to.”

For Ashton, yoga is therapeutic. He is currently participating in trauma-sensitive yoga teacher training through Yoga on High.

“I’d love to see more studios in Columbus have a class like ABC Yoga,” he said. “We recognize that not everybody feels safe in a traditional yoga studio.”

Ashton said that taking an hour of the schedule to have an inclusive community class sends a big message to people who don’t feel like they have a space in a traditional yoga studio.

“What’s so beautiful about the city is that we try to make space for everybody,” he said.

Yoga isn’t the only form of movement in Columbus that’s making strides toward inclusivity.

Valerie Shrader is the CEO and Owner of Infinity Aerial. Valerie said that from day one her mission in her studio has been to create an inclusive and body-positive environment. She said that many people are nervous about trying aerial studios because many only feature young, physically fit people.

Valerie said that they work hard to ensure that everyone feels comfortable in the studio no matter their body type. She also said that many of her students identify as LGBTQ and they make a strong effort to make sure their studio is known as a safe space.

“If I’m doing something that can be healing and empowering and make you feel good about yourself then that should be for everybody, not just one specific group of people,” Valerie said.

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