ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA —

For more than a century, the fresh mountain air of Asheville has lured tourists and newcomers in search of a healthy lifestyle. But the last 15 years have seen serious growth in a wide range of wellness-oriented offerings that go well beyond “taking the air” in Asheville.

The burgeoning “wellness” neighborhood in the Chestnut Hills Historic District is a great place to start. This hilly area just north of downtown is home to a host of options.

“When you go in the tank there is no sound and no light,” he explains. “It blocks all your external senses, so your inner senses start to come alive. The minutes go by, and in your mind you’ve been thinking of what you did last week and what you have to do tomorrow, but at some point your mind says, ‘Try to let it go.’ And all the energy we use to think, to fight gravity, to walk around and hold our body tight starts to free up, and your body uses it where it is most needed.”

Find your inner stillness at Asheville’s premier EsalenⓇ Massage and saltwater flotation spa. Still Point Wellness has been featured on media ranging from USA Today to “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “Jeopardy.” Enjoy a couples EsalenⓇ massage tutorial session, drift away in a sensory deprivation tank, or unlock the wisdom of your body through somatic psychology.

For the workaholic dad...
Still Point Wellness, 81B Central Ave. | $69+
Is Dad both stressed out and a little bit on the adventurous side? Give him the gift of an hour in a sensory deprivation tank. It’ll give him something cool to talk about with his work buds + an opportunity for some much-needed deep relaxation.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Can you really sweat out the winter blues?

Corey Costanzo, the co-owner of Still Point Wellness in Asheville, believes you can with the help of his far infrared sauna.

"Somebody who is just down and depressed, and they don't have any energy," Costanzo explained. "This helps to stimulate the body's energy."

WNC has long been a refuge for healing, and between the stress-relieving scenery, outdoor activities, plentiful yoga classes, and cool mountain air, a pampering spa experience is just the icing on top. From day spas to destination retreats, there’s no shortage of opportunities for such relaxation. In Asheville, alternative treatments include sensory deprivation at Still Point Wellness, enriching salt therapy at Asheville Salt Cave, and hydrotherapy at the Japanese- or Swedish-style soaking experiences found at Shoji Spa & Lodge and the new Bada Bastu, respectively.

Corey joins me today to share how understanding your body and being aware of what happens to it when you’re stressed can affect your personal and professional relationships. We discuss where to look and what to do to the body when you’re stressed and explain the gravity of de-stressing and taking care of your own anxiety so you can take care of others. We also share techniques that you can use to help you improve relaxation and decrease stress and explain why self-care is not simply a luxury, but a necessity for achieving a harmonious relationship with others.

 “There’s always going to be anxiety. There’s always going to be stressful things. It’s how we deal with those things and what tools we can use in the present moment to be able to work with that energy of stress.” - Corey Costanzo

Still Point Wellness is a world-class spa in Asheville, offering a full menu of luxury spa services for individuals and couples, including unique salt water flotation experiences, which use sensory deprivation principles to restore body wellness and peace of mind in the spa's state-of-the-art flotation chamber. 60, 90, and 120-minute flotation sessions are available, providing participants with one-of-a-kind immune boosting and pain relief benefits. Other services available include the spa's trademarked Esalen massage services, which use long integrative strokes and deep-tissue pressure to target shoulder, leg, arm, and lower back pain, and craniosacral therapy services, which improve the movement of cerebrospinal fluid throughout the spinal cord and provide relief from conditions such as TMJ, migraines, and whiplash.

Corey joins me today to discuss how addictions affect relationships. He explains how couples can improve their relationship when an addiction is present and how to identify when an addiction becomes an issue. He also explains what non-addicted partners can do to help themselves in a relationship involving addiction and how insight and awareness can help addicted partners learn to make better choices and decisions that are aligned with their life goals.

Corey joins me today to share how he is using sound and vibration as a tool to heal and transform the lives of those around him. He explains how sound helps in becoming more attune with your partner and its impact on the connection you build with them. He also explains how harmonics and vibrations influence partnerships, strategies to become more attuned to yourself as well as your partner, and how he uses the didgeridoo as a guided meditation tool in his philanthropic work.

“Attunement is a beautiful ingredient to the recipe of a successful relationship - and a successful life.” - Corey Costanzo

Honor the rain by floating in a huge salt water floatation chamber.

Asheville has been a haven for those seeking rest, relaxation and healing for centuries. This North Carolina city is considered a top mountain spa escape and delegated a purifying place thanks to the millions of national forests that make up one of the most biodiverse temperate regions on Earth. With all this natural healing at Ashevillians fingertips, it makes sense that a thriving health and wellness culture has developed here, with tons of yoga studios, alternative medical practices and of course, world-class spas. Here are 10 of the best spas in Asheville to help restore your body and mind.

Check into a retreat to jump-start a wellness program or elevate your fitness level to a new degree on a specialized exercise circuit. After the sweat-induced euphoria, let your body rest with a swoon-worthy spa treatment…After working and playing hard, you’ll return home feeling better overall, and healthier too.

This week I chat with Robin Fann-Costanzo about Esalen Massage. What makes it unique? What does it have to offer both the client and the practitioner? I also dive into her transition from practitioner to teacher, and learn a little about her first international teaching gig.

Saltwater floatation is not the only offering at Still Point, however; services include Esalen massage, somatic psychology, cranial sacral therapy, massage workshops, and private yoga therapy, and there’s a full staff of spa coordinators and trained massage therapists. “Our unique blend of Esalen philosophy, massage, psychology, and mindfulness education is what sets us apart,” Corey explains. “Everything we offer at the spa has the simple focus of bringing relaxation and ease into someone’s life.