Bhakti yoga and healing-arts director Maureen Dodd
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| Shared breath meditation | |
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Backbend for opening your heart |
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| Transformational energy healing | |
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| Child’s pose for release and repose |
Last Summer I spent much of my time in Sag Harbor, where several of my friends opened enlightening retreats. A perfect day was one during which I could stop by Wellnest on Main Street for a healing session with Richard Ash, MD, then stroll over to see my good friend Giuliana Torre at The Juicy Naam for a Venus juice, followed by some Naam yoga upstairs.
This summer I get the best of both worlds at Wellnest Studio, a soothing healing center run by Wellnest’s Ash and his partner, Rachel Paletsky. Situated in the center of Sag Harbor, the studio is filled with flowing fabrics and warm sunlight. “Richard and I thought the next progression of Wellnest was to bring the community together and provide a common place for the sharing of the various healing arts to express itself,” says Paletsky. “Our goal is to not only heal through understanding and alter biochemistry on our physiological, cellular level, but also to experience change through various modalities, including arts, yoga and spirituality on a ‘soul-ular’ level.”'
Ash and Paletsky recruited Kripalu-certified yoga teacher and Ayurvedic bodyworker Maureen Dodd as the studio’s bhakti yoga and healing-arts director. “To me the mystical and natural beauty of the Hamptons organically provides a sacred space to take the power of bhakti yoga, the healing arts and nontraditional integral medicine to the next evolutionary level,” says Dodd, who has taught vinyasa yoga, sacred movement and meditation for the past 15 years. “Our intention is to create a full sensory experience; from the moment you engage with Wellnest Studio, your body will be supported and healed, your mind intrigued and expanded, your heart opened and your spirit renewed and purified by a sense of devotional practice and attention.”
Open seven days a week with a full schedule of classes ranging from kundalini yoga and Mommy-and-Me to healing and spirituality, the space will also be available to Hamptonites who want to book private sessions in spiritual mentoring, advanced microcurrent therapies and bhakti yoga, as well as standing appointments with their favorite teachers for themselves and their friends or houseguests. During the summer, watch for a rotating roster of inspiring teachers and partnerships with Pure Yoga, Exhale and The Juicy Naam, to name just a few.
“Everyone has stress and disease in their lives, and sometimes we can’t change the events, but we all have the ability to improve our body’s response to the stressors—physically and spiritually,” says Ash. “I’m thrilled to be able to introduce Maureen to the community and to be able to keep expanding and extending our Wellnest message.” 51 Division St., 899-4270; wellnest.us
