Practice of Wellness

Here at American Spa, we not only write about wellness—fitness, skincare, nutrition, and more—we live and breathe it. Or at least we strive to practice what we preach. Though incorporating healthy habits can be difficult during busy, stressful times, I’ve learned it’s always worth the extra effort. Here’s what our team is doing to say "YES" to wellness on Global Wellness Day and beyond.

"This year, in honor of Global Wellness Day, I'm trying to be better about drinking more water, eliminating diet soda, and walking more, which has the added benefit of keeping me off the sweltering subways during New York City's summer heat!"—Julie Keller Callaghan, editor in chief and publisher

"Last year, I was lucky in that I got to celebrate Global Wellness Day with founder Belgin Aksoy in Turkey. This year, I'll be saying "Yes" to the movement she began by drinking more water, something I rarely do, and taking a moment or two to meditate on all the things for which I'm grateful."—Heather Mikesell, executive editor

"My husband and I have an ongoing goal of eating as many meals as possible prepared from simple ingredients at home. On Saturdays, we generally visit an old-school European Meat Market that has been in our neighborhood forever. Everything is local and very high quality, plus they smoke their own meats, make their own sausages, and hand cut everything for you. It makes it a lot easier to eat healthfully if what you can make at home comes out better than at a restaurant. Plus, it's nice to be able to support a local business."—Carolyn Bouchard, art director

"My husband and I signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group in our neighborhood for the summer. Each week through September we receive a bundle of freshly picked organic produce from farms just outside New York City. The selection is determined based on what’s fresh and available so we’re excited to expand our diet and incorporate the new fruits and veggies included each week. So far, we’ve made a delicious stir-fry with bok choy and learned that farmers near the city can grow it."—Jennifer Nied, associate editor

"At our house we are continuing our ongoing change from eating foods with preservatives, dyes and unnecessary chemicals to foods that are fresh, organic and made with simple recipes. We've planted avocado, lemon, blood orange and lime trees in our backyard and are hoping to share/trade our crop with neighbors that have apples, peaches and other fruit."—Kristina Panter, director, integrated media sales, western region

"On Saturday, my family will be taking part in The Mad Dash Adventure Race. We will be saying 'YES' to wellness as we run, jump, crawl, carry, and climb our way through the two-mile obstacle course."—Lucy Hugo, eastern regional account manager