Bring your spouse, partner, boy/girl friend, honey, sweetie, cupcake, yummykins, snookums, snickerdoodle, or lover to this extra SRI class we call "Lovers' SRI". Learn to not only connect at a deeper level with yourself, but learn how to help your partner connect. Best of all, learn to experience a deeper connection with each other. February 13th 7:15 – 8:00pm. $25 per person or $40 per couple.

The Sea Love Massage is a unique opportunity for lovers to learn first-hand how to tap into each other’s creativity and LOVE! Experience a 90-minute private session filled with effective techniques for you and your partner to learn how to touch one another in a more healing and intimate way. Our professional massage therapists make it fun and easy to communicate the language of love with “touch”.

Embark on a beautiful, sensual journey to discover how to melt away each other’s stress and tension while establishing a greater depth of appreciation for each other. We will focus on your areas of preference: scalp, face, neck, back, arms, hands, legs and/or feet. The session is totally customized to meet the couple’s specific needs.

What past participants have said:

• “A truly loving indulgence!”
• “An exciting self empowering experience!”
• “A powerful stress alleviator.”
• “A joyful deepening of our connection.”
• “A new and rich way to relate.”
• "A graceful way out of conflict. Thank you!”

Join us for some serious fun, therapeutic loving and a feast for the bodymind! Make your appointment today!

Flowers and candy are so much sweeter when given as a compliment to the Chocolate Decadence Package.

Start with the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Facial, a 75 minute, customized facial that uses organic products to cleanse the skin. Fresh strawberries are then applied to exfoliate dead skin and help wake up tired complexions. Our specially formulated Chocolate mask is then used to infuse moisture into the skin.

Next, our Chocolate Coconut Body Scrub will smooth out those rough spots on the body while adding anti-oxidants and moisture. Finish off with an hour massage to relax tired muscles and ease tension.

Includes a delicious, cholesterol lowering chocolate truffle.

Special: $295 for 2 hour 45 minute treatment

Natural Sweet-Hearts

Heart disease is on the rise in America and the leading risk factors include:

• Increasing age
• Male gender
• Heredity (including race)
• Smoking
• High blood pressure
• Elevated cholesterol
• Physical inactivity
• Obesity & being overweight
• Diabetes

Some of these factors, such as gender, cannot be changed. However, many are diet and lifestyle issues that can be resolved with the help of the many wellness providers at Sea Change New York. Our diverse staff has much to offer to promote a healthy lifestyle and a happy heart.

You’ve all heard that diets rich in fruits and vegetables can promotes health and attenuate, or delay, the onset of various diseases. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the idea that these benefits are linked to the consumption of certain flavanoids present in fruits and vegetables. In the case of cardiovascular health specifically, a particular group of flavanoids, the flaven-3-ols, have received attention. They exert cardioprotective effects by improving vascular function and decreasing platelet reactivity. These antioxidant compounds are found in wine, tea, various fruits and berries as well as cocoa and cocoa products.

The medicinal uses of chocolate originated in the New World and diffused to Europe in the mid 1500s. Traditional uses included treatment of fatigue, shortness of breath, fever and “faint of heart”. It has also been used historically to promote digestion and elimination, treat a weak stomach, stimulate the kidneys, increase low sexual desire or low virility and to increase longevity. We now know that these actions are largely due to the high antioxidant content of chocolate. Dark chocolate is 4 times higher in pholyphenol (one class of antioxidant) than green tea and equal to the amount in red wine.

When it comes to protecting the heart, there is more good lovin’ to be had from chocolate. In a study putting white chocolate up against dark chocolate, the dark variety was shown to lower blood pressure and improve insulin sensitivity (insulin is the hormone necessary for sugar to enter cells from the bloodstream). With the strong correlation between diabetes and heart disease, this positive effect on insulin is noteworthy.

Need more reasons to enjoy chocolate guilt free? Cocoa has recently demonstrated the ability to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells in clinical studies and the component theobromide (which gives cocoa its bitter taste) can stop a cough.

To best enjoy the heart saving benefits of chocolate, indulge in CardioPower Truffles from Designs for Health (3 per day provides 1.8g of phytosterols, the amount recommended by researchers for obtaining optimal cholesterol lowering results; available at Sea Change) or opt for your favorite organic, naturally sweetened chocolate bar. Then show your skin some love this Valentine’s Day by enjoying the decadent chocolate body scrub and chocolate massage. This unique treatment utilizes the antioxidant and protective benefits of chocolate and the skin healing properties of coconut oil (the secret of the youthful looking, soft skinned Polynesian cultures).

If you would like to learn more about diet and lifestyles strategies that support heart health naturally or are ready to take on any big risk factors (including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes or weight gain) contact Dr. Kalanick for an appointment. These issues are among her specialties.

By Dr. Brooke Kalanick, ND, LAc

It’s no myth that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Isn’t that true for all of us – no matter which gender we are? Think of the meals you’ve enjoyed the most. Do any of those “meals to remember” include Chinese Take-Out eaten in front of your TV? How about the sandwich you shoved down in between subway stops? Probably not.

My most cherished meals are home-cooked, eaten with people I love: family, friends, a loved one. Each week, I look forward to Sunday evenings, when I can prepare something scrumptious and enjoy it with my husband.

Whomever you eat with or wherever your meal is held, delight in it. Notice your senses: How does it taste? What does it feel like in your hands, on your lips, in your mouth, going down your throat and in your stomach? How does it smell? Do you notice a sound when you cook it, chop it, slice it or chew it? How does it look in the market, in the boiling pot, or on your plate?

Explore these 10 ways to boost the sensuality in your meals.

1. Prepare something that you love to make. What’s your favorite? Make that.
2. Keep it simple. Don’t use complicated and fancy recipes that require hours of preparation.
3. Eat fresh, organic, beautiful ingredients. What’s more sensual that bright, steamy veggies or juicy ripe fruit? Or possibly a thick, sizzling steak? They are a delight for all your senses from preparation to consumption.
4. Use your good plates. Make every meal a celebration by serving with the set of tableware that only gets table time twice a year.
5. Share it with people you love. Invite friends. Find a time for your family to eat together. Or make extra, put it in a container and take it to someone who could use some great home-cooked food.
6. Chew and breathe. Be a slow eater and actually taste your food while it’s in your mouth. You’ll be surprised how much better it is. You may also be impressed at how much easier your digestion works.
7. Feed each other. If you are eating with a lover, try taking turns gently putting the food in to each other’s mouths. Notice the difference in taste and feel. This is a great way to increase intimacy and trust.
8. Create atmosphere. Dim the lights. Light a candle. Use a table cloth. Turn on some soothing music. And turn OFF the TV. There. Isn’t that better?
9. When dining out, choose a restaurant that prepares their food consciously and has a courteous staff. Take plenty of time.
10. Try something you’ve never tried before. Nothing heightens the senses more than opening yourself up to a new experience. In food and in life!

How can you make your daily eating experience more exciting? I have lots of ideas. Let’s talk! I’d love to help you pep up your relationship with food.

Megan Franzen Carlos, Holistic Health Counselor