The Scenic City is ripe with opportunity to become a better you

Investing in your health and wellness is one of the best choices you can make. Social media is full of posts about becoming the best version of yourself and several major trends are taking over the wellness space right now. 

Low impact exercise, holistic approaches to health and healing, and innovative beauty techniques are just some of the trends grabbing our eye these days! 

Here are 5 local businesses that offer trending techniques that may inspire you to invest in yourself this summer.

Hot Mat Pilates

It’s not a secret that Pilates is one of the best ways to create a sculpted body (hello Miley Cyrus’ arms at the 2024 VMAs!) While this method, created by Joseph Pilates, is not a new one, it has seen a resurgence in popularity as many people seek lower impact ways to get in an effective workout. 

Jenna Wright, owner of Southern Soul Yoga, offers a full range of options for Pilates training both on a machine similar to a megaformer, as well as on your mat. Wright and her staff kick it up a notch, heating the room for attendees to over 100 degrees to encourage more sweat and better benefits. 

Infrared heat warms the body from the inside out, and when combined with an hour of tiny pulses with light weights, you’ll walk out of Southern Soul stronger than before and ready for your next class.

Chiropractic Care 

There is a lot that comes to mind when many people hear the phrase, “I’m going to the chiropractor,” but Dr. Chris Collins of The Specific Chiropractic Centers says there is more to it than just popping someone’s neck or back. 

The word holistic comes into play as Collins and his team look to address the needs of the whole patient instead of focusing just on the joints of the spinal system. “I think most people just forget that their nervous systems are there helping them get through each day,” says Collins. “The nervous system is operating in the background organizing not just your health but every experience you have in life.”

He advises that consistency is key when it comes to improving your health and small, repeatable steps are the best way to start. Whether that is walking 5 minutes a day, adding in one extra glass of water per day, or scheduling a consultation with a new practitioner such as a chiropractor, the smallest step can bring the biggest benefit when starting a life-changing approach to wellness. 

Paramedical Tattooing 

Paramedical tattooing uses tattoo techniques to blend scars, stretch marks, and other imperfections into the surrounding skin tissue. This method allows patients whose bodies have been through trauma such as surgery feel more confident in themselves. 

Moyer used to work in the surgical field here in Chattanooga, and says her services, “go hand in hand with the surgeons I used to work for and the ones I work alongside now.” She says her and several surgeons around town are, “finding our groove of how to be mutually beneficial towards one another every day with the end goal being, ‘how can we have the best patient care with the most successful outcome’.”

IV Hydration Therapy

Commercial IV hydration has arrived as an effective way to get your body back after a night of overindulging, but hydration therapy has several benefits well beyond curing the occasional hangover. 

At the Center for Comprehensive Medicine, Dr. Carlton Vollberg and Elizabeth Perry, FNP, help patients feel their best through a range of hydration options.

“IV hydration is not a replacement for healthy lifestyle practices but it can come alongside and assist us with overall wellness,” says Vollberg. “Hydration at its core is vital for optimal functioning of the human organism as our bodies rely on hydration to maintain blood volume which carries oxygen and nutrients to the tissue. Optimal hydration helps to lubricate our joints and it aids the body in flushing out toxins.”

While hydration therapy is not a replacement for normal water consumption, it can be very beneficial to those who have a hard time tolerating certain foods or supplements because it bypasses normal digestion when delivering nutrients to the body. Clients that may benefit include those with chronic illnesses, food intolerances, or athletes.

Somatic Body Work

Healing and health really begins with a full body approach, and that is exactly what REV Optimal Living offers their clients. Co-owner Monica Smith stresses that when we integrate and heal, all parts of us become whole and evolved, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. 

Somatic body work is a method that involves direct touch by a practitioner to a patient to ease trauma; it brings attention to a deep mind-body connection. Rev’s hands-on approach focuses on bringing your body into a state of calm, addressing anxiety and underlying stresses to encourage the physical body to release tension or pain. 

REV works out of their new space on North Market Street in Chattanooga, and is especially focused on using community as a way to encourage individual healing.

Smith says, “Our health is our greatest gift. If we lose our health, we lose our ability to enjoy and thrive in life; wellness can be as simple or as complex as you like but the most important factor is consistency!”

You can find more incredible health and wellness services inside Volume 11 of The Scout Guide Chattanooga. Browse online here or pick up a physical copy at your favorite member business and celebrate yourself on the journey to a healthier, happier you!