By Neil Turitz
Photographs by Eric Korenman
There’s something in the air.
You don’t have to be training for a half marathon or familiar with the raw milk and beef tallow content flooding TikTok to feel it. Step outside, breathe in, and look around you. There’s a reason so many health nuts and healers gravitate to the Berkshires, which has been a wellness retreat long before anybody uttered those two words.
For our annual Health and Wellness issue, The B gathered a group of local experts on the subject. Each has their own unique perspective—focusing on physical, psychological, and spiritual wellness—and together, they have decades of experience. Lucky for us, they also have a keen willingness to talk about it.
Andy Huh
Owner, HUHT Mobile Saunas
gethuht.com
Ryoko Kudo
Co-owner, The Pilates Space
thepilatesspacegb.com
Erin Casperson
Director, Kripalu School of Ayurveda
kripalu.org
Jake McNeice
Head of Strength and Conditioning, Rip City Academy
ripcityma.com
Kathy Abeyatunge
Won Buddhism Lay Minister, Won Dharma Center
wondharmacenter.org
Lindsey Jackson
Acupuncturist/Owner,
The Jade Center
thejadecenter.com
Mark Gerow
Spiritual Coach and Breathwork Guide, Miraval Resort and Spa
miravalresorts.com
Jessica Grant
Director, Prima Wellness
primawellness.com
Sandrine Harris
Somatic Healer
sandrineharris.com
Why do you think so many wellness-minded folks gravitate to the area?
Andy Huh: Without sounding like a treehugger, the abundance of farm fresh food, clean air, mountains, lakes, forestry, ponds, and wildlife here—it just recharges you.
Ryoko Kudo: Nature and culture without the hustle and bustle of big cities.
Sandrine Harris: I lived in big cities for many years, and chose the Berkshires as a place to build meaning in my life in a slower and more intentional way.
Lindsey Jackson: We’re so close to Boston, Albany, and NYC that it’s accessible to get to the city without feeling isolated, while reaping the health and wellness benefits of rest, relaxation, and a slower-paced life the Berkshires offers.
Jake McNeice: We experience all four seasons here, and each one encourages people to get outside and stay active. Whether it’s hiking and biking in the summer, enjoying the foliage in the fall, skiing and winter sports, or just being outdoors in the spring. The natural beauty of the Berkshires creates a slower pace of life that makes people more intentional about their health and daily routines.
What’s lacking in terms of resources? Or maybe a better way to put it is, what do locals need that they aren’t getting?
Mark Gerow: If I had a practical wish list, I would say more bike trails, recreational spaces, pools, and more diversity in food options. When will we get a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods?
Huh: There’s a gap I call “bathhouse deserts” in markets like the Berkshires. A good, affordable sauna and cold plunge isn’t a luxury—in my opinion, it’s a basic routine we should all have access to.
Kudo: Educational programs for wellness practitioners. We had to develop our own teacher training program in 2020 and have since certified all of our instructors.
Erin Casperson: We’re experiencing a real shortage of medical providers. Even finding a primary care physician can be challenging, with wait times often stretching 6 to 12 months.
Jessica Grant: More options for “well-briety” including sober-positive spaces for gathering and connecting.
McNeice: Accessible, structured fitness and performance resources, especially for youth and everyday adults who want guidance, but may not know where to start.
With that in mind, what are you hearing from your clients from a trend perspective?
Kathy Abeyatunge: Many people say they want to find peace, clarity, and purpose, but the trend I notice is a gentle shift from the concept of becoming the healer, the teacher, to the genuine wish of serving.
Casperson: Much of my community is navigating the menopausal transition, so conversations are filled with weighted vests, protein, magnesium, HRT, sleep apps, and reducing sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Beyond that demographic, what I hear most is a longing for community.
McNeice: Confusion created by social media. There’s an overwhelming amount of clickbait fitness content telling people that one specific exercise will build bigger arms, burn fat instantly, or make them a better athlete. I’m also seeing a growing demand for “sports-specific” training, especially from younger athletes and their parents. In reality, effective strength and conditioning looks very similar across most sports.
Gerow: People seem very ready to learn more about breathwork and how it influences physiology, mood, energy, brain chemistry, and even consciousness.
Grant: HRT and bioidentical hormonal therapies for women, red light therapy, psychedelic assisted therapy, neuro acupuncture, peptides, and somatic therapies are all prominent topics.
What are some new things you’re excited to try out?
Jackson: I really want to try craniosacral therapy. That’s on my list, and I don’t know much about it.
Harris: I’m interested in trying float therapy. The experience of being held effortlessly by mineralized water. I’m curious about how meditative it may feel.
Abeyatunge: Silence. In silence, we restore our ability to pay attention and each moment is enough.
Casperson: Right now, I’m obsessed with skincare. I’m very invested and consuming all the information I can while trying to find affordable, closer-to-natural products. If I could tell my past self anything, it would be: do more to protect your skin.
Kudo: Aerial yoga, float therapy, facial acupuncture. And we are excited to offer paddle board Pilates this summer.
Huh: I’m not really excited about any new trends. What I am excited about is returning to basics. Just sweat. The ancients figured this out a long time ago. We don’t need to reinvent it.
What’s in your personal wellness bag?
Jackson: I always have my Owala water bottle, and a GOpure pod that I leave in there so I can filter my water on the go. One clinical/healthcare type book and one fun book at all times. Three lip balms, a pack of acupuncture needles, a moxa stick, Calm app for when I need background noise, and my fleece neck warmer that stays with me from fall to spring.
Harris: I keep things simple: a notebook for spontaneous reflections and ideas, a water bottle for hydration, and lip balm and eye drops.
Gerow: This may sound unusual, but I carry a tool called an Analemma wand. It’s a quartz crystal device filled with “mother water,” designed to help restructure tap water into a more coherent state that may be more easily absorbed by the body.
Grant: A Jason protein bar, many aromas, rose hydrosol face mist, essential oils, and a violet signature oil I make that reminds me of spring. A paper calendar, Mala beads from India that help me to ground. Organic lip balms from REIMI Botanicals.
Kudo: There’s nothing better than lying on a reformer. The springs bring space and life back to our bodies and it’s a practice we crave. Wellness comes from choosing how we show up and finding joy in each day.
Abeyatunge: A calm mind, a compassionate heart, a glass of water, and a good pair of sneakers.
Last question: What are the worst and most ridiculous health trends you’ve seen or just something that’s currently making you crazy?
Casperson: Some trends feel like they create more anxiety than wellness. Constant biohacking, extreme restriction, or tracking every metric of the body can disconnect people from their own intuition. Health isn’t meant to be another full-time job.
Huh: I’m skeptical of anything driven by a super-influencer making bold, unsubstantiated claims: “This one supplement changes everything” or “Take X to live Y years longer.” Also, no one wants to see a daily post of you cold plunging.
Abeyatunge: Trends are the result of collective minds moving in the same direction. The trends themselves are not ridiculous, but we need to be careful not to follow them without inquiring into their nature and discovering their true source.
Grant: TikTok Medicine and InstaGurus are saturating the terrain of wellness. There have been many incidents of harm, especially within the trauma arena, and a rising concern involving ChatGPT-related psychosis. Extreme supplementation is also a big issue.
Harris: What remains an ongoing concern for me, and can directly cause harm, is the extracted and sometimes highly inaccurate “Instatherapy” bite-sized posts on social media. Importantly, there isn’t context, education or support for the person consuming this content.
Jackson: I think overall the wellness influencers on social media make me a little crazy, because it makes people feel like they’re “supposed” to do or have these things in order to be living a healthy and “optimal” life. There’s so much co-opting of healthcare in piecemeal form with no context and we eat it up.
Gerow: I do wish more people recognized that there are a lot of fads and “snake oil” products in the wellness world, probably including my water wand.
