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I read a while ago that wellness is the new luxury status symbol, and I have to admit that it resonated. My late-20s-professional friends and I aren’t too into spending money on fancy purses or crazy-trendy restaurants–but we do make plans to catch up over $40 Pilates and yoga classes (although this is generally subsidized by ClassPass) and $10 green juices or avocado toasts, where we share our tips and recommendations on finding awesome-but-affordable acupuncturists, facials and deep-tissue masseuses.

I err on the frugal side of everyday life (making my own lunch, taking the subway, etc.) so that I can a) travel more and b) spend money on wellness. I struggle with stress and anxiety taking a toll on my body: I hold a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders and can get nasty headaches. I find that making sure I’m taking the time to take care of my body–beyond just eating well, meditating daily and getting enough exercise–can make a huge difference in my physical, mental and emotional well-being. These are a few of my favorite ways and places to spend on wellness in New York City.

Acupuncture

I try to get to acupuncture at least every other week, if not weekly. I first discovered acupuncture in New York City with Erin Telford, and it was mind-boggling how quickly and how much it helped with the anxiety that set in shortly after I moved to the city. That said, her services are super valuable but not cheap–and my insurance didn’t cover it. I discovered community acupuncture, which is considerably cheaper but still has all of the good vibes. I’ve been going to Kate Henderson for several years now, and I got super lucky: she opened City Acupuncture location just blocks from my house, which makes it SO easy to work it into my routine. Kate specializes in trigger point acupuncture, which is key for my crazy neck, shoulder and jaw tension. And if nothing else, acupuncture is basically an extremely good one-hour nap–and I will take it just for cutting me off from all of my electronics from that long.

Massage

I get monthly massages from Darren DiFio at the same City Acupuncture location, and I’m so glad that I found him! The massages are super reasonably priced, and he’s fantastic at deep tissue–again, key for someone with crazy back and neck tension. For a much splurgier experience, I used to go to Tribeca Beauty Spa–it’s best to splurge in the winter and go early for an appointment to take advantage of the sauna and hot tea.

Facials

I feel like facials cross a lot of lines–beauty, wellness, health?–but I’m a big believer in them, especially living in New York City. It is honestly pretty gross sometimes when I take off my makeup at night and realize that my face is basically coated in smog and exhaust and general pollution. I’m a 30/50 member at Heyday, which means I get monthly facials but extractions only every other month.  p.s. if you mention my name at a Heyday, you’ll get $10 off your first facial! 

Chiropractor

I see a chiropractor every once in a while when I feel like things are just a touch out of alignment. I had minor scoliosis as a pre-teen and a few spine issues since then, so a chiropractor appointment is one of those things that feels halfway between splurge-y wellness and just a necessary doctor’s appointment. I go to Dr. Mazzarelli at Village Chiropractic and highly recommend if you have any back kinks to be worked out.

Floating

One of the huge draws of trying out Lift Floats was the complete sensory deprivation: it’s 60 minutes without light or sound or my godforsaken phone. If you’re not familiar with floating, you’re essentially in a private room or pod that gets 100% dark where you float in water with 1000 pounds of Epsom salts. You float right on the surface, giving your body and mind a total break from gravity and reality. It’s a bit of a weird experience, but also super liberating.

Light therapy

Higher Dose is basically a sauna on steroids. It uses infrared rays in all of its mini personal saunas: infrared wavelengths detoxify 7x more the regular saunas, burn major calories and improve skin elasticity. Bonus: every sauna is equipped with LED color lights for color therapy. Hugely beneficial physically and mentally–especially in the winter.

What are your favorite wellness splurges in NYC and beyond?