Road to resolutions

Find the best places to help you achieve your resoluton with mindfulness, excercise, and healthy eating

BY GREGOIRE WINSTON AND ALEXA OROZCO, STAFF WRITERS

S 2020 BEGINS, MANY WANT to start the year off with a clean slate. Many of the goals that people seek to achieve include practicing mindfulness, excercising and sticking to a healthy and satisfying diet. Following this map will ensure that all have a year filled with new and enriching A

experiences that will improve one’s lifestyle. These locales will help current habits evolve into healthier practices. highlights has explored three locations, a waterfront outdoor gym, a yoga studio inside a hotel and a trendy health-food cafe, that will promote positive resolution practices all year round.

These places will help one be incorporate effective forms of exercise, relaxing yoga sessions and healthy eating all without breaking the budget. Soon, one will be looking foward to a year filled with completed New Year’s resolutions.

START OF 2020

POSITIVE POSES: A patron at the Mayfair Hotel’s Yoga program poses in downward dog.

IDDEN BEHIND PEACOCK PARK is the Mayfair Hotel. Classy, exclusive and peaceful, this complex in the heart of Coconut Grove, Mayfair represents the ideal escape from Miami’s sometimes chaotic environment. Imagined and later developed by the architect Kenneth Treister, Mayfair’s artistic flair is everywhere. Upon entering the hotel, the hand-carved mahogany principal doorway welcomes its clients to this creative yet elegant institution. Rich fountains, elaborate stairways and an abundantly covered palm tree terrace on H Gregoire Winston/ highlights

Mindfulness

the rooftop ornaments this exceptional place.

Located at 3000 Florida Ave. in Coconut Grove, the hotel offers a new wave of complexes for all Miami citizens to savour.

“The overall ambiance is very nice and friendly, I get a homey feeling when I enter. The staff is on point, and I feel fortunate to be able to practice yoga at this exceptional place,’’ senior Ayanna Smith said.

On Saturdays from 8-9 a.m, completley free yoga classes are held on the roof. Situated next to the majestic pool, free and open to all, this weekly class invites stressed Miami locals to unwind while overlooking Biscayne Bay. Enjoying a breath of fresh air is the ideal remedy after a hectic Miami workweek, and yoga at the Mayfair offers a chance to feel reinvigorated and energized. Managing everyday stress, which often takes a considerable toll on the human body, can be significantly reduced with a couple of yoga sessions.

“The Mayfair yoga sessions are a great way to relax your body, and have a good time with your friends while having an amazing view in front of you,” Sophomore Noa Neddam said. “It is also a great way to relieve stress and clear your mind after a long week of work,” Neddam said.

Some of the most prevalent effects of practicing yoga include improved flexibility, open-mindedness, maintaining a balanced metabolism, protection from athletic injury and increase in muscle strength, among many others. Yoga, in short, aids in the development and benefit of the entire human body, in comparison to other physical activities that work on specific body parts. Insomnia, sleeping disturbances and headaches disappear thanks to the incense aromas in the air, as well as the plethora of intricate yoga poses.

A major part of yoga is the practice of becoming more in-tune with your mind. Often times at the end of a session the instructor will have a short period of meditation. This mindfullness practice has been proven to improve focus and tranquility.

The Mayfair Yoga sessions, while implement many poses, techniques and attributes that provide an excellent opportunity for those seeking to complete their resolutions.

IRED OF STARTING THE NEW year with the same old grocery list of resolutions you only intend on committing to for a week? Look no further, as a tasty and healthy solution awaits.

The heart of Brickell may host the resolution that you actually stick through this year. Indulge in cuisine that is eco-friendly, affordable, and T A l e x a O r o z c o / h i g h l i g h t s

SATISFYING SMOOTHIES: A sampling of drinks are laid out for customers at Dirt.

healthy. Only a Metro train ride away, Dirt restuarants provide a wide variety of vegan and vegetarian options. The menu has more to offer than your usual go-to healthy restaurant.

Described as “positive and supportive” by a customer, Dirt has a very welcoming atmosphere that is sure to make your experience memorable. Every customer is always greeted with a smile and there is usually not a long waiting line. There is also a fridge filled with already made smoothies and juices, making it convenient for customers that are on the go. The restaurant has an overall rustic but modern interior design.

Dirt’s first restaurant location opened in South Beach in 2015 and since then it has spread all around Miami with the goal of giving patrons healthy and affordable meals.

As for the items on the menu, it should be noted that Dirt has a creative way to make common healthy foods enticing for crowds with more particular or exclusive diets. Dirt definitely

caters to a lot of people’s different diets, which makes it easier for them to choose items more freely. Also, the variety of options on the menu helps spread new healthy foods to people who are trying to create a healthy eating habit.

Dirt can guide those looking to eat healthier and try new things. Look at the Wild Caught Tuna Wrap, tuna with pickled onions, citrus marinated Napa cabbage and more topped with honey cashew dijon inside a spinach wrap, all for $14. Or taste the Bombay bowl, a Vegan bowl with butternut cashew cream on top of chickpeas, lentils, quinoa and curried cauliflower. For just $13.

Make sure to grab one of their smoothies, like the glow smoothie with mango, spinach, coconut and strawberry for only $9.

Dirt has been able to give their customers healthy and fresh food without breaking the bank. Not only does this diner promote a healthy lifestyle but it also emphasizes the fact that nutrition can also be delicious.

END OF 2020

Exercise

AVID T. KENNEDY PARK IS AN ideal environment for relaxing and exercising in Miami. Located off of South Bayshore drive, the park has all the necessary qualities to be considered a safe haven from the city’s chaos. Upon first glance, the slight marine aroma of Biscayne Bay complements an extensive array of vegetation, ranging from colossal palm trees to a bed of delicate mangroves. The sand volleyball courts to the south provide a prime sporting and exercise arena, and the dog park nearby allows residents and their furry companions to exercise together.

Open from sunrise until sunset, David Kennedy Park provides a breath of fresh air.

“I love the park,” local park user Lucia Zevola said. “I always come here to work out and relax, but also for meditation.”

Kennedy Park promotes all types of exercise. For devoted athletes, routine regulars or casual sportspeople, the Coconut Grove establishment provides a place for anyone seeking physical activity. Stretching across 29 acres of land, the soft-impact jogging trail provides ideal running and jogging conditions. Knee injuries, D

arthritis a n d o t h e r m u s c l e complications and pains are lessened by the presence of shredded rubber on the track. Looping around the entirety of the park, the trail combines physical exercise with a picturesque view of the bay.

The variety of equipment offered at the park means that there are plenty of exercise routines to try. A possible workout routine could be completing laps around the park and then heading over to the park’s outdoor gym.

The open air gym presents the unique EARLY MORNING JOGS: A visitor at Kennedy Park jogs along the bay. Gregoire Winston/ highlights

opportunity to get exercise time in while breathing in fresh seaside air. With multiple calisthenic machines, including bicep and tricep machines, pull up bars and sit up stations, Kennedy Park offers a multitude of opportunities to exercise the body.

A combination of endurance running and core strength training is the ideal recipe for a successful cardio routine in the heart of the Grove.

In addition to that many patrons will use many free apps that provide various workouts to help their daily regimen. Apps like Zeamo, Runtastic and Johnson & Johnson 7 minute workout feature pre-programmed guided workouts that are specified to the users needs. “I love the park. I’ve been coming here for years; it’s beautiful around sunset. The pier and exercising equipment is excellent quality... If you want to get your exercises done,” local Carolina Munys said.

With a view on the crystal-clear blue water and an extensive grassy recreation area, it is clear that Miami natives have a perfect location to fulfill their exercise-related New Year’s resolutions. h