6 - Restoring Your Nervous System with Robin & Corey Costanzo of Stillpoint Wellness

In this episode of the Wellness in Asheville Podcast, we dive deep into nervous system healing with Robin and Corey Costanzo, the visionary founders of Stillpoint Wellness. Known for Esalen® massage, saltwater floatation therapy, and integrative healing experiences, Stillpoint has become one of Asheville’s most respected centers for transformation.

Robin and Corey share their personal journeys—from the Esalen Institute in Big Sur to building a sanctuary for healing in Asheville. We explore how massage, float therapy, and somatic awareness support nervous system regulation, helping people move from chronic stress into deep rest.

The conversation also touches on the power of grief work, the role of integration in sustaining wellness, and the importance of presence, gratitude, and daily practices that bring us back into balance.

Key Takeaways

• Floatation & Esalen Massage – Both modalities foster self-awareness, nervous system regulation, and emotional release.
• The Only Way Through Grief is Through – Float therapy offers a safe environment to process grief and trauma.
• Integration is the Key – Healing isn’t a one-off; it becomes sustainable when woven into daily habits and practices.
• Presence = Love – Being fully present with ourselves or others is itself a profound act of love and regulation.
• Gratitude & Affirmation – Simple practices shift brain chemistry, reduce stress hormones, and elevate well-being.
• Asheville as a Healing Hub – With saunas, yoga centers, float tanks, and holistic practitioners, Asheville is uniquely positioned as a wellness destination.

Timestamps

00:00 – 04:00 | Robin & Corey’s Journeys: From NYC and Omaha to the Esalen Institute
04:00 – 08:00 | Esalen’s Legacy in Human Potential & Somatic Psychology
08:00 – 11:00 | Travis’s First Float Experience & Learning to Truly Relax
11:00 – 15:00 | Grief, Trauma & the Nervous System: Why “The Way Out is Through”
15:00 – 20:00 | Integration: Turning One-Off Experiences into Lasting Habits
20:00 – 24:00 | Daily Practices: Meditation, Headspace, and Nervous System Regulation
24:00 – 28:00 | Presence, Gratitude & Affirmations as Healing Tools
28:00 – 32:00 | Asheville’s Wellness Community & the Rise of Social Wellness
32:00 – 37:00 | Addiction Recovery, Wellness Travel & Asheville as a DIY Retreat Destination
37:00 – 40:00 | Rapid Fire: Favorite Rituals, Books, Teachers, & Hidden Asheville Spots
40:00 – End | Closing Thoughts & Invitation to Experience Stillpoint

Episode Links

• Stillpoint Wellness Website
• Book a Floatation or Massage Session
• Learn More About Esalen Institute
• The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
• The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer
• Alan Watts
• Somatic Experiencing – Peter Levine
• Headspace Meditation App

Special thanks to Jill Terrill for her support in post-production of this podcast

The Wellness in Asheville podcast is produced by Be Well Asheville, your local news source covering health + wellness news + events in Asheville. Get the latest at bewellasheville.com or follow @bewellasheville.

Transcript

Episode 6: Restoring Your Nervous System | Stillpoint Wellness w/ Robin & Corey & Costanzo

[00:00:00] 

Okay.

Welcome to the Wellness in Asheville Podcast, where we shine a light on the people practices, and places that make this city one of the most inspiring wellness communities in the country. I'm your host, Travis Richardson, founder of Be Well Asheville, your local news source for health, wellness, and community events.

Today I am joined by Robin and Corey Costanzo, the visionary duo behind Still Point Wellness, an award-winning wellness center here in Asheville, known for Essel, N massage, salt water, flotation therapy, and integrative healing experiences. Together they've cultivated one of the most respected and transformative healing spaces in Western North Carolina.

And honestly, this conversation couldn't be more timely. Uh, recent 2025 study showed that 66% [00:01:00] of American employees are experiencing burnout. This is the highest level ever recorded. Gallup polls report that 60% of workers feel emotionally detached at work. 19% describe themselves as miserable, and only 33% say they're truly engaged.

So our nervous systems are pretty much collectively on fire. You know, I've seen this firsthand in my own, uh, travels. Like it was really interesting because I used to spend two hour dinners in China when I was there on a three week vacation. And, uh, you know, there's Teco time in Costa Rica where. It's all about patience and, and presence being part of the culture there.

Um, these moments just reminded me how deeply, uh, the pace of our life shapes not only our mental health, but our capacity to connect with ourselves and with each other. In the US we are a frenetic culture, aren't we? Competitive, [00:02:00] impatient, always producing something. And that drive creates innovation, which is great, but it also extracts the costs.

Uh, it costs from our souls. So. It's kind of why the whole slow living movement is gaining traction. And if you don't know what that's about, well it's just that slowing down. So going from five day work weeks to four day, uh, work weeks intentionally doing not nothing as medicine as Anne Helen Peterson described and can't even how millennials became the burnout generation.

The pressures of global capitalism funnel us toward exhaustion. So choosing to slow down is more than a lifestyle. It's really a radical or, uh, radical act of healing. But slowing down isn't always easy. So meditation, for instance, can feel really inaccessible when your nervous system is completely overloaded.

And sometimes healing requires a progression, you know, first putting your phone down, then stepping your feet into the, your bare feet into the [00:03:00] grass, then sitting against a tree for a few minutes, then maybe a foot soak. And then a massage and who knows, maybe then a, a float tank session. These small steps recondition the nervous system and open a doorway to deeper states of rest and restoration.

And that is exactly the journey Robin and Corey invite us into through. Their work at Still Point Wellness, guiding people from chronic stress into profound reconnection, one healing experience at a time. So let's go ahead and welcome the both of them to the show.

 Well, welcome Robin and Corey to the Wellness in Nashville podcast. I'm excited to talk about all things stress, nervous system and more today, and also about my experience in the float tank. Awesome. Thank you. Yeah, so good to be here, Travis. Thanks for [00:04:00] inviting us. It, it's really a, a timely discussion that we're having about the nervous system.

I mean, so many people I talk to are just so stressed and there's just so much, it's like the anxiety feels just really thick, uh, in the air sometimes. Uh, and you know. I, uh, recently when I, you know, went into to still point to, to do my float, I just was like, man, this place just put me at ease. My, i I, everything about that place just literally settled me down.

And so, um, just there's so much more, there's so much there to talk about. Uh. Around the nervous system. But I wanted start with your, both of your stories, because I'm curious about how each of you have arrived as co-owners and how you arrived to where you are today. Sure. So, um, let's see. Long story short, I grew up in New York City, uh, asked the college in [00:05:00] Vermont, uh, went, went to Manhattan.

Worked for a, a startup company, brand new startup company that, uh, grew really, really fast. And, um, then I was, I was part of that, that rise went from like, I was the 10th employee to 500 employees. It was called Delias, young, young, uh, teenage clothing catalog company. And, um, you know, I just realized that no matter, no matter how much.

I made, I spent the same amount and my quality of life did not go up. So I realized pretty quick in my mid twenties that that was just unsustainable and I was looking for something more. Um. More conducive to like what I really love to do, which was connect with people and, and yeah, that's, that's what led me on the path of, uh, self-inquiry, the path of, um, counseling [00:06:00] and body work and massage, and pretty much landed at the Essen Institute.

In, uh, big Sur and uh, that was where I met Robin. We fell in love, had a kid, um, learned all sorts of things. Um, health, health related and psychology related. Went to graduate school for somatic psychology in the early two thousands, and yeah, here I am today. Wow. Well, I have a lot of questions about what she just said there, um, but let's let, let's let Robin take a stab at, uh, her story here.

Yeah, thank you, Travis. Um, well, I, I actually grew up in the Midwest. I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and found my way out to California because my mom moved out there at some point when I was in college. And, um. We lived in Oakland for a while and our house burned down in the Oakland fire in, I think it was [00:07:00] like, uh, I can't remember the year of that now.

It's kind of a, it's all feels like a blur. It was a long time ago. Uh, anyway, that, that was a big transformational moment. And my mom went to Esly and Esly Institute and my brother and I. Followed her not long after. I think that was about 1991 or 1992. And, uh, and we all ended up staying there. And I spent 16 years living at the Eslan Institute and, um, working on the massage staff there and began teaching massage and yoga and met Corey.

Hmm. And, uh, in 2008 we moved to Asheville. Hmm. So I think the obvious first question that I have is, and I think anybody listening who has not heard of, I actually happen to know what eSalon is a little bit just because I'm a former massage therapist in a past life, among a million other things. Uh, but could you just give a rundown of what [00:08:00] eSalon is and also somatic psychology.

That's also a term we should probably just, um, spell out here. Yeah, well, I'll take a stab at what Essen is. The Essen Institute. It's in Big Sur, California, right along the highway one coastline, and it started in the mid, uh, sixties as the first Center for Human Potential. And so all things sort of human potential wise, um.

Therapy and massage and, um, self-inquiry practices. Many workshops and trainings happen there. It's a retreat center and, uh, and it's located in probably one of the most beautiful places in the world, right on the coast there overlooking the ocean and has hot springs. And so it's a, it's been a place that's drawn many people over the decades.

Um, sort of a mecca of, of the human potential movement. Yeah, many, many, uh, people and, and [00:09:00] books and textbooks will credit it with the birthplace of Western Massage. Um, and it drew lots of thinkers in diverse fields like Buckminster Fuller. Um, Fritz Pearls, who started Gestalt's psychology. Um, Abraham Maslow, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and Alan Watts.

Um, who else? Gabriel Roth who started the Five Rhythms dance, dance practice. Um, just lots of, lots of people that, that, that, that took. Um, education and brought it, brought it to the forefront in terms of the direct experience. Mm-hmm. So, um, you know, the only way to really get education at that point, higher education was higher education and, you know, university setting.

But Esly at Esly, they were just all experimenting with all sorts of things and ways to be, ways to live different, uh, uh, [00:10:00] perceptions and ways to think, um. And it has really shaped like there are scholarly books written about the Esson Institute's role in shaping the fabric of our culture, um, through the counter, the counterculture movement in the sixties and the human potential movement.

And it's still alive today and is, you know, kind of one of the first places that created the model of, of. Experiential learning through workshops. Hmm. Not to mention, it's the mountains right into the sea and these hot springs Robin are talking about are, uh, world class gorgeous, built into the side of the side of the cliff.

Hot springs. Yeah. I haven't been out there, but, uh, anywhere that has hot springs, I'm already an immediate fan, uh, who doesn't love a great hot spring. Um, so is, would you say that flotation therapy is. An extension of eSalon or is that different? Is that part of like, how does all that play into what you [00:11:00] all are doing over the Absolutely is an extension of the mindset of what happens at the eSalon Institute.

Because it's all about experimentation. So when I go into the float tank, it takes such an incredible amount of permission to let go, to let go of the mind, to let go of the thoughts, to let go of the, the attachment that the float experience is gonna be, is gonna be anything. And, and just be, be present. Be present with my thoughts, be present with the tension in my body, with my breath.

Because you're floating atop, um, a solution that's, uh, uh, a warm solution with 1500 pounds of dissolved Epsom salts. You don't have to hold any tension in the body. So a minute by minute, by minute you start realizing, oh, I just had this thought. About what I need to do later on tonight, and I tensed my left arm.

And then you're like, wow, that's very interesting. [00:12:00] So you let the left arm go, you know, so it's, mm-hmm. It connects the dots of, uh, the mind body in connection with one another. Yeah. Uh, could I share my, uh, my experience? I think Phil has, feels like an appropriate, um, yeah, here we'd love to hear. Yeah. Yeah.

It's just an, it feels like an appropriate time to share. Uh, is that So? My float experience, I mean, I, I go in and, you know, it's this dark place, um, feels very. I don't know how you would say intimate with, in the best of meanings with myself, because here I, that is all I have. It's just me in this, in this dark space.

It's a, you know, to begin with. It's a little unnerving, but you're like, okay, it's warm, it's safe. There's like, you know that there's nothing to be afraid of you, so, so you relax in and the very first thing I notice is just this. [00:13:00] Aliveness in my skin. Just everything's feeling it, it it, like, uh. Like you, you feel your skin in a way that even massage doesn't actually get to.

And I don't know what it is about the salt or the flow, but there's this aliveness and, um, that was really, really fascinating to watch. And then just like you said, I noticed there were times when I, um, would have tension in my stomach. In different areas that I had no idea, but like as I'm laying there, parts of me I can feel are relaxed.

Like, oh, my arms are really relaxed, but then my stomach is all tightened up and I'm like, oh, what's going on there? So, okay, let's relax. Relax this stomach. But then. All of a sudden my leg is tense and it's ffl and it's flinching, and it's like spasming or something. I don't even know what's going on. I'm like, okay, let's, let's, let's relax the leg.

Oh, tense up my stomach again now, and so I'm, I'm doing this dance with myself all the entire session it feels like. Okay. Then [00:14:00] I get the body relaxed and my mind is just going, oh man, my mind is going. So I'm looking at my, all my thoughts. Okay. Just relax. You've got. You know, 90 minutes in here or whatever it was.

I'm like thinking, oh man, how can I be, can I even be in here for 90 minutes? Am I gonna make, make it, make it through this thing? And um, and then like, you know, as I'm focusing on the thoughts, the body starts tensing up again. And I know that maybe doesn't sound pleasant for a listener to hear that as far like, well, how's that relaxing?

But I think what it taught me is that I don't know that I've. I don't know that I ever fully relax, ever, that that's the lesson. And it was like, holy cow. I, I, I think I need more of, I need more, I need to, um, train myself how to relax. It sounds crazy, right? Like, like I need to learn the skill of relaxing my nervous system.[00:15:00] 

Yeah. Beautiful. I love, I love that you shared that, Travis, because you know the float tanks along with the style of massage that we offer, ESLA massage is very much focused on this understanding that when we're able to become more self-aware, which it sounds like was the exact experience you were having in that flow tank, this sudden awareness of yourself and your own.

Nervous system in mind. And when we begin to become more self-aware, then we begin to have more choice. And so both the float tank offers that opportunity for more self-awareness, as does a, a massage, because in the, in the massage as well, we're not aiming to try to force anything to happen. Just like in the float tank, we're aiming to help someone become more aware of their own holding patterns to offer more choice.

For or opportunity, right? And then when you [00:16:00] do figure out how to relax your own nervous system, it's a much deeper, more profound experience than, um, someone going in and doing it for you. Yeah, I guess you can learn, I guess you learn the skill on your own so that you can replicate it wherever you are, uh, in any situation.

Because if you get good at feeling into your body and knowing where the tension spots are, you can more autonomically just like let go and so that you don't have to think so, so much about it. Um, how does this affect, how do people that are experiencing, let's call it grief or trauma or any emotional. Um, and the reason I'm asking this is because I've had experiences where I'm going through tons and tons of grief, and the thing I did that helped me the most was, uh, go to a sweat lodge and there was something about the, um, the dark, hot [00:17:00] sweat.

I don't know what it was, but it was the only place that I feel I felt like I could like let go and release. And I'm curious how. People with trauma or experiencing trauma or grief. Uh, how, how, how they experience the float because it's sensory deprivation and that's happening at the exact time when the senses are flooded with a massive shock to the nervous system.

How do you approach that with someone like that? Or is it even recommended to do a float if you're going through that? It's absolutely rec recommended, uh, for times of grief, mainly because really with grief, the way out is through. So if, if I have any kind of resistance to grief, if I just, you know, mask the grief, that's not gonna be sustainable.

That's gonna wind up getting, uh. Literally stuck because you know, in order to mask, you really have to hide your essential self. Like there's an inner [00:18:00] call to grieve and, um, you know, if, if, if I thwart that self-expression. Then it takes a lot of energy to do that. And that's not a sustainable pattern. You know, you see some cultures with grieving and I mean, they let it rip, you know?

And um, you know, a lot of times in our culture, um. That's, that's, that's, it's a little bit more, a little bit more repressed. And of course, I'm speaking kind of, you know, globally in our culture, you know, but I, I would encourage you, if, if you wanted to, you know, use the float tank as an environment to allow yourself to feel those feelings, it can be a very safe way for you, for you to just let, let.

Whatever wants to arise from your inner wisdom to let it arise naturally in the way out is through. Um, I like to think, and I, you know, I, I learned in [00:19:00] graduate school in somatic psychology, whi, which somatic meaning the body, so psychology of the mind, body in relationship to one another. We learned that, um, the ner the nervous system and like the subconscious is not going to, is not going to give you anything you can't handle, you know, so, so the way I like to think of it is, you know, go in with an open mind, with a curious mind, um, and.

And, and you know, you have some tools, the breath and staying present and, um, you know, what is likely to arise is likely going to be exactly what your inner wisdom is ready for you to experience. Hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, speaking of, of like nervous system and [00:20:00] downshifting into some of these more wholesome states of being, uh, is there, because the problem I always have is I will go get a massage, say, or maybe.

Maybe I'll go to a yoga class, or even with the float, you know, I, I come back home and I'm like, oh yeah, I remember, I remember that this is the way I want to be, wanna be more of this. And it re and it reminds me, but then I, the next day I'm just pulled right back out. That how do you hold on to these experiences when it seems, and it feels like.

Life just sucks you right back out. Gosh. That's the big question we all have. I, I, I, I'm, I'm asking you the hard ones, guys. I mean, ultimately, you know, integration. [00:21:00] Yeah, I think integration. I think, you know, it's, it's about, it's about building it into your life's habits. You know, for me. Getting a massage or going to a yoga class or floating in the flow take isn't just like kind of a one-off.

I'm gonna do this thing, it's gonna fix all my problems, and I'm gonna just be like enlightened. No, it's like, you know, part of my self-care routine. Um, and it's part of my preventative routine. So that's how I like to see these practices is like I'm es establishing like regular. Um, weekly, if I, you know, I, I probably get a massage every week.

Weekly habits of returning and like resetting, pushing the reset button. That's how we often talk about the float tank is like an opportunity for pushing the reset button or getting a massage, um, as a way to just continue to [00:22:00] remind my system. You know, and let that be the place that I rest in for as long as I can.

And, you know, I just have to keep, 'cause life just takes us, you know, life's a, there's a lot of, uh, stressful things going on out there that can suck us in really fast. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I wanna echo what you just said, Robin, of, uh, turning, turning these things into practices where. Um, where it could, it could be daily, it could be a 10 minute meditation practice.

It could be a mindful walk it, and, and, you know, it doesn't have to be something that breaks the bank or something that, you know, costs a lot of money. Um, you know, massage can get pricey for a lot of folks. Um, you know, so, so like, it could be very, very simple small ways. Like I'm a big fan of the Headspace meditation app, and this is just, I did it for five years.

I stopped for a couple years because I had a different form of, of daily [00:23:00] meditation, and now recently I just got back onto Headspace. It is just so brilliant and it's, it's so inexpensive and such a brilliant way to very quickly develop a daily guided, um, simple meditation practice that is evidence-based and can be really helpful for a lot of people.

I've heard you plug Headspace in your other podcast. So I actually went and downloaded it. I should probably just do it 'cause I think it, it's worth it. And I was a transcendental meditator, uh, tm, you know, back in when I was 20, 20 years old. And some of the most profound states of consciousness I've ever been in happened through meditation.

But it's been that long since I've been in, in any of those kinds of, uh, those kinds of spaces. So. Um, yeah, I guess, is it guided meditation or can you, like just what, what, what is it? Uh, what's it like? Yeah. It's not only guided, they do it for different, like, like you could, you could [00:24:00] do one for anxiety and he guides you through it and he gives you these.

These cute little videos, one minute videos for techniques and, and, and, and it's just so brilliantly done. It's the best system out there that I've, that I've been exposed to. The most important thing to go back to your question about, about how to keep it going is I integration, how do I integrate this experience into my life?

And like Robin said, the best way to integrate. One of these wellness experiences into, into your life is, is to continue on as, as a practice. So, um, you know, Headspace is just a great way to integrate. These things. You know, meditation is a loaded word for a lot of people, you know, and, and, and it's, for me, at least in the beginning, it was like, where the hell do I start?

Like I, I, you know, I see people sitting on the cushion for an hour straight. They're not moving a muscle. I can't do that for an hour. You just start really, really small, five minutes, you know? And if you just know a couple of [00:25:00] techniques, you know, little by little, by little by little, you start growing a practice.

And then really what you learn how to do is to regulate your own nervous system. Mm-hmm. Yeah, let's talk a little about that. 'cause I, I think what, what we're describing to me sounds like habit, habit formation in that, you know, we have, if you go to a personal trainer, they're gonna work with you on developing habits around eating healthy food and working out, and we are all very familiar with, with this.

What we're not so familiar with are the habits that go. Uh, and tackle this idea of what you just said. Nervous system regulation. And I think the reason is, is because they're much less tangible. We don't really quite connect, what am I gonna get out of meditating or doing a practice of grounded walking, uh, or, uh, forest bathing or something like that.

Right? So [00:26:00] the, the question I guess is what can somebody expect who really. Digs in and makes it a habit out of. Meditating or, uh, doing these practices, like how can their life change? What can they get out of it? Like what would you do to, what would you say to somebody to persuade them to give it a try?

Well, I mean, for me, you know, meditation, whether it's I'm sitting on the cushion or dancing or singing or getting a massage, you know, it's, it's the way it is like. The weight into my own internal experience. So into my body, into that like called the felt sense. Like what? What's happening on the inside, right?

So I think that's one of the keys is like finding what type of modality takes, you know, are you gonna show up for, are you gonna do, and then once you find that thing that you're gonna show up for. It's like [00:27:00] coming into that cur curious space of like, and that, um, willingness to just kind of what you said earlier about going into the float tank and how, what an intimate space that it was with yourself.

I mean, that's been my experience too, is just like being. Willing and curious to drop into an intimate space with yourself and just like, it's almost like for me in anyway, it's been kind of like falling in love with being in this body and what that means for me and, and what it means to be human in this body.

And so, I mean, that's coming in and then just being like open to developing that relationship is really what it's about for me. Yeah. I love that, Robin. And, um, I, I like to, I like to think of it like presence is love. So if I'm being present with myself, I'm showing myself love. Just like if I'm being present with my kid [00:28:00] or with my pet, or with you, Robin, then, then that's showing you love.

Yeah. And meditation is the ultimate in that. But there's so many different ways to do it. Like Robbie mentioned. I was talking, um, to, uh, a recent podcast guest and I was telling him how I had a, uh, conversation with my partner recently, and we were talking about noticing that our relationship patterns where, you know, sometimes when you're with someone long enough, you can often, uh, you're not talking to them like you did when you first met them.

Let's just say that. You, you drift away from, um, assuming positive intent a hundred percent of the time. You're maybe at 90 or 80 or, or sometimes, of course, worse. And, and what we came out of it, so we, so we, we do a relationship check in weekly. And what, what came out of it is I decided that I needed, what I wasn't doing was seeing her [00:29:00] like it was the first time.

Each day. So I've got this, this pattern of not seeing her as a, a new person. Well, the reason I'm bringing this up is because when you go into the float tank, when you go get a massage, let's say you've never done this, these, these practices before, it is as if you're meeting yourself. For the first time, you're seeing yourself new.

And so if you have like disparaging thoughts about yourself, and maybe they're ongoing and maybe you don't like yourself, part of the problem is, is that you're not seeing yourself new. You're seeing something that doesn't exist. It's in the past. It's not real, honestly. It's just not real. It may feel real, but you're not looking at yourself in the, in the most present.

Now, sense of that word is that. Am I making sense? Oh, absolutely. You know, I, I, I so agree. And you know, Corey and I have been married 20 years now. We, we have these conversations. Yeah. Uhhuh. It's really real, you know, it's like, how do you [00:30:00] just like, I. Um, show up anew every day with your partner or with yourself and, and open your heart to what's alive right now and right here in front of you.

So, yeah, I feel like, um, I just, I just have to name that gratitude, you know, is such an incredible way to get to that, get to that place of newness, um, moment to moment, day to day, and. You know, gratitude practice. Uh. I hear it all over the place now and it's all over the place for a reason. It works. It's amazing.

Just being grateful for whatever you see around you or what, whatever I have in my life in the moment. Gratitude for my breath. Gratitude for Robin in my life. Gratitude for our health, gratitude, uh, that we own our own business. Gratitude for our clients. I mean, just. [00:31:00] For the skills that I've accumulated, like it's just so, so much to be grateful for.

There's a million things that I can think of right now to be grateful for, and studies show, research shows that when, when, when I, when we orient towards gratitude or healthier, our immune functions, our immune markers are higher. Quality of life goes up. Uh, um, there's less cortisol, the stress hormone that gets released biochemically and more serotonin and oxytocin.

The love, the love hormone and gratitude practice is a thing like the yogis, the monks, um, the mystics, uh, the priests. The rabbis, like all of 'em. All of 'em. They knew this. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It's, yeah. This is like ancient knowledge that we've lost and scientific, right? Like you totally, I mean, it doesn't need to feel like spiritual, uh, woo stuff.

It's like this is really just, uh, evidence-based [00:32:00] science that says gratitude works. I think it's one of the best secrets in all of wellness is that, is that we can facilitate the release of biochemicals with our minds. Gratitude practice is a, is is a very clear and evident and quick way to do it. You sit here for 20 seconds and think of several things that you're grateful for, and you will release serotonin in your hippo, in, in your, uh, pituitary gland.

And your hypo, uh, what is it? The, um, hypothalamus gland or, yeah, hippocampus. Maybe it's hip. It's, I don't know, something hippo. Yeah. Two, three. Well, I forget. Anyway. It's all right. That's kept secret and wellness. Yeah. Yeah. The um. There, it reminds me of that author on Water, [00:33:00] Maro Emoto, I think his name was.

Yeah, you probably heard remember the, the work he did and, and still doing. I haven't followed him for years, but he, he produced a book and, and research on water crystals and showing how. Love and gratitude. And later they did this with experiments with rice. They would take rice and containers and one in one, they would wrap the words of love and gratitude on it.

And the other, other, they would say hateful things to it. But, um, they would show that the, the, the rice that was given love and gratitude was preserved for longer. It took longer for the bacteria to form there and in the water examples. It beautiful crystalline structures. The patterns were really very geometric and and such, and I think about that's what you are is water.

So if if it's true what he, what he is showing here, you literally can change the crystalline geometric structure of your, the matrix that you are, [00:34:00] which is water, which is pretty fricking powerful. I mean, I don't know if exercise can do that. I think what you're talking about is, um, I, I is affirmation, you know, affirmation, um, gets, gets a bad rap on Saturday Night Live.

You know, it's, it's easy to make fun of affirmation, but if anyone out there has, is listening and you've ever practiced affirmation, it is a very, very powerful practice and, and, and it can manifest and attract what you want to your life. You know, it's another one of those secrets, you know, that, that our thoughts and our words are so powerful that we could literally create the kind of experience that, that we wanna have with how we're using our thoughts and using our our words.

Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Powerful, uh, [00:35:00] powerful modality just in that alone. So, curious how you feel just overall about Asheville as a communist community. I mean, in my opinion, it's just a burgeoning place for healers and practitioners. To, to me it seems like we should be like nationally known for our, our, our healing 'cause I think per capita, we, we gotta have the, the highest number, number of healers here.

Yeah. I mean, I think Asheville has a long time history of, um, a. Attracting people for their own healing. You know, I think in the, uh, turn of the century, people came here in the mountains, you know, to heal their lungs. And, um, and we're, you know, we've been here in Asheville now for 17 years. Um, we know a lot I, because I teach massage, and, uh, because we've been in the, in the, in the business, we know a lot of.

[00:36:00] Amazing, uh, practitioners and, um, here in Asheville and we, our, our philosophy is the more, the better, right? Like mm-hmm. That everybody benefits. Um, rising tide carries all the boats. The more the merrier. Yeah. So we, I, I agree. I think Asheville, um, should be known for a place to come and, um mm-hmm. You know.

Taken nature and the fresh mountain air and received some great body work and with some great modalities happen, saunas and yeah, sa ca, the sa cave, the sauna house, uh, the Grove Park Spa. Gosh, gotta love that place. Yeah, right. Yeah. It's just so many wonderful wellness businesses and. And incredible yoga, incredible Asheville Community Yoga.

Robert and I have taught there. Um, I do a weekly class there. Um, you know, Asheville Yoga Center. I mean, these mountains are just rich [00:37:00] with healing modalities. Yeah, come on. All, all the folks from around the region, from the low lands, from the high lands, from the west coast to the north and the south. Come on.

Yeah, yeah. We got you. We got you. Uh, we got plenty of places. Uh, plenty of amazing people that are ready to do their work. And I've met so many people just in my experiences here, and it's probably why I started be Well Asheville and this podcast is because I was just like, man, there is just. This is just a, a place that is perfectly situated to bring it all together and then to put it out there so people can come and receive.

So, oh, drip. Also, we just went there for the first time. If you haven't been there yet, it's Yeah. Awesome outdoors. Killer views and coal plunge and sauna. Yeah. Drip sauna. Yeah, that's, they're gonna be on the podcast too, I think. Um, you've got 'em sort of talking to 'em now, but my experience there, you know, and that brings me to another point, which is, uh, this idea, I was [00:38:00] looking at this trends report and social wellness is like a big trend now, I guess, you know, people doing stuff together.

You go, go to drip sauna and you can go to like. You know, five or six people go into this nice little wood fired thing and you, you, you've got that plus the cold plunge after. Yeah. And then sometimes they're playing music and it's like, man, they've got it together. This is a pretty cool, uh, pretty cool thing going on.

Do you see any trends like that or any other wellness trends that are, that, that, that you have taken note of in 2025? Well, here's, here's something that should be a trend. So I'm an addictions counselor. Um, and, and that's the work that's kind of my way into the, into the counseling work through my licensure as a licensed clinical addiction specialist.

And I'll tell you, there are some recovery places where people will go and spend tens of thousands of dollars for these kind of, um, you know, to get, to get recovery. Asheville. [00:39:00] Is like, has so many resources that I feel like a wellness trend should be. Somebody comes to Asheville and they just design their own recovery place.

You know, they like get hooked up with a counselor and each day you can do a different modality. Each day you can go to a different place and, you know, do hikes and do all sorts of things and, um, you know, you know. 12 step groups and just all sorts of recovery related things. So if, you know, if anybody's having an issue with addiction, like come to the mountains, you know, let the mountains nurture you.

And there are so many options where, where, you know, if you can't afford like one of these private pay Betty Ford Clinic type kind of, um, you know, places where, where you know you have to spend a lot of money to get these services. You could piecemeal it together here in Asheville. Of course, if you need the level of care of an inpatient place, by [00:40:00] all means, you know?

You know? Yeah. Get yourself that kind of. Help and support, but there are a lot of people, you know, that are traveling for wellness where it's like, Hey, I need a break. Like I need a couple of weeks where, where I'm not going to Cancun and you know, doing tequila bopper, you know, or they hit you on the head of the house, you do Sprite and tequila like.

You know, a lot of people are, are traveling for wellness nowadays, and Asheville is just an incredible place to design your own wellness retreat where you have so many options to, to get really, really class A care and support. Yeah. Sounds like a good business model for somebody to implement. So if somebody's listening and wants to go do a business, that's a good one.

That's a good one. I like it. Ask the wellness tours is doing something similar, you know? Um, yeah, yeah, yeah. Nicole a great job. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's, she loved the, the way that they curate those kinds of experiences. Uh, they, [00:41:00] um, yeah, I've, I've been seeing a lot more of these practitioner collaborations where they come together to create an experience that in of themselves they couldn't do.

So if you're a massage therapist, they pair you with maybe, maybe you get a massage, but then there's somebody who makes herbal tea, herbal teas that are the best herbal teas, you know? And after that, you. Do, I don't know. You jump in the river or something, I dunno. Oh, totally. Yeah. Yeah. Um, all right, so let's move on with the last, last section.

Here is some rapid fire question favorites here. Daily self-regulation rituals that you each rely on. What are they? Oh, I'm gonna go relationship with this one. There. There are times and I, I did it twice in the last 12 hours with Robin. We just looked at each other. We've had a little, a little kind of, kind of back and forth and we're just like, Hey, let's just hug it out.

Let's just hug it out. Come on, let's just let it go. Take a few breaths. Hold on. It can't be [00:42:00] that easy, man. No, I'm telling you. If you set it up in advance and be like, Hey, you know, when it gets past a certain level, let's just press pause in the conflict. Let's just give hugs and just breathe. Just breathe together for a few seconds and you know, co-regulate one another.

You know, that's, that's one of the best things to a, a healthy, sustainable relationship is this concept of co-regulation where, you know, we can help one another to regulate, keeps the relationship really strong. Yeah. Yeah. You got one Robin. Nice. I've been, I've been putting some puzzles together with my daughters.

That's my puzzles. Puzzling. That works. Puzzling. Yeah, it works. I like it. It's very meditative. Absolutely. I haven't done a puzzle for a really long time. I lo I love puzzles. Yeah. Uh, you can spend, like, you know, you sit down for 10 minutes and four hours later, like what that is. Where's the time go. It's not a bad way to, yeah.

Alright. All [00:43:00] right. How about a book that changed the way you think about healing or nervous system, embodiment, um, somatic, any of any of the topics that you guys are interested in? Ooh, so my go-to for a really long time, um, was the Untethered Soul. Um, oh gosh, what's his last name? Michael Singer. Yeah. And, uh, he wrote an autobiography, uh, called The Surrender Experiment.

So those two books in tandem are, are, were a game, were game changers for me. Awesome. I'll put those in the show notes. I dove, I dove right into his, his whole system. This guy is awesome. Yeah, I did everything with him for a while. Okay. I'll be looking, I'll be looking it up. Oh, yeah. Robin, how about you? Uh, that's a hard one for me.

I mean, you know, I just, how about person? Uh, it doesn't have to be a book person. Okay. Uh, [00:44:00] source of information, anything like that. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, I, I studied with Peter Levine and I, uh, met him, did his three year training. Really beautiful work. Profound. Simple yet. Um, very sophisticated, uh, trauma resolution.

Yeah. Somatic experiencing is the modality. And he's written tons of books. Yeah, I've heard that name before. So that sounds like a, a well, well liked guy. All right. Uh, last one here. Favorite off the radar place in Asheville to de-stress besides. Still point Wellness? Well, our newest favorite, I don't know.

We went to drip sauna a couple times last week. It was love. Shout out to Drip. All right. All right. Loved it. And I hear that there's this place in, um, in Old Fort. That has a river [00:45:00] spot, a bike park where you could rent, rent bikes. There's a brewery, they have live music. I'm not sure the name of it. I haven't been yet, but I'm dying to go.

Huh, me too. Let's go together, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There. Yeah. Cool. Awesome. All right, well, uh, awesome. Thanks guys. Uh, so yeah, how can, um, listeners experience, uh, stow Point for themselves? I know you're, we talked about a potential offering for somebody to get a, a little bit of a discount maybe. Absolutely.

Well, we would. Love and welcome anyone to come experience our services over in East Asheville at, um, stow Point Wellness. And we're happy to extend a 20% discount on your first flotation session, um, or sauna. We also have a far infrared sauna and so we'd love to extend that to your. You know, listeners and, um, yeah, and we, and we also have workshops.

We also lots of [00:46:00] classes and workshops as well. So, yeah. Wonderful. Thank you, uh, um, awesome talk today and really appreciate both of your time. Mm-hmm. Uh, wonderful, wonderful spending time with both of you. The hypothalamus and pituitary glands are the glands. Those, yes, that secrete the biochemicals. That basically are our, our emotions, dude.

Right, right at the end. Right. You saved yourself just at the end and listeners can't see, but I can see he didn't even look that up. That came to him out of his own brain. So good for you. Isn't that the HPA axis or something like that? Isn't there like an axis of some type? Sounds right. Sounds good. Let, let's just say yes.

Sounds good. That's it. You nailed it all. Thank you much, Charles. It was so nice to hang out with you. Yeah, thank you much appreciate both of you. We'll talk soon. All right, byebye. Thanks Travis. Bye.

To [00:47:00] explore flotation therapy, ESN massage, or still point's full list of offerings. Visit still point well.com or call 8 2 8 3 4 8 5 3 7 2 and make sure you take advantage of your 20% off your first float or sauna session.

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