Wellness involves integrating activities into one’s life to improve his or her physical, mental, and spiritual health. Two outstanding local services, Lotus Bloom Farm and Lake Anna Wellness Center, are dedicated to helping community members achieve their wellness goals.

The recently-opened Lotus Bloom Farm in Louisa is a wellness center focused on helping veterans, first responders, and teachers free of charge. The center primarily uses KORE therapy to help these public servants improve their lives.

“I come from a very large military family,” Felimond explained when elaborating further on why she selected to serve veterans, first responders, and teachers free of charge. “My late husband was a language teacher and was under an immense amount of stress (as most teachers are on a daily basis). He contracted meningococcal bacterial meningitis, and his immune function was so weak, he died within 24 hours the day after Christmas 2009.

“People underestimate the dangerous effects of chronic stress. It’s a silent killer as it weakens the immune system amongst many other chronic conditions. In my opinion, these groups of individuals who have chosen a career path to help and serve the community, they don’t do it for the money. And I feel we as a community have a responsibility to help take care of them.”

Thanks to Felimond, these community heroes have the opportunity to participate in wellness retreat days free of charge. On these retreat days, volunteers help assist these public servants in meditation, gentle exercise, breath work, forest bathing, and therapeutic healing treatments and experiences. They also receive a nutritious lunch and educational speeches.

Visitors to Lotus Bloom Farm are also greeted by Maple. “Maple is a therapy dog trained to put people at ease, and it has been discovered that dogs like Maple can help people with PTSD,” said Felimond. Guests are welcome to give her hugs, kisses, or even a treat.

However, since the conception of the wellness retreat, there have been issues with finding reliable support. Lotus Bloom Farm has received assistance from “Shelter Products” and the president of Hermitage Steel, Bryan McAdams, who helped build a ramp to provide accessibility to those with mobility challenges. Nonetheless, help is still needed for bigger projects such as converting a large building on the property into a studio that can host large groups for the free wellness retreat days.

Those who wish to help Lotus Bloom Farm with its mission can keep an eye on their Instagram, Facebook, and website for upcoming sign-up sheets with more details about opportunities to assist. These opportunities do not only involve working on renovations to the property. They also include assisting with wellness retreats where volunteers help with directions, assist people with mobility restrictions, serve food, check in new arrivals, and listen to people’s stories. Individuals can also donate financially to help Lotus Bloom Farm provide retreat days free of charge.

“So far, I have funded this project myself and work most weekends on getting the space ready to run the first retreat, but I need help!” Felimond explained. “Funds are running low, and there are projects I do not have the skill set to complete.” There are plans to expand Lotus Bloom Farm’s offerings in the future, including purchasing goats to be used for goat yoga. Also, Felimond would love to eventually offer a full range of healing modalities and get more KORE specialists trained. “There is a vast need for this type of treatment, and with more specialists, we could help more people,” she emphasized.

Lotus Bloom Farm isn’t the only organization offering wellness services around the Lake Anna area. Located in Mineral, Lake Anna Wellness Studio offers a variety of fitness classes to help community members improve their well-being. The studio, which held its grand opening Memorial Day weekend 2019, is currently celebrating its 5-year anniversary.

Originally, Lake Anna Wellness Studio, or LAWS, started its life as Lake Anna Pilates and Yoga. However, when the current owner, Beth Shenton, was offered the chance to purchase it from Shannon Sternberg, she jumped at the opportunity. “I had been practicing yoga for a while, and I really liked being in our studio space. It felt warm and supportive, and I wanted to build on that feeling and share it with our community,” she explained.

Lake Anna Wellness Studio offers a wide variety of classes, the most popular of which tend to be those that blend traditional yoga with Pilates and strength building. One such class is Stretch & Tone, which Shenton said was also her favorite class to teach. The studio also offers a free class to those who are new, which can be claimed on their website. The pass is good for most of their mat-based class offerings. For those who decide to join the studio after taking their free class, LAWS offers different types of memberships.

“Most of our clients choose a membership that works for their schedule,” said Shenton. “Some people like to take classes three, four, five or more times a week, so one of the Unlimited or All-Access memberships is a super value for them. The Mini Membership is great for someone who wants to come in for a class once a week to stay on track. We also offer individual class passes for people who would rather buy one class at a time. We want to make access to classes easy for everyone who wants to participate.”

Those who have attended classes at the studio have glowing reviews about the wellness center. “LAWS has provided a great place to exercise, reset mentally, make new friends, and maintain our fitness goals,” said Nancy Rieckmann, who joined LAWS alongside her husband in October 2019. “The variety of classes offered ensures there is something for everyone. And the instructors know us and our bodies well enough to ensure we are getting the most out of each class through modification and/or encouragement to take on new skills.”

While Shenton loves teaching, her favorite part about running LAWS is the people involved. “We have a wonderful community of clients who are members and regulars and have become friends,” she said. “We have an amazing team of teachers bringing their talent to classes every day. They are incredibly giving of their time to help others. We genuinely care about the wellness of our community, and we’re honored to be a part of their story.”

Laura Blake, a longtime member of LAWS who began taking classes when the center was Lake Anna Pilates and Yoga, also loves the community formed at the studio. “There are so many positive reasons I love LAWS,” she said. “First and foremost are the people. Such talented, informed, and caring instructors. They truly care for our wellbeing and helping us achieve our goals.”

However, classes are not the only thing Lake Anna Wellness Studio offers. “As we have grown,” said Shenton, “we have been able to offer a wide variety of experiences much broader than attending a class to support mind, body, and spirit.” LAWS now offers a boutique. The boutique features items such as LAWS-branded logo tanks, tees, hoodies, and art by local artists. They also offer workshops on topics members are interested in, local day retreats, and away retreats. “We are always looking for ways to add new classes and experiences for our community,” Shenton explained. “Those decisions are made based on the needs and interests of our members.”