Dallas is home to one of the few Exhale Spa facilities. Located in the bottom of the Palomar Hotel at US-75 and Mockingbird Lane. (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

The weekend is over and it is time to get back to reality.

You have a paper, two tests and two quizzes this week.

You started studying last week, but are nowhere near where you need to be in order to complete it all without feeling rushed.

Where did the time go?  And how in the world are you going to get everything done?

Most people feel some form of daily pressure or stress.

It is very popular among college students who are out on their own for the first time.

Susie Farnick, Exhale Spa’s Manager of Guest Experience, believes that stress is a part of everyone’s life and that the way you handle your stress daily determines the future state of your health.

“The leading causes of stress for the majority of folks are: finances, academic and or workplace pressures, health concerns, personal relationships and daily annoyances,” Farnick said.

Any of those issues combined with a lack of sleep can place a great weight of stress on anyone’s shoulders. 

For Farnick, the passing of her mother left her emotionally drained. She began to take yoga classes as a way to relax.

“I could just show up and breathe,” Farnick said.

Three years ago she and her husband moved to Dallas and immediately Farnick began asking people if they knew where she could find the best yoga community.

One friend mentioned Exhale Spa, and Farnick has been there ever since. She began as a student, moved up to a teacher and is now the manager of the spa.

There are only 18 Exhale Spa’s in the world, spread throughout seven different states and one in Turks and Caicos. One of those spas is located right here in Dallas.

Farnick says that Exhale Spa is a new breed of spa where the paths of mind and body wellbeing merge.

“Exhale was a vision that became reality when we realized there was a need to bring high-quality, transformational mind body programming into the spa setting; creating a destination spa experience that could be part of everyday life,” Farnick said.

It is here that Farnick has found a way to help others deal with their own stress. She believes that exercise and meditation are two of the most important elements to help combat stress.

The spa offers a series of classes that combine exercise and meditation called Core Fusion.

Core Fusion integrates the disciplines of core conditioning, Pilates, the Lotte Berk Method and yoga.

“It allows you to work from the inside out, consistently delivering results,” Farnick said.

Students can come in and take an hour out of their day to focus on being present in their lives.

The class begins with several stretches and then works all of the muscles in your body by combining several strengthening movements.

Adria Alcazar, a Core Fusion teacher, believes that the Core Fusion classes offer more than stress relief and physical changes.

“So much of it is a confidence thing,” Alcazar said.

She watches students leave her class with more poise and composure than anything else.

One of Alcazar’s students, Pamela Flanagan, began taking Core Fusion classes two years ago and says she has been going back ever since.

“I absolutely love it. I recommend it to everyone, guys and girls,” Flanagan said.

The spa also offers several other classes and methods to help reduce stress and increase wellbeing, including yoga, acupuncture and various spa treatments.

Farnick believes that too many people go through their day concerned with what is going to happen in the future; people forget to live in the present. Farnick also says that it is important to watch your diet and eat whole foods.

Replace your processed snacks with nuts, with fruits and hydrate, she said.

For more information on how to improve your wellbeing and the classes and spa therapies located at Exhale Spa visit their website at www.exhalespa.com.