The Positivity Charge Gives a Second Wellness Day Go at Philadelphia Ethical Society

Story by Cassie Hepler, Photos by ArtofRayy

The Positivity Charge is a health and wellness day retreat that focuses on 3 main areas of your health: build, fuel and body, aiming to make a well rounded, better version of you. The second one day wellness retreat, this time held at the Philadelphia Ethical Society on a warm Saturday in March.

Organizers Dr. Rubina Tahir and Parisha Smith are leaders in the wellness industry, known for creative strategies that assist communities in achieving and sustaining long term health goals. Smith and Tahir are climbing the fitness ladder together with knowledge, creativity and experience that was not only informative, but also interactive.

I arrived half awake and confused as to where this building was located (why did I keep thinking the address said Chestnut Street and not Rittenhouse Square?!?) I made it just in time as registration was closing and they were shutting the doors to the main stage area. I ran straight for the coffee (my second that morning, Saturday mornings are rough after out dancing at a gala the previous night) and people were giving handing me a towel and water, courtesy of Under Amour. The place was packed like sardines – 120 people to be exact – all crammed into the one room including volunteers and onlookers straggling in the back.

You might know her from HipHopAbs, Shakeology, Britney Spears, INSANITY, Focus T25 and CIZE! CIZE Format Expert. Elite Beachbody Coach. Tania did a hybrid workout of Insanity LIVE and CIZE live. I almost got kicked in the face when we went down for some walking planks, which was not pleasant. However, the workout itself was sweaty and I was good and sore the next day. Perhaps the style of pausing between “routines” was good for some, but I like to just blaze through my workouts whether they are hard or not. It was hard to see what she was doing from the back as the place was packed many people deep. It was nice to see a mix of colors and faces in the crowd for once.

After we worked out for about an hour, everyone was wrangled upstairs to get some snacks and hear some motivational speakers while we poked through our swag bags, enjoyed Mom Pops and green and beet juice from The Juice Merchant (as well as some soggy granola on watery yogurt which we assumed they set out early that morning).

Dr. Jennifer Caudle joined the retreat straight from filming in NYC that morning at the crack of dawn. She is a regular on-air health expert for local and national news networks. She has appeared on CNN, The Dr. Oz Show, FOX News, CBS Philly 3 News, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, PBS and many others. She said she was preaching to the choir as everyone was very health conscious.

At the surprising age of 42, Tania’s focus was how to live a positive life, and how to overcome tough times by seeing them as lessons and using exercise to pull yourself out of funks. Her heart wrenching story about losing yet another baby only 6 months ago resonated with the crowd and her strength to tell it to us was admirable. This lady is one tough cookie and deserves all the success and happiness in the world!

I left shortly after Tania talked after lunch as I was cold, sweaty and it was a rare, warm Spring day outside that I needed to further enjoy. What it did was get me moving in the right direction as later that day I payed it forward to a random lady at a checkout line and it made her day. Let’s hope she did the same!

The workshops I did not attend included Option 1: BUILD: Vision board creation, led by Anita Oh, CBS correspondent and founder of OH-Anita a travel and lifestyle blog. All supplies are included. Option 2: FUEL: Get ready for The Kitchen Cleanse led by Jessica the founder of Eat Your Way to Wellness. Jessica will also do a small cooking demo with samples! Option 3: BODY: Mediation Class and tips for self care led by Tia Johnson, an attuned Reiki practitioner and Amazon best selling author! Get ready to remove body blocks. Vendors set up tables later on below for attendees to browse their wares as well.

Perhaps some more class options throughout the morning would be ideal as they did at Self and Shape magazine events I have attending in the Hamptons and NYC. But first they need more space. There’s a good thing going on here and if they can make it an all weekend affair and pay by day, Philly might be able to take a bite out of the Big Apple after all. Good luck gang and keep on growing and flowing!