You have to be a Boomer or older to remember the days when “drip” was a pejorative term meaning someone you wouldn’t want to be seen with, because they were so mind-numbingly dull and uncool. Ask a Gen Zer and you’ll learn that it now signifies the opposite. “Drip” in contemporary parlance means personal style, fashion sense, swag, bling; a “drippy” person is sought-after and admired, rather than ostracized.
But there’s another way that the term “drip” is trending: Intravenous infusions of concentrated nutrients, served up at boutique wellness clinics, are all the rage. And now you can get them, seated in a comfy recliner in a cozy lounge with a serene view of the Saw Kill, at the yoga studio/smoothie bar/IV lounge known as Woodstock Infusions. “Move, sweat, nourish, hydrate” is the mantra here.
When co-owners Marc Baumslag and Kim Rice, RN, AGPCNP-BC, first came up with the idea of starting such a facility in Woodstock, revitalizing people by sticking needles in them wasn’t at the top of their priority list. They were spending some downtime in the province of Guanacaste in Costa Rica, one of the world’s rare Blue Zones: places with an unusually high concentration of long-lived inhabitants. What they envisioned was simply a haven closer to home where folks who were into wellness could do hot yoga and then rehydrate with a cool smoothie.
Baumslag is a Manhattan native who’d burned out after an intense decade of tech management for the financial industry. “The way I stayed sane during my corporate career was with yoga,” he says, and Costa Rica became his preferred escape zone. “There’s a lot of yoga going on there. Whenever you come out of a yoga class, there’s a smoothie bar. And the smoothies are amazing there, because everything is fresh.”
And so it came to pass that the first thing one sees upon entering Woodstock Infusions is a little café where the blended concoctions on offer are described as not only organic, but “intentional.” Each one is designed to support the particular health and vitality goals that patrons might be pursuing through yoga, mat Pilates or IV treatments. Currently on the smoothies menu are Cacao Berry Immunity, Strawberry Banana Gut Harmony, Minty Berry Radiant Glow, Ommm, Matcha Mango Detox, Blackberry Maca Passion Fusion and Lean Green Vitality. Also available at the bar are fresh juices, lattes with superfood add-ons, herbal teas, organic coffee and ceremonial cacao blends.
A particularly popular draw, according to manager Tania Cawthron, is the super-healthy Brazilian snack food açaí na tigela, which comes in two flavors: berry and banana. “We’re the only place in Woodstock for açaí bowls,” she says. “The smoothie bar is open to the public outside classes. We have outdoor seating beside the millstream and out front. It has become a community hub with people coming in, making friends.”
Right next to the café area is the hot yoga studio that is Baumslag’s pride and joy, hosting three to four classes of up to 12 students each day. “We offer a balance between fitness, yoga and Pilates,” he explains. The space, about 300 square feet, has a radiant floor and ten overhead infrared panels that together generate “more heat than what is required to melt gold.” Hot Vinyāsa flow yoga classes are conducted at 105 degrees Fahrenheit ambient temperature, warm Pilates classes somewhat lower. But humidity is kept under control and CO2 constantly removed from the air in the room via a sophisticated double-filtered rooftop heat-exchange ventilation system that draws fresh air in from above the creek, making the space fresh and friendly enough for breathwork classes.
“The air never gets stale in here,” notes Rice. “There are negative ions coming in off the water, and the Himalayan salt wall is pushing out negative ions as well.” She cites a study done of lung health in miners, which revealed that the only group who not only did not suffer adverse effects, but actually had “improved lung function,” were those who mined Himalayan salt. The wall of salt bricks is softly illuminated from behind, in a range of colors that can be adjusted with a dial to create the desired ambience.
It was Rice’s medical background that brought IV therapy into the mix at Woodstock Infusions, in which she’s assisted by another RN, Anna Schlosser. A Woodstock native, Rice spent many years as an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner — Board Certified, until the 2020 pandemic convinced her to tread a more preventive path. “I was at the bedside doing geriatric care my entire career,” she says. “I always loved my job, working with people with chronic illness. But then I was on the frontline of Covid. Before that I always thought I could help my patients, but then there was no helping — just a lot of dying. I couldn’t even help them have a good death. It was heartbreaking for me.”
In brainstorming a plan with her partner Baumslag to create a place that emphasized wellness, Rice remembered an experience with “a flu that I couldn’t shake… If you come into the ER with flu, the first thing they do is give you a bag of fluid. You’re probably dehydrated, and it’s super-helpful in recovery.” So, to in an effort to detox herself, “I took a sauna, and then I had one of these drips. Within six to 12 hours later I was free of fever, had more energy and felt that I was on the mend.”
While IV therapy in a wellness context isn’t meant to be a substitute for needed allopathic medicine, Rice sees it as a way to stave off bigger health problems in old age. “My idea was to help people get really enthusiastic about feeling good. Sometimes you don’t know you’re feeling bad until you’re feeling better. If you start sooner, it may take longer until you see me at your bedside in the nursing home.”
So, what’s the compelling advantage of sticking a needle in a vein over a less intrusive approach, such as diet changes or taking supplements? “There’s some level of ‘Why would I?’” Rice admits. “But our food is overprocessed and undernutritious, and a lot of people don’t have good gut health, so what we’re getting from our food we’re not absorbing.” With IV therapy, the nutrients go to work immediately. At a facility such as Woodstock Infusions, patrons have a choice of formulas that include varying combinations of “electrolytes, fluids, vitamins and minerals, essential amino acids and antioxidants,” targeted to evoke the desired health effects.
Some mixes, with names like Be Strong, Be Hydrated and Be Lean, are recommended for athletes, people wanting to lose weight or simply those attending yoga and fitness classes. Be Radiant is specifically intended to support healthy skin. Be Forever Young administers nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), which is showing promising results in slowing the cellular degeneration caused by aging (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9512238). Be Revitalized is Woodstock Infusions’ name for the grandaddy of all IV therapies: Myers’ Cocktail, a micronutrient mix first developed in the 1960s, when it became trendy among Hollywood celebrities as a hangover cure.
In fact, lifestyles where hangovers, late nights and intense work schedules are occupational hazards are among the reasons why people come seeking IV infusions, Rice says, recalling one patron who works a second job as a deejay. Detoxing, migraines, bouncing back after the cleansing and general anesthesia required for a colonoscopy, chronic Lyme disease, chemotherapy, certain autoimmune diseases that cause intense fatigue, pain or brain fog — all are issues that IV therapy has helped address in her practice. “I had one woman who came in with food poisoning, and she literally danced coming out of here.” She particularly recommends Myers’ Cocktail “before going on an airplane. It helps stave off jet lag, provides hydration and boosts immunity.”
Woodstock Infusions has plans for expansion of its services to the broader community in the year to come, including creating an outdoor spa with a cold plunge pool in the rear of the building beside the stream, and possibly adding a massage room. Day retreats are a growing part of the business. The facility can be booked for groups; it’s a popular choice for bachelorette parties. There will be more special events as the weather warms.
In June, an eight-month yoga teacher training program will get underway, including a one-weekend-a-month practicum in the studio, at-home study and weekly Zoom calls, culminating in their first-ever retreat at Baumslag and Rice’s compound in Guanacaste in January 2026. “We’re bringing it back full circle to where we got the inspiration,” says Rice. “You always feel so well in Costa Rica, in the Blue Zone.” Novices to yoga are welcome to enroll in the teacher program.
Woodstock Infusions is located at 104 Mill Hill Road, in the building that used to house the R & R Tap Room, directly across the street from the Woodstock Playhouse. The smoothie bar is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Studio offers classes seven days a week; to see the schedule, visit https://woodstockinfusions.studiogrowth.com/schedule? The IV Therapy Lounge is open seven days a week by appointment. Walk-ins can often be accommodated. For inquiries, call (845) 684-5257 or e-mail support@woodstockinfusions.com.
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