Anna-Christina Cabrales, General Manager and Wine Director, Morrell Wine Bar & Café, (New York, USA)

Years In Industry:
I am so glad to have switched careers 10 years ago from the Investor Relations field and into Hospitality. My path is fairly rare as I was lucky enough to find a work home at Morrell Wine Group in Rockefeller Center, early on in my journey. It has now been a little over 8 years that I have been with the organization.  
 
My Biggest Challenge To Wellness:
One of the pleasures of working for this company is the amazing support I receive from various levels. They truly encourage me to have a better work life balance as I am definitely guilty of working long hours simply because I truly enjoy what I do. As the General Manager and Wine Director, it always feels like there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done. My staff laughs at me as they know I'm probably working on 3 things at once. Because of this they have given me the nickname of "Mama" as I'm trying to take care of everything and everyone all the time. 
 
How I Keep It Together To Stay Well:
One of the things I enjoy is being active in social media and providing thoughtful and fun content. During this time of quarantine I started up a series of live Instagram chats, six nights a week, called #TalkingWithMyMouthFull that raises awareness of all the parts within the hospitality chain that has been affected by the pandemic. From restaurant owners, chefs, sommeliers, servers, etc, it is great to be in touch and express how people can help us in hospitality during this difficult time. For those who would like to view them please visit me on Instagram: @annachristina722 and usually I'll have several posts in my highlights or some active in my stories. 
 
When I'm looking for balance, I make sure to do two things that has helped me greatly. Reduce exposure to the number of monitors in front of me and to reduce monitor time in general. Second, I will isolate myself in a room, lock the door, turn off all monitors and electronics and just sit still for 30 minutes in silence and breathe deeply. Within that time I tune everything out and ask myself if I was good to myself at all that day. It's funny how our bodies know what it wants if we just take the time to listen to it. We just need to make the conscious effort to make that time. 
 
As for health hacks I am all about smoothies because I'm constantly on the go. Always include yogurt with probiotics, the entire lemon minus the seeds, turmeric plus any fruit you'd like. I usually add a ton of frozen blueberries. After a long work evening the night before that smoothie helps fix bloating and inflammation. 
 
You can connect with Anna on Instagram at @annachristina722.