Our wellbeing content partner, Wellbeing Escapes share what's trending in the world of wellness...
1. Gut Health
Conventional medicine is now recognising that gut health is integral to our overall health and is strongly linked to our levels of immunity – studies suggest that 90% of all disease can be traced back to the gut and microbiome health. Interesting, as ancient healing systems such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) have believed this for thousands of years. A health retreat where you can follow an Ayurvedic programme or include TCM will address improving digestion and some medical retreats are now focusing on gut health. Lifestyle factors such as stress and lack of physical activity can contribute to an unhealthy microbiome so the integrated experience at a health retreat will lead to stronger gut health.
2. Cognitive Health
Policy makers and public health bodies have finally recognised mental health as a serious public issue and many corporations are also investing in protecting the mental health of their staff. There is far less “shame” around anxiety or depression but the NHS is still prescribing record numbers of antidepressants and there is a serious lack of alternative therapies to help deal with issues. Unsurprisingly, health resorts are leading the way and many are including cognitive therapies such as NLP, coaching and mindfulness in their programmes plus group meditation or mindfulness classes as part of the weekly schedule. Some retreats have even introduced special programmes around enhancing cognitive functions for those who want to boost their brain power and productivity.
3. Emotional Healing
It is now recognised by the medical profession that there is a definite connection between one’s emotions and physical health. Trauma from relationship break-ups, bereavement redundancy, business failures etc can cause hormonal imbalances, major diseases and mental illness if not healed. Our clients are recognising the need to go on a wellbeing retreat where they will be nurtured, cared for and given specialist coaching or taught techniques such as meditation or CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) that will help them get through troubling times and also limit the damage to the body.
4. Tailor-made fitness
There are a growing number of people who want to get fit without having to go through boot camps. The need for a personalised and sustainable approach to fitness is therefore replacing the brutal ‘onesize-fits-all’ approach that many boot camps provide. This is an intelligent approach to fitness that addresses people’s lifestyles and preferences, and health retreats that offer a large variety of classes and specialist one-to-one fitness training from different options are gaining in popularity. This way, individuals can custom-make their own fitness holiday to suit exactly what they prefer to do.
5. Rest and digital detox
As the wellness industry has developed, it has brought a huge amount of information and choices to people, many of whom previously wanted to try the latest high-tech treatment or go to the latest hot spot. Many of these ‘A type’ high-achieving individuals are going back to basics and realising that what would benefit them most is pure relaxation and disconnecting from the technology that overpowers their lives. They want to go somewhere beautiful where they can benefit from deeply therapeutic treatments, nourishing food, plenty of sleep and little, if zero, access to their digital devices.
