These are the wellness trends we'll all be obsessed with in 2019 (including edible insects and brain-boosting magic mushrooms)
Wellness has become a £500bn-plus global industry and is set to grow to £632bn by 2021, according to Euromonitor International. Woah.
From brain boosting nutrition, eco-keto eating and fat fasting to immersive fitness classes in the home, reiki energy facials and child gyms, the world of wellness shows no signs of stopping when it comes to new innovations that aim to boost consumer health and wellbeing.
While you might just be getting up to speed with yoga, meditation and green juices, you're lightyears away from the folk in LA, who are already embracing the hottest wellness trends across the pond.
And so as we all default into 'new year, new me' mode, why not consider some of these promising and intriguing ways to achieve optimum wellness?
Bünda classes
Angelenos are going crazy for this new workout, which focuses on lifting, toning and perfecting your butt (‘bünda’ is Portuguese slang for bum). The class is split into two halves, mixing stints on the Stairmaster (kind of old school but it definitely works – the cardio workout you get is intense while still being low impact on your joints) and the Bünda Station, which is fitted with bands and bungee cords to enhance your squats, bridges and lunges and target every muscle in your bum. The studio on West Hollywood’s trendy West 3rd Street also offers arm and abs workouts and special Glutecamps on the weekends.
Moon Juice’s Holy Yoni
Moon Juice is famous for its adaptogen blends and plant proteins, like their Brain Dust and Sex Dust herbal supplements, designed to enhance your mental and, er, bedroom stamina. But now the brand has a new product flying off the shelves – Holy Yoni, their specially blended yoni oil. And just in case you’re not fluent in Sanskrit, ‘yoni’ is the ancient Indian word for vagina. Yes, that’s right – this oil is specifically designed for your nether regions. A blend of schisandra berry extract, Bulgarian rose oil, vitamin E and sweet almond oil, it improves skin elasticity and gives everything down there a pleasant, arousing scent.
Energy healing treatments
Energy healing treatments are one of LA’s most popular trends at the moment, focusing on clearing blocked energies through techniques including meditation and Reiki. The city is full of professional witches (yes, really) and spiritual gurus who offer these kinds of sessions, but Hollywood’s A-listers go to see Jeannette von Johnsbach at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills when they need their energy cleared, signing up for her unique BioMeditation treatment. The healing, hands-on therapy lasts between 80 to 110 minutes and incorporates mediation to take you into a dream-like state, ridding you of conscious and unconscious anxiety and clearing deep energetic blockages.
Thermage and Ultherapy
Non-invasive skin tightening treatments are becoming more and more popular in Hollywood thanks to the lack of downtime afterwards – you can visit your cosmetic doctor and be back on the red carpet the same day. The two biggest ones right now are Thermage (Gwyneth Paltrow swears by it) and Ultherapy, said to be used by Jennifer Aniston. Thermage targets loose skin by using focused radio frequency to strengthen collagen.
It’s great for sagging knees and necks, it’s painless and lasts for over a year. ‘It’s the perfect annual treatment to do on thighs, stomach and face to keep up with the patient’s normal beauty and fitness regime – they can even hit the gym immediately afterwards,’ explains Beverly Hills Cosmetic Dermatologist Dr Jason Emer, who specialises in body contouring and high-definition liposuction and offers both Thermage and Ultherapy at his practice. Ultherapy delivers high intensity ultrasound to lift, tighten and tone your skin, most commonly used to deliver a no-scalpel facelift. Full results are seen between 6 to 12 months and it can last for up to two years.
Marine Phytoplankton
Native Angelenos are no strangers to a green juice, but their latest supplement obsession is taking it a step further. Now health-conscious Hollywood types are adding spoonfuls of marine phytoplankton to their morning routine. In a nutshell, it’s a type of seaweed that has served as a vital food supply for marine life for billions of years – NASA called it the ‘most important plant in the world’, providing almost all of the earth’s oxygen. As a supplement it’s a potent super-food: just two grams (around half a teaspoon) provides your recommended daily intake of EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid, as well as a host of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
"It’s my go-to supplement," says Daniella Hunter, founder of The Real Coconut, who specialises in food dedicated to digestive health. ‘It’s a sustainable food with high nutritional value that’s gut friendly – that’s a powerful brew. And it’s actually surprisingly palatable when whisked into the right concoction – try it with lime juice, water and a touch of raw honey.’
MUSHROOM MAGIC
Magic mushrooms are set to shake off their dubious reputation, instead proving themselves as a vital source of health and emotional wellness. Take advanced supplement brand HANAH and their Cordyceps+, a powerful combination of wild, high-altitude Cordyceps sinensis, a rare Himalayan medicinal mushroom, with eight other herbs and minerals, designed to improve mental and physical performance and strengthen the immune system. Then there's Synthesis, a chic retreat in the Netherlands offering a three-day 'trip' with Psilocybin Mushroom Truffles to promote emotional wellbeing and inner clarity.
CLEAN SLEEPING
For the past few years, the focus has been on clean eating (whatever that means) but 2019 is the year of clean sleeping. World-renowned medical wellness clinic Lanserhof is leading the way with a new sleep programme, offering smart, temperature regulating beds, blue filter glasses to block any light disruption to our natural body clock, and advanced diagnostic tools. Alongside a healthy sleep regime, including regular bedtimes and less screen-time, we'll also start to see a shift in attitude towards sleep, away from being a pastime of the lazy and towards being a fundamental pillar of overall health.
EDIBLE INSECTS
The idea of eating creepy crawlies as an alternative, and more sustainable, source of protein has been knocking around for a few years now, but the practice hasn't been widely adopted. Until now, that is, as Sainsbury's just announced imminent plans to start stocking crunchy crickets in 250 of its stores nationwide. Crickets contain more protein than beef, chicken and pork, and also have all nine essential amino acids. They are high in fibre and vitamin B12, as well as being a great source of iron, calcium and Omega 3 and 6. While we might still be a bit grossed out by the idea, the edible insect industry is set to grow to £400m in the next few years, meaning it'll probably become our go-to wellness snack.
POSTURE CHECK
Our sedentary lives are catching up with us, with chronic pain, posture problems and joint abnormalities becoming more and more prolific. It's becoming increasingly clear that an aromatherapy massage isn't going to cut it and we need an entirely new approach sorting out musculoskeletal pain. Postural alignment therapy is the trailblazing way of thinking about our bodies as units, rather than isolated areas of injuries. Postural alignment therapist Ellie Burt is one of the few therapists trained in the UK and is able to get the body back to its functional, aligned state through gentle movements and exercises to get the whole body firing its kinetic chains.
MYSTICISM
We've seen hints of mysticism already with things like sound baths and crystal healing but mysticism is only becoming more mainstream offering spiritual support in the form of healing workshops and tarot card readings. While some are concerned that there's a risk of the trend defying age-old, sacred beliefs, others are excited for a new channel of self-exploration and improvement.
