From crystal therapy to healing spices, the wellness trends once considered too alternative for the general public now look set to become the must-try treatments of 2018.
That’s according to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), an esteemed Miami-based body whose mission is to empower wellness worldwide by educating the public and private sectors about preventative health and wellbeing. ‘Much of that expansion is happening in what were once regarded as alternative therapies,’ says the GWI’s director of research and PR, Beth McGroarty. ‘The more kooky or whacky the treatment, the bigger it is.’
A torrent of holistic health specialties will take the limelight, according to Jess Barron, general manager of leading US diet, nutrition and fitness website Livestrong. ‘Infrared sauna, acupuncture, Reiki massage, meditation and cryotherapy are becoming hugely mainstream and thought of less so as woo-woo,’ she says.
Jess also predicts that energy healing will be big: ‘In addition to crystals and sage smudging, we’ve seen aura reading and energy healing such as Reiki becoming more and more mainstream. A massage therapist in San Francisco recently used a tuning fork on my head and neck to get my energy back into proper vibration!’
Crystal cut
The New York Times christened 2017 the year of ‘the great crystal boom’ with all things lunar related, solar powered and crystal coated having a galactic moment. The famed publication predicts this trend will continue to shine through 2018.
‘How did crystals go from a New Age curiosity to ubiquitous accessory in the luxury wellness world?’ asked The New York Times. ‘They are extolled as beneficial to physical and emotional healing. Crystals, it seems, appeal to those who seek calm in a chaotic world: a counterbalance to the anxiety induced by nonstop news and feelings of Instagram FOMO.’
From Adele to Victoria Beckham, celebrities have been embracing the pleasing aesthetic and suspect healing properties of precious gems and stones, including Crystal Light Bed Therapy, which involves lying on a massage table beneath seven glowing rainbow coloured Vogel-cut quartz crystals (one for each chakra).
Infrared saunas
The oldest known sauna is a pit of stones in Finland, but over the past two millennia this ancient tradition has undergone multiple facelifts. The latest incarnation is the infrared sauna, which uses infrared light waves to create heat in the body instead of the air. This new wave of light therapy is said to help you detox, lose weight, boost the immune system, lower stress levels and improve sleeping patterns.
Vinotherapy
‘The old model of excess – the party mentality – is not as affordable for people anymore,’ says Beth McGroarty, citing a new, health-conscious breed of millennial traveller as a changing force within the wellness industry. They are more likely to be found indulging in wine-based skin therapies –vinotherapy – than imbibing the gorgeous grapes.
Vinotherapy describes a treatment where the residue of wine-making (pips and pulp) are rubbed into the skin. The pulp is said to have excellent exfoliating qualities and to help reduce the problems associated with ageing.
Salt therapy
A natural modality that has been practised since the 18th century, salt therapy involves inhaling dry salt, which can help cleanse both the airways and skin to relieve congestion, inflammation and dermal irritations. A client sits in a salt ‘cave’, where a halogenerator grinds pharmaceutical grade salt into minute particles that become airborne when dispersed into the room. The particles are then inhaled deep into the lungs.
