WELLNESS TOURISM

Hello Reader, welcome back. Action Work it out while working out Certain life chapters, seasons or even ordinary days can bring out feelings of overwhelm. Sunday evenings can be particularly challenging. We finally had a moment to disconnect from routine and forget time altogether. Still in weekend bliss, someone mentions tomorrow and there it is: the reality of Monday hitting us with force. The stomach drops. The mind starts racing. As the week towers ahead, we think: Oh no, here we go...

Hello Reader, welcome back. Wanderlust Tourizzzm Some of travel used to be for stimulation. Novelty. Entertainment. More. But a lot has changed. Modern life is already accelerated through a novelty spiral. Man-made environments are designed to stimulate us, conditions that are intended to distract and draw us away from ourselves. The devices we carry around also compete for our attention. With the average attention span per social media post at 8 seconds, content is aimed at hooking us in...

Hello Reader, welcome back. Meaning Special occasions on The Riviera Birthdays come and go, but certain milestones warrant more significant celebrations. Career accomplishments can fly under the radar but achieving meaningful goals merits reward. Similarly, a wedding anniversary may be acknowledged privately, but being in love is worth celebrating daily. Life’s special occasions; honeymoons, retirement, friends’ reunions and spontaneous vacations, all draw global visitors to The Riviera, a...

Hello Reader, welcome back. Integration A taste memory from Sicily Some dishes transport us more than others. From the moment we savour them, they become a part of us. A taste that goes beyond presentation, eating and aftertaste, it returns back home with us. Travelling through time and place, years go by, decades even, and somehow certain flavours can still be recalled. Sitting at the tip of the tongue, yet packed with ambiance, they’re much harder to describe. Out of the blue, while...

Hello Reader, welcome back. Integration Sleep Peaceful stillness. A light flickering between the lashes. A muffled sound. Slowly opening the eyes while breathing deepens. Giving the body a full stretch. An inhale, held, then let out and turned into a smile. That feeling of waking up from a truly refreshing sleep never ceases to amaze. Light limbs, a calm mind, eyes rested. Nothing can come between you and your day, presence is easy. We spend roughly a third of our lives asleep. How we do...

Hello Reader, welcome back. Meaning Healing Horizons Watching the ocean play never gets old. Open water meeting spacious air where clouds are constantly shapeshifting, scattering light. Sky colours mirrored in the water. The temperature and smell of sea breeze. The wind scribbles messages on the surface, currents below respond by shaping waves. Watching slow, billowing swells rising and falling, like deep belly breathing. Undulating movement. Rolling of waves. Repetitively flowing, yet never...

Hello Reader, welcome back. Equanimity Forest bathing Continuing on the theme of Stress Awareness Month. In last week's A path away from stress, we explored how stress sneaks in, how it stores in the body, the science, health statistics, plus various perspectives and tools for living with it more mindfully. This week, we’ll look closer at one scientifically proven way of processing stress: Shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing”. This is not another wellness trend, but rather a term that was coined...

Hello Reader, welcome back. Equanimity A path away from stress At the start of spring, a feeling that time is passing quickly often arises. This year, the seasonal celebrations arrived early. With them already behind us, combined with daily demands and the weight of global news, the sense of constantly playing catch up, mounting worry and stress has only intensified. April's Stress Awareness Month feels like the right moment to look at this: how stress sneaks in, what it does to us, and where...

Hello Reader, welcome back. Wanderlust Onsen, a Japanese wellness ritual Lanterns cast a dim light over neatly trimmed garden plants and shrubs. A ginkgo tree sifts sunlight through its foliage. Elegant maple trees with red leaves, both vibrant and delicate. A moist, green slope of ground-hugging moss. Spring water trickling down a stack of rocks, moving slowly, stone over stone into stone; a discreet soundscape so constant it begins to sound like silence. Water. Undercurrents stirring,...

Hello Reader, welcome back. Action Inside the era of Runcations In cities across the world, pavements and park trails have long been filling before sunrise. In the half-light, hundreds gather stretching against railings, adjusting wearables, checking stats from the days before. Running, a commonplace global phenomenon that mobilises millions every year. During the pandemic this simple movement practice became one of the few remaining freedoms. The Runkeeper app recorded a 667% rise in UK...