WELLNESS TOURISM

Equanimity Some trips invigorate and inspire us for the year ahead. Others land us back home with what little was left in the tank before take-off. Maybe less. Sadly, the post-holiday hallelujah often has a shelf life. It rarely survives contact with the news cycle, new schedules and an overflowing inbox. Those first few back-to-back meetings can quickly irk us, leaving us drained and in need of another break. No matter how well rested or highly caffeinated, the fatigue of trying to bring our...

Equanimity Yesterday marked the end of summer. Today, September is here. Perhaps you landed back home ages ago, and your diary is smack full of commitments and to-dos. Maybe you are somewhere between here and there, still wearing the summer wardrobe or planning a mini getaway. Or you might still be on holiday but have started the countdown of final days before heading back. Wherever you land in that mix, summer's over, whether we're ready for it or not. Our own rhythms don’t always follow...

Equanimity With fins and mask strapped on tight, going snorkelling feels clumsy on land. As soon as you slip in, movement becomes fluid, the ocean holding you. Getting used to mouth-breathing and gliding across the water. Moving with the waves, swimming and floating, watching and breathing. You feel weightless, your body gets pulled forwards, back, sideways. Letting nature move you, take you travelling. You get transported into another world. The volume of the mind chatter goes down. The view...

Equanimity Envision reading your book on a sun lounger in Barbados, the Caribbean in every shade of blue beyond your bare feet. Going for a dip in the sea. Someone passing to kindly refill your glass. The sea breeze caressing your skin. Your eyes, drifting up to the blue sky, relaxing on the glittering water and horizon, then returning to your reading. Or imagine staying in a Moroccan seaside medina. You have just enjoyed hammam and a massage. Settling in with a book on the rooftop terrace,...

Equanimity 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 for a government health campaign in Japan...

Equanimity 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 balance might begin. The World Health Organization...

Equanimity We sometimes plan journeys elsewhere because where we are, some things feel slightly out of reach. A sense of lightness, perhaps. A shift in our perspective. A feeling of being more ourselves and at peace. Whether we name it or not, many of us travel with an intention and a quiet hope that something inside us might settle along the way. We book time away, mark it in calendars, and carry it ahead of us — as if a different setting might relax what has felt fixed. Travel feels like...