A Balancing Act

In pursuit of a sound mind and an active, resilient body, should we be turning towards technology for the answers or away from it? Renyi Lim weighs 2020’s most exciting high- and low-tech wellness trends.

AT THE TURN of the decade, one thing is clear: we are ruled by technology more so than before. As onerous as this might sound – for it’s been held responsible for a range of maladies such as eye strain, musculoskeletal complaints and sleep disruption – new technological developments play a large part in propelling the wellness industry forward.

Virtual Reality to Shape Your Reality

The concept of using technology to induce relaxation might sound contradictory, but high-end spas in the UK, including Dormy House and The Savoy, have embraced The Mindful Touch, a virtual reality spa experience by Spanish skincare brand Natura Bissé. Positing itself as ‘an industry gamechanger’, The Mindful Touch incorporates a VR headset as part of a spa treatment (be it a massage or facial), where guests will watch a virtual reality video and listen to an audio narrative. It’s a fully immersive experience that invites the wearer to focus on his breath and the sensations in his body, accompanied by shifting, soothing visuals that quieten any nagging thoughts of his own.

Listen To Your Body

But technology has far more healing potential than simply serving as a distraction. In skilled hands, such as those of neuroscientists and mind-body expert Dr. Claudia Aguirre of the spa at Six Senses Kaplankaya in Turkey, it is a remarkably effective tool that produces illuminating diagnoses and equally remarkable solutions. Guests begin their personalised programme with a wellness screening that utilises an Electro Interstitial Scan-Galvanic Skin system, which measures the flow of an electric current through the interstitial fluid between the body’s cells. This reveals key physiological biomarkers, which – alongside a skin and sleep analysis – allows for a precision-based wellness strategy.