A:ctive Breathing
There is more to breathing than inhaling and exhaling. The method espoused by Wim Hof, the Dutch motivational speaker and extreme athlete, is a combination cold exposure, breathing exercises and meditation. You can test out your breath work at the Lodge at Blue Sky, just outside Salt Lake City Airport, which recently debuted a pair of new cold plunge pools filled with spring-fed water straight from Alexander Creek that is kept at a brisk 38 degrees. The wild plunge pools at the Bracken Hide Hotel, on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, are strategically placed with views of Portree and the Sound of Raasay (just steps from their Estonian saunas).
B:lue Zone
Maybe we’ve watched one too many episodes of Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, the recent Netflix series about people who live extraordinarily long lives, but we can’t help but notice an uptick of interest in communities around the world that have the highest rates of centenarians. Belmond will open Romazzino in Costa Smeralda, in northern Sardinia, this May. (A Mandarin Oriental will follow close on its heels in 2026.) In Okinawa, Hoshinoya offers a dedicated blue-zone program that includes underwater stretching and traditional weaving. And over in Costa Rica, the “Blue Wellness” package at the beach hotel Nantipa, on the Nicoya Peninsula, gives guests the chance to visit to turtle hatcheries, explore jungle-y permaculture landscapes and stroll through medicinal gardens.
C:ellular Snapshots
Age may be nothing but a number. Your “biological age,” on the other hand, is a measure of your cellular health. The microbiome company Viome has released a new at-home "Full Body Intelligence Test," which takes a cellular snapshot of your oral microbiome, gut microbiome and cells using RNA sequencing. The results determine how well you are aging in comparison to other people your age — cellularly speaking, that is.
D:oggie Dosing
A new breed of doggie drugs hopes to extend the lives of our four-legged friends. Earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it has cleared the lane for the biotech company Loyal to begin producing life-extending meds for canines. For big dogs, who have average life expectancies only half that of smaller breeds, a long-acting pill administered by veterinarians hopes to target the biological mechanisms thought to cause lifespan disparity. For smaller seniors, a daily dose promises to improve metabolic fitness and make sure dogs live longer, healthier lives.
E:mpathetic Workplaces
Wellness is coming to the boardroom. Gensler, a global architecture and design-planning firm, is currently testing out a blueprint for what the company calls an “empathetic workplace.” The office layout includes smartphone booths for private Zoom chats, and large split screens and multiple cameras mean in-person staffers and remote workers have equal visibility of each other during video calls. There are also “Digital” white boards, which are designed like a screenshare for in-real-time brainstorming, and dimly-lit “well-being” rooms (for a little me time while on the clock).
F:abulous Midlife
There is nothing “mid” about midlife, at least at Modern Elder Academy, a lush resort in the small seaside Baja town of El Pescadero. The tropical midlife playground is designed as a safe space for forty-somethings, fifty-somethings and sixty-somethings to enjoy a "second adulthood." Think cocktail hours on white sand beaches and courses on “recreating careers, embracing midlife and optimizing longevity.” Good midlifes are good for business. A new Santa Fe campus at Rising Circle Ranch is set to open in March.
G:ritty Italy
Tucked in the Apennines, just east of Rome, The Ranch Italy is a spinoff of the celebrity boot-camp getaway The Ranch Malibu. The property is certainly not your typical Italian escape. Here, guests are treated not with wine and pasta, but colonics, ECG heart tests, bloodwork and urine samples. But it’s the four-hour morning hike past Roman arches and towering mountains blanketed in 2,500 species of wild herbs that is toughest measure of one’s health. (The only snack allowed is a handful of almonds.) This spring, The Ranch Hudson Valley opens in New York.
H:ay Bathing
Phytothermotherapy, or hay bathing, is a treatment between tradition and modern medicine that consists of submerging your body in tubs filled with fermenting alpine grass. Matca Hotel, a hilltop retreat in Central Romania, blends sweet-smelling grasses with cuts of blooming wildflowers and wild herbs like lavender. (Not to mention the tranquil views of the Transylvanian Forest and Bucegi Mountains.) Utilizing the natural warmth and rich aromatic components of self-heating grasses, the baths stimulate metabolism, relieve mental and physical exhaustion, and even treat a variety of rheumatic diseases. The practice is said to have originated by Alpine farmers, who took naps during a long day of tilling soil in the grasses of Seiser Alm, Europe’s largest high-altitude Alpine meadow.
I:ntellectual Muscle
Here’s a thought exercise: You’ve heard of physical well-being, mental well-being and even spiritual well-being. But are you mindful of your intellectual well-being? Critical thinking, stimulating curiosity, problem solving, and creativity can be strengthened by something as simple as Lumosity, a free online treasure trove of brain games, or as life-altering as a trip to Ananda, a spa tucked away in the Himalayas, where Ayurvedic therapies and yoga are combined with extensive discussions on heady topics like ontology, soteriology and epistemology.
J:ourney Below
The latest trend in freediving is pranayama, an ancient breath technique with roots in Indian yogic practices. "If you're holding your breath, you can hear your own heartbeat, but very little else. It's quite quiet," said Tania Douthwaite, a marine scientist who hosts freediving classes by the Omeo Shipwreck off Australia’s Perth's coast. “It can just be about enjoying yourself, relaxing and experiencing the underwater world.” Contact the team at PRIOR to arrange a trip to the deep waters of Cape Town with Hanlee Prinsloo and Peter Marshall, the freediving champions behind the ocean conservation foundation I Am Water.
K:etamine Benefits
A new health care benefit for employees of the family-owned soap company Dr. Bronner’s is ketamine-assisted therapy. “Some employers are treating Ketamine-assisted therapy almost like they would treat a gym membership,” said Sherry Rais, co-founder of Enthea, a company promoting health plan coverage for psychedelic-assisted therapy. But, she warned, “You should treat this like you would treat workplace benefits like dental and vision. I can’t just go to the dentist and say ‘well, my work is paying for cavities to be filled,’ even if there are no cavities there.”
L:ongevity Lodges
The arms race is on for longevity, with news gadgets, diagnostic and biohacks promising to inch us ever closer to immortality. New spa offerings at Chenot Spa in Switzerland and Chiva Som in Thailand promise a palliative prescription to turn back the clock. But it's the famed RoseBar at Six Senses Ibiza that is the biggest time saver. The spa's program, designed by Dr. Mark Hyman, offerrs hyperbaric oxygen trainers, normatec compression boots and a menu of IV infusion therapies. Doctor’s orders.
M:enopause Resorts
With millennials now entering their 40s, there is a new movement to better understand and destigmatize the perimenopause and menopause journey. Hoping to redefine a period of life that can affect women sometime as long as a decade, spas and wellness centers are increasingly offering menopause-focused programs and retreats, providing much-needed spaces for women long starved of information related to navigating this significant period of their lives. Palazzo Fiuggi, a state-of-the-art medical retreat and emblem of Venetian hospitality, now offers a seven-day program on managing physical, mental and emotional changes. Preidlhof, a wellness resort in South Tyrol, includes workshops, treatments and “laughing yoga” classes that “guide a mindset shift centering on the pleasure of being alive and of being a woman.”
N:oise-free Walks
It’s not that silent walks are something new. The ancient tradition of silent walks is rooted in mindfulness and a focus on the here and now. But in today’s increasingly noisy world, silent walks feel like a revolutionary act. No iPhone. No Airbuds. No podcast recapping your favorite Netflix show. Just vibes.
O:zempic Imitators
Be wary of weight-loss wannabes. “Thanks to the popularity of Ozempic, expect a comeback in snake oil supplements claiming pound-shedding benefits,” said Alexa Adams, a Bay Area health coach, such as the dietary supplement berberine, or “nature’s Ozempic,” as it is trumpeted on Tik Tok. A chemical found in plants like European barberry and tree turmeric, berberine is said to curb appetite and improve blood sugar levels. Unlike Ozempic, berberine is easy to find online and will only cost you somewhere between $15 to $40 for a month’s supply. But does it work? So far, the bulk of the research has been conducted exclusively in mice, not humans.
P:oultry-like Collagen
Using precision fermentation (microbes grown in giant fermenters, which are strained and refined into pure protein), Geltor, a “creative science” lab, makes high-end skin care creams with vegan collagen identical to the proteins extracted from skin and bones, and a poultry-like collagen for use in nutritional supplements. Founders Nick Ouzounov and Alex Lorestani, who met as Ph.D. students in their molecular biology lab at Princeton, said they bonded over “a shared love of nature and applied technology” and “a disbelief that animals and harsh chemical processes were still being used in industry when science had come such a long way.”
Q:uantum Bodies
Quantum Body, a new book by Deepak Chopra, the physicist Jack Tuszynski and endocrinologist Brian Fertig, takes readers on a journey through the abstract notion of quantum physics and the accessible world of human health. Bodies are not just biochemical machines, the authors point out, but intricate quantum systems influenced by invisible forces at the subatomic level.
R:etinol Remix
Hair-care experts are suddenly embracing scalp retinol as a way to promote shedding of old skin cells, pave the way for new hair growth and reduce dandruff. Since retinoids make your skin more photosensitive, we recommend adding a high-factor scalp SPF, like Supergoop’s Poof 100% Mineral Part Powder SPF 35 or Coola’s Scalp and Hair Mist Organic Sunscreen SPF 30 to protect your crown from harmful UV rays.
S:leep Tourism
Santani Wellness, a former tea estate turned retreat just outside Kandy in Sri Lanka, is built around the idea of resting, recharging and sleeping in. Inspired by the ancient Buddhist meditation caves in the surrounding mountains, the hotel’s "human sustainability" program includes sleep-focused meditation programs and wild swimming to tucker you out.
T:otal Isolation
Stripping away the residue of modern life has long been a salve for the soul. Monks of the Tibetan Plateau have retreated to isolated caves for thousands of years. Retreats in the remoter regions of the Himalayas aim to mute the sounds of modern life . Now, silence seekers are looking for next-level solitude: a total blackout. Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback for the New York Jets, made waves recently after emerging from a four-day “darkness retreat,” which he said helped clear his mind about his football future. In the Arctic Circle, remote outposts like Arctic Hide in Alaska and the Arctic Hideaway in Norway are also embrace the bright side of total darkness.
U:pgraded Stickers
Stickers are growing up. “Biosignal processing discs” made by NuCalm transmit signals to the brain to make the wearer feel peaceful and relaxed. Barrière’s has a futuristic line of vitamin patches printed with colorful florals and astrological symbols that transdermally deliver a powerful blend of vitamins, nutrients, and adaptogens. And SPOTMYUV UV Detection Stickers change color or intensity in response to UV exposure, providing a visual cue that it's time to seek shade or reapply sunscreen.
V:irtual Sweats
Sure, titles like Dance Central VR, Synth Riders, and Until You Fall are the top of the line in terms of fitness on the Meta Quest 2. But even virtual-reality games that are not marketed as fitness programs — such as Beat Saber, a VR rhythm game, and Pistol Whip, a shooter set to pulsating beats — can also be physically demanding enough to make you break a sweat.
W:ild Wellness
As part of their ongoing project to help restore the northern Great Plains — home to swift foxes, river otters, pronghorn, grizzly bears, wolves and numerous species of grassland birds — the Smithsonian and the non-profit American Prairie recently announced new technologies to monitor endangered prairie dogs, North America’s only native ferret species. “American Prairie’s mission to rewild a portion of the Northern Great Plains depends on the recovery of keystone species like prairie dogs,” said American Prairie’s Daniel Kinka. The organization’s restoration programs also prioritize distributing bison to Native tribal nations, which helps restore not just herd numbers, but “a deeper cultural, spiritual and economic connection” with humanity writ large. Think of it as “kincentric ecology,” or as the environmental scientist Jessica Hernandez puts it in her book Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes: “Nature protects us as long as we protect nature.”
X:ray Status
The New York Times has already called Prenuvo “the new status symbol.” Kim Kardashian declared the roughly hour-long "Full-Body MRI" as saving “some of my friends lives.” And the company’s backers include the likes of model Cindy Crawford. But the hype around Prenuvo, the celebrity-endorsed company offering head-to-toe MRI scans, will likely only grow in 2024, with plans to open one of its clinics in Seattle later this year and an ever-growing lengthy waiting list for its $2,499 scans.
Y:oga Comics
With his ink-stained fingers dipped into the countercultural revolution of the 1960s, the American cartoonist Robert Crumb transformed the medium of comic art. Produced by David Zwirner‘s Platform art shop, Shape Up! Yoga Mat is a limited edition artwork by Crumb dedicated to his late wife, Aline, a devout yogi, who passed away last year.
Z:ero Proof
No- and low-alcohol drinks are increasingly being given top-shelf treatment by global spirits producers. While “replacement” remedies will never intoxicate quite like actual booze, botanical brews offer their own distinctive aromas, taste and oral fixation perks. Try an old fashioned made with Spiritless Kentucky 74 or a gin and tonic made with Pentire. Cheers to 2024 — and no hangovers.
