In the fast and furious race to get a digital channel up and running, One: The Body, Mind & Spirit Channel decided to relax, and keep it simple.

Are you ready for a day filled with meditation moments?

Homing in on the same holistic lifestyle trend that led Oprah Winfrey to change her television format, One is looking to make television "warm, inviting and personal."

Its programs are geared to alternative health and personal growth.

"One will offer audiences holistic television viewing. It will be inspirational, engaging, entertaining and empowering," said the network's general manager, Mark Prasuhn. "We're trying to create something warm, something down-to-earth."

While other digital channels launching this fall may be filled with high-priced graphics and glitz, the look and the feel of One will be simpler, pared down, Mr. Prasuhn said.

"The simpler feel is in keeping with one of the themes of balancing and simplifying one's life." The channel's programs are split into three categories:

• Alternative health and Exercise This major area of focus for the channel will explore non-Western traditional medicine such as herbalism, and activities such as yoga and tai chi.
• Personal Growth and development Programs that will "provide people the opportunity and the tools to explore their own growth potential in everyday life
• "Making a difference" programming, which will focus on "living in harmony with the planet and the community."

As the speed of life picks up, more and more Canadians are trying to simplify their lives to reduce stress and burnout, Mr. Prasuhn said. Yoga and tai chi are replacing aerobics classes at many fitness centres, and homes are being decorated according to the rules of feng shui.

The channel is hoping to take advantage of a lucrative market. According to an Ipsos Reid survey, Canadians spent $1.8-billion on vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements in 2000, and retailers anticipate that market to grow by 20 per cent each year.

Canadian magazines that focus on body, mind and spirit have a combined circulation of close to four million. Health and wellness books represent approximately 25 per cent of all best selling books in Canada. (In 1998, Canadians spent approximately $80-million on these books).

One's programs are slotted to fit on this theme. Morning exercise programs promise a workout "for your body, mind and spirit." Workout breaks during the day highlight yoga, tai chi, sea kayaking and sweat lodges.

The Canadian series At home with Herbs, hosted by Renae Morriseau and Richard White, is slotted as a "comprehensive guide to the many - and sometimes unexpected - uses of these remarkable plants." Each episode looks at the ways herbs can be used as ingredients in dishes or as the basis of simple household remedies.

Medicine Demystified, includes episodes that outline how the body's essential systems work and why they sometimes break down. Prevention and treatment of disease is highlighted, as is information on research breakthroughs and advances in medical technology.

One's Natural Health segments on alternative healing will take an in-depth look at alternative healing practices such as Ayurvedic neurotherapy, iridology and lymphatic drainage. Other episodes examine nutrition and weight management, consider the health hazards of cell phones and everyday household appliances.

Although the bulk of One's CRTC licence is as an information provider, the channel is permitted to show entertainment programs.

"We don't want to be just an information station - that could get a little heavy," Mr. Prasuhn said.

Enter One's paranormal series. The Uninvited tells the story of Steve Blake, a photojournalist who, after witnessing a fatal crash, visits the victim's widow only to discover the man he saw dead is alive. Blake later learns that there have been other recent cases of apparent death and resurrection - all involving prominent figures.

One's Meditation Moments offer breaks between scheduled programs throughout the day.

Demographically, the channel hopes to reach people in their 20s and 30s, as well as those in their 40s and 50s, Mr. Prasuhn said. Although its programming will attract more female than male viewers, he said, "It's not another [Women's Television Network]."

But don't call it "self-improve television," he said, because the channel will be about more than that.

This channel is more about "making a difference," he said. "It sounds like lofty ideals for a TV channel, but we'd like to think that's the goal - making a difference to yourself, to others, to the planet." difference to yourself, to others, to the planet."