Obsession
Moody moment
There are plenty of wellness apps to choose from, but the fall launch of J Balvin’s Oye deserves special attention. The Colombian reggaeton star is known for his music, as well as openly discussing his own challenges with anxiety and depression. His app is an artful take on assessing and understanding moods, and it offers creative solutions on how to process them. After a user describes how they feel, their state of mind is interpreted as a unique colour-gradient image and prompts readings, exercises and mindfulness notifications. Registering anger, for example, leads you to an article about that feeling’s meaning, purpose and an explanation about when it’s effective and when it isn’t. Users also get sent a movement exercise that helps them process the emotion.
Oye subscription, $12.99 a month through oye.co.
Investment buy
Lululemon Studio is a membership program that gives users access to classes from eight different fitness brands.Miko Lim
Follow along
Taking its smart fitness Mirror to the next level, Lululemon recently launched Studio, a membership program that gives users access to classes from eight different fitness brands, including Pure Barre and boxing-focused Rumble. There is a library of 10,000 classes available for streaming on the device, which also connects to heart-rate monitors or smart watches so users can see data in real time.
Lululemon Studio subscription, $49 a month, Mirror, $995 through lululemon.com.
Retail
Athleta has launched a cold-weather training collection designed with Olympic track athlete Allyson Felix.Handout
Athlete approved
Athleta (athleta.gapcanada.ca) has launched a cold-weather training collection designed with Olympic track athlete Allyson Felix. Felix, who does most of her cold-weather training in Vail, Colo., was focused on creating pieces that marry protection from the elements with freedom of movement. “With these pieces I really feel like I’m able to just work out and not think about what I have on me,” she says. The collection includes a seamless hoodie in chafe-free, antimicrobial fabric and soft-shell pants made from water-repellent recycled nylon.
Business
The ‘wellth’ divide
A 2021 report from McKinsey shows wellness as a concept and industry is booming. The consultancy firm estimated the global wellness market to be worth US$1.5-trillion, and a consumer survey of six countries found that 79 per cent of respondents believed wellness was important, with 42 per cent of those identifying wellness as a top priority. What’s really on the rise, however, is the luxury side of the business, including everything from gadgets to social clubs. For example, a standard Oura ring, which monitors sleep, heart rate and activity markers such as steps, costs US$349, but you can get a Gucci branded version for more than twice that. The Global Wellness Institute has been studying the trend and notes, “this growing ‘Wellth Divide’ [could] further damage the image of wellness at a moment when there is so much hope and energy around it becoming less elitist and more inclusive.”
Trending
GeoLagon is planning to build the world’s largest geothermal pool in Petite Rivière Saint-François.
Pool cue
Who needs Iceland when you’ve got your own lagoon? That’s the hope of Quebec-based GeoLagon (geolagon.com), which is planning to build the world’s largest geothermal pool in Petite Rivière Saint-François in the Charlevoix region. The site, which will include chalets that can be owned or rented for short stays, will be powered by geothermal and solar energy. Visitors will have access to mineral-rich thermal waters and opportunities for day and night swimming, “with a view of the mountains in the day, and in the evening under the light of the moon and stars,” says founder Louis Massicotte, who has plans to open four sites in Quebec and an additional 10 across Canada within the next five years. Of the first location, Massicotte says Petite-Rivière is symbolic because it’s in the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve. “To me, it’s the best place to create the first energy self-sufficient touristic village thanks to our ecosystem based on the energy of the earth and the sun.”