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Lake Nona Performance Club, a gym and wellness centre in Orlando.Lake Nona Performance Club
Wellness goes extreme
Cryo chambers, IV drips and mental-strength training – these are some of the increasingly intense therapies being offered to guests of health clubs, spas and hotels. The Wall Street Journal dubbed it “extreme wellness,” a response by service providers to address the desire for feeling healthy rather than pampered. A longer, healthier life is the ultimate pampering, the theory goes. “People coming out of the pandemic wanted a radical reset of their bodies and their brains,” Beth McGroarty, the Global Wellness Institute’s vice-president of research, told the Journal. Sparkling Hill Resort and Spa, in Vernon, B.C., was an early adopter of cryotherapy. Its cryo chamber has long been used by professional athletes who use the cold exposure to help combat inflammation. Lake Nona Performance Club, a gym and wellness centre in Orlando, opened in late 2021 and among treatments offers Nestre, or “neuro-strength training.” Working with a coach, clients undergo a consultation and then a program is developed for their goals, whether that’s memory, performing well in stressful situations or decision-making. Treatments are geared to athletes, executives and first responders.
Retail
The mini electric ice resurfacer the Turo SK8 is available for rent in the Greater Toronto Area during February and in Montreal in March.Handout
Slick stuff
If skating is your source of winter joy and fitness – and you’re lucky enough to have a backyard rink, or access to a community rink – the auto share company Turo is making it a bit easier to keep your skating surface smooth. The mini electric ice resurfacer, which the company is calling the Turo SK8, is available for rent in the Greater Toronto Area during February and in Montreal in March. “Canada has the highest number of rinks in the world, and the Turo SK8 turns backyard or community rinks into professional-quality rinks so that everyone can train – and feel – like a pro,” says Cedric Mathieu, vice-president and head of Turo Canada. Once the machine is booked, a representative will deliver it to the rink and demonstrate how to operate it. Users have four hours with the resurfacer before it’s picked up by the company to end the rental.
$29 for one-day bookings, turo.com/ca
Obsession
Toronto-based tea company Pluck has launched four new blends.Handout
Teas that please
Toronto-based tea company Pluck has launched four new blends created to help tea drinkers push through the winter blahs. Called Focus, Sleep, Defence and Renew, each blend, created with help from nutrition professor and plant-based chef Amy Symington, features ingredients meant to boost health, mood or concentration. Renew, for instance, includes British Columbia-grown chaga mushrooms, which are high in antioxidants. Defence is an Ontario-grown ginseng blend that includes ginger and echinacea to support the immune system. I’m currently addicted to Focus, a refreshing green, peppermint and ginger mix that has a bit of sweetness to it. And as intended, it is a much-needed midwinter daily pick me up.
From $9.95 for 25 grams of loose tea, pluckteas.com
Investment buy
Nutr, a chic kitchen appliance that makes single servings of milks, from nuts, soy, coconut or oats.Handout
Milk it
Something I always have in my house is almonds. Something I rarely have is almond milk, and yet on occasion I want to make a smoothie or hot chocolate. So I was very excited to learn about Nutr, a chic kitchen appliance that makes single servings of milks, from nuts, soy, coconut or oats. Ingredients are added to the mixing vessel, and the process begins with the touch of a button – whichever milk you’d like to make, with an option for heat (room temperature, warm or hot). It comes with a metal strainer, to remove pulp before drinking, and also has a self-clean cycle. That it means less to pick up at the grocery store and less packaging to deal with is a bonus.
From US$169, thenutr.com
Business
Viva Magenta, Pantone’s colour of the year for 2023.Pantone/The New York Times News Service
Ode to joy
Is Viva Magenta, the bold pink that’s been chosen as Pantone’s colour of the year for 2023, a call for us all to get excited or is it a response to us increasingly seeking joy? Either way, Wunderman Thompson has provided insight into the “joyconomy,” which the research firm sees as setting the tone for the year when it comes to wellness. Brands are encouraging play; last October, McDonald’s launched an adult version of its happy meal with a Big Mac or 10 McNuggets, fries, drink and toy (of course) – a figurine of the classic characters, including Hamburgler and Grimace. Cannabis company Houseplant made packaging that resembled Lego last year, and this month is putting up an Airbnb listing in Los Angeles that includes comedian Seth Rogen as the host. And joy is finding its way back to workouts. TikTok is filled with dance-focused step classes (remember step aerobics?), while psychologist Kelly McGonigal is spreading the word about the Joy Workout, a series of movements, like swaying your arms or spinning, that bring on positive emotions.