2019 is the year to nourish your mind, body and soul – and these wellness trends are here to show you the way.
In 2018 we were commanded by a theme of wellbeing. If you weren’t partaking in #self-care, what were you doing? The new emphasis on taking care of ourselves saw people taking to their app stores to download exercise routines, swapping booze-filled holidays for more relaxing retreats and detoxing of both the digital and physical variety.
Unsurprisingly this wellness mindset has continued to flourish, so it isn’t time to roll away the yoga mats or pack up the gym pass yet. Balance Festival (the UK’s largest celebration of the wellness movement) has carried out a survey and the results have revealed which fitness and wellness trends are dominating this year so far.
Prepare yourself for variety, on-the-go wellness and serious eco-consciousness vibes…
Gym Polyamory
Credit: Women doing yoga
Out with the contract that ties you down to one gym and in with the hall pass that will allow you to work out in multiple spaces. This one is exactly as it sounds – it’s an open relationship with your usual gym. Rather than sticking to the usual routine, there’s been a rise in people experimenting more with how and where they work out. This can include dabbling in boutique gyms, fitness studios, yoga studios and working out at home, all in the same month.
Whereas the old style gym pass would only get you into your local gym, this new trend offers fitness fanatics more variety when they are looking to get a sweat on. This is also a great one if you want to work out with friends, or meet other people working out.
70% of wellbeing warriors from the study said they preferred working out in groups , with yoga coming out on top as the most popular group work out. So if you want to try out different group yoga classes, it’s no problem, just take up gym polyamory. Try services like Classpass or Pay As U Gym, that let you buy a pass at any time for a gym session or class that you want to attend. No strings attached.
Ethically-Minded Foodies
Credit: Woman eating avocado
The new ethically-minded foodie trend that’s emerging is all about embracing meals that are both nourishing for mind and body. We’re seeing people reduce their meat intake and opt for foods that have been ethically and sustainably sourced, picking meal options that are healthy but also environmentally conscious.
Digital Detoxing
Credit: Digital detox wellness trends for 2019
The digital detox continues. More and more of us are becoming keener to step a back from the digital age and opt for an analogue approach. Over half of the participants of Balance Festival’s study said they’re aware of the negative impact social media could have on their mental health. People’s values are showing to shift from screen time to spending quality time with friends and family, moving outdoors and reconnecting with things outside of the media bubble.
This isn’t to say everyone will be giving up their socials altogether, but wellness fanatics will swap some scrolling time for other activities. If reducing your screen time is hard but is something you’d like to do, you can try an app that will block you from using certain apps for a few hours of the day like Offtime or Moment.
Wellness On-The-Go
Credit: Women having lunch
To adopt the wellness trend as a lifestyle choice, we need brands to join us on the journey of wellbeing so we can fulfil our self care needs when we are on-the-go as well as at home. Results from the study show that we want access to a wide range of dietary options when we are eating out, as well as clear labelling on food products so we can easily decipher what we are putting into our bodies.
One stand out statistic from the study highlight’s how alcohol consumption is on the decline, and shows that teetotalism is on the rise with 25% of people saying they avoid alcohol completely. Due to this, restaurants are being increasingly expected to stock up on healthy alcohol free alternatives. Cue a soar in sales of alcohol free spirits (Seedlip do some great ones) and alcohol free stag and hen parties, which are now thing.
Contrary to how this may sound at first read, it doesn’t mean swapping all the good (unhealthy) stuff for greens. Balance as ever is still key to a healthy lifestyle, and 43% of the Festival’s subjects said they still indulge when eating out. It just means that we want to be able to choose to either indulge or not with ease wherever we may be.
Conscious Living
Credit: Eco friendly water bottles and coffee cups
This is about taking a minimalist approach to your life. Heavier weight is being put on quality rather than on quantity when we consume, and adopting the re-use life style.
A healthy 84% of the respondents said they considered it important to bring eco-consciousness and mindful living into their everyday lives. This involves reducing your plastic usage which can be done by swapping your take away coffee into a re-useable cup and taking your totes to do your weekly shop, reducing your meat in-take (speak to an ethically-minded foodie for pointers), sourcing local produce and shopping at independents.
Images: Getty
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