There's no doubt saunas are great. According to history and thanks to the Finns, we've been doing this for over 10 thousand years. There's just something about heat that soothes the bones and psychologically eases the mind.
Know what's better than a sauna? Applied heat. (Ha, bet you thought I was gonna say a sauna from home. I'll get to that). When the heat is not just in the air—we get enough of that here in eternal summer city—but in direct contact with whatever ailing body part needs it.
This is not just an old person thing, though sauna's marketing could afford to do better. Apart from natural pain relief, heat therapy encourages cardio-like effects, a metabolism boost, and even anti-aging. I recall using salonpas (another one that could do with a better rep) patches for muscle relief as a teen due to high intensity training and injuries.
That's kinda what the HeatPod Sauna Blanket 2 reminded me of. A warm embrace, enveloping the entire body. It's convenient enough that a spa experience can now be brought into your home, but setting up is quite nearly plug and play.
You unroll the double-side zippered bad boy, scooch in and turn on the magic. It's really commendable how quickly the Blanket can get to the temperature set. The second generation being an enhanced version of the previous year's, it currently achieves a maximum temperature that's higher than major competitors at 85°C.
Another meaningful improvement (don't you just love a company that takes feedback seriously) is on the user experience. Not only are controls simpler and sleeker, preferred settings can be saved on a "remember last mode", since we are such creatures of comfort. Precise adjustments can be made easily, but swiftly too, with long presses to bump every 5°C in either direction.
One huge benefit is its design. The quality of its construct looks and feels premium, and more crucially, is easy to clean. The evenly-distributed zero-EMF carbon fiber infrared heating coils are wrapped in SGS-certified vegan leather, which is a breeze to wipe down.
The accompanying pillow and footrest are equally sweat-proof, but honestly, the most useful accessory would be the towel insert. The breathable 100% waffled cotton is custom to the parameters of the HeatPod, like an inner glove that feels more comfortable on the skin.
Essentially, it's a heated sleeping bag. Inside its roomy 180x190cm, you are practically expected to fall asleep. More so after sitting in a cold office the entire day, which is why the end of session alerts are great to safely take that snooze. Plus, given how it folds up nicely in a carrier, you can literally bring this hot nap with you anywhere. Heck, bring it to said cold office.
The zip runs along three sides—top, right, and bottom; which allows it even more varied possibilities. A heated mat should you want to splay out completely, or share the space atop the bed as a heated mattress.
Still, it would be great if it could extend halfway down the left too, just so the arms have the option to stick out naturally rather than overhead. Especially when the port is wired to the bottom left (something I keep forgetting is on the underside as well when flinging the HeatPod open).
Apart from that personal preference, it is tough to find fault with the device. The portability and privacy is truly something you can't get from conventional saunas. Now if only our climate could be perpetually much colder, this would be perfect to enjoy regularly.
The HeatPod Sauna Blanket 2 retails from SGD799.
To be a middle-aged man in southern California is to find yourself saying, with alarming frequency, “Yeah, I’m an asshole, one of those assholes now.” If you’ve come from somewhere else—somewhere more corn-fed and homespun and other synonyms for unhealthy—you may adopt a wholesome habit out here. You may reap physical and emotional benefits, and you will be clowned to death by your friends from home. CrossFit, breath work, bullshitting through a gratitude journal—I’ve tried them all. Some have had a positive impact on my life; others have given me items to sell on OfferUp. (I’m looking at you, matcha stirring bowl.)
This year has been especially busy on the humiliatingly-healthy-habits front. Maybe it’s a post-Covid focus on fitness, or a more robust wellness marketplace, or the fact that I hit my 50s and need to get that shit started now if I want to live forever. Whatever the reason, 2024 has been a boom time for people who want to sell wellness stuff to Dave Holmes, and the truth is that a lot of it works. Here’s an incomplete list of the kinds of asshole I am now.
You’ve seen this on Instagram: some hot, smiling person submerged in ice-cold water, telling you how painful yet invigorating it is. Hello, I’m one of those assholes now. I acquired a cold-plunge tub from a company called Plunge—because immersion in cold water does not enhance your creative-naming skills. For 30 days and counting, I have voluntarily iced myself in it, and the only thing more excruciating than that is telling you I love it. My energy level is higher, my moods more stable, my skin tighter, and my neighbours get to hear me make an unpleasant gasping noise as I throw my body in each morning.
Like so much that is good for you, a cold plunge is agony at first. You are, after all, participating in an activity from which your body will reflexively recoil (opposite but equal to putting a hand on a hot stove). You lose your breath, you shiver, you think, Wellness influencers, now you’re just making shit up. But then your body begins to warm itself up. You feel a light euphoria. Your breathing slows. Yes, these are all symptoms of mild hypothermia, but so what? Think back to when Leonardo DiCaprio let go of that door in Titanic. Wasn’t his skin glowing? Didn’t you walk out of the multiplex feeling great about his inflammation level?
I’m a believer, so much so that I’ve invited my neighbours and friends: Come jump in this thing anytime, I tell them. My neighbours and friends have largely stopped returning my texts.
After a certain age, American men are known to worry about their testosterone level, and that age is birth. Accordingly, a number of companies geared toward keeping us T’d up have entered the men’s telehealth marketplace. My favourite is a hormone-optimisation company called Blokes; it sends a phlebotomist to your house to collect your blood, which is then run through a million tests to determine which hormones are, I guess, pessimised.
In my consultation Zoom, Blokes’ resident doctor told me my testosterone level is actually pretty high for a guy my age, a piece of news I reacted to by immediately writing it in this column. But there was still room for improvement; he suggested a peptide called sermorelin to stimulate my pituitary gland, plus regular injections and nasal spritzes of NAD+ to aid in the formation of... something in my cells, I don’t really remember, because I was using most of my brainpower to be psyched about the testosterone. I’m sticking myself with a needle weekly now, and I’m popping and sniffing those peptides. I wake up more refreshed, my brain is less foggy, and I’m much harder to run away from at parties. You’ll notice how much more clearly I’m thinking when I pull you aside to share my T-level story.
So I am here to tell you the health claims about these mildly embarrassing pursuits are mostly true. The benefits they promise—better sleep, lower cortisol levels due to reduced stress, higher energy, and more-positive moods—are real. But so is this: These benefits, and so many more, can be achieved by simply not drinking alcohol, something this election season will make it nearly impossible to do.
But what do I know? I’m not a doctor. I’m just an asshole whose T level is actually pretty high.
Originally published on Esquire US
From the moment when we wake up to ready for work to the limited time spent with our families and ourselves in the evenings, finding moments of respite can feel like a luxury. The idea of jetting off for a break seems like a distant dream, doesn't it?
What if this dream could become a reality? Picture this: You're in the heart of Singapore. Amidst the daily grind, there's a place that serves as a temporary refuge from the chaos. Here, they've got exclusive wellness activities lined up, all designed to give you a breather and recharge your batteries. Along with the consult of top wellness experts, you have this little oasis of calm right in the midst of the city's hustle and bustle. Look no further than The Singapore EDITION.
Kick-start the day with sunrise yoga sessions led by Bebe Ding, co-founder of CRU68. These sessions include meditation and low-intensity sculpting exercises. Later, at the Serene Courtyard Garden, you'll partake in the Sunset CruYoga Sculpt and Sound Bath session—a programme that combines yoga, strength training and the therapeutic vibrations of a sound bath. With each pose, you feel the city's stress dissipate, culminating in a moment of relaxation and renewal accompanied by light refreshments.
A wellness experience at The Singapore EDITION wouldn’t be complete without a visit to their spa facilities. Here, you can indulge in luxurious treatments tailored to your needs. The serene ambience and soft, warm lighting lead you to seven exquisite treatment rooms. Amenities include thermal pools, a refreshing ice fountain, and a spacious gym equipped with state-of-the-art Technogym equipment.
Some notable treatments include the EDITION Signature Massage and the rejuvenating Signature HydraFacial, each blending global healing traditions with innovative techniques and rituals. If you're seeking a more private experience there are private spa suits, saunas and steam rooms available.
Lastly, we have sonics and chakra alignment. To commemorate International Yoga Day and the coinciding full moon, The Singapore EDITION has a Full Moon Gong Puja Meditation. And what is Puja? Puja's a Buddhist practice of offering honour and devotional attention and it's believed to cleanse and unblock your energy. You’ll also get to connect deeply with the rhythms of the full moon. Occurring on a Saturday, 22 June, 2024 (a full moon, natch) from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Led by Dawn Sim, this four-hour meditative journey is open to both members of the public and in-house guests. Spaces are limited, so register early. And don’t worry about bringing your own gear—mats and towels will be provided for all participants.
Get your tickets for the Full Moon Gong Puja Meditation session here.
“I’d rather gnaw a bean than be gnawed by continual fear.”
- Odo of Cheriton
Let us consider Arthur Schopenhauer’s view that all life is suffering. As a student of Kant and Buddhism, Schopenhauer said that as all living creatures are possessed by a will, there is a constant drive to satiate one’s needs to survive. This “striving” is what Schopenhauer refers to as “suffering”. We work to earn a paycheque; we struggle with our self-esteem in our social lives—the latest trend to adopt; how to look appealing; fitting into society’s parameters. And when we do get what we want, it’s not enough. Life’s fleeting nature pushes the boulder back down the hill and, in our efforts to survive, we roll it back up again. Repeat as needed until our ticker runs down.
Schopenhauer’s solution to limiting our suffering was by limiting our desires. “Those who, with too gloomy a gaze, regard this world as a kind of hell and, accordingly, are only concerned with procuring a fireproof room in it, are much less mistaken. The fool runs after the pleasures of life and sees himself cheated; the sage avoids evils.”
But Schopenhauer’s student, Friedrich Nietzsche, had a different take. Yes, life is suffering, but for Nietzsche avoidance isn’t the answer; it is to roll with it. Suffering and death are inevitable fates but you can make something of the experience.
This is probably why Nietzsche > Schopenhauer.
EVERY DAY, YOU ARE BOMBARDED by news of war; injustices; inflation. Worry leaves its trail on your face. Sleep becomes a distant land. The world can only cut you down so many times before there’s nothing left. A slow death by a thousand cuts. What can you do: you escape the city. RAKxa Wellness & Medical Retreat sounds inviting. It appears like some fabled sanctuary; Shangri- La peered through the mist.
It is 50 minutes by car from Suvarnabhumi Airport, and the travel to RAKxa is a passenger window of highways, then buildings before it segues into residential houses and then green rural stretches. RAKxa is nestled at Bang Krachao, Bangkok’s Green Lung—a man-made conservation in the middle of the Chao Praya River. It’s an island that’s circled by mangrove trees and jungle foliage runs wild.
You arrive at the pavilion, where you are greeted with a cool drink and a ceremonial sounding of the singing bowls. It feels like you’ve stepped into another world. Briefly, a thought about checking your work e-mails enters your mind before you’re whisked away to your villa.
It’s a sprawling compound. Villas, frangipani plants and banana and casuarina trees zip past as you’re ferried by a buggy. There are three treatment facilities at RAKxa. There’s RAKxa JAI, the retreat’s holistic wellness centre. This is where traditional treatments are used like acupuncture or sound baths. RAKxa GAYA is a “medical gym” due to its diagnostic approach. Then there’s the VitalLife Scientific Wellness Clinic, outfitted with the latest tech-based equipment that can perform Light Therapy or cyrosaunas. VitalLife also excels in its anti-ageing treatment, which you take with a grain of salt. Unless you’re Benjamin Button or Paul Rudd, no one ages in reverse or stops ageing. You’re of the camp that you can only slow down the ageing process through exercise and a proper diet. Then again, you’re also of the camp that you’d be open to new experiences.
It feels like the compound is larger than expected since you don’t see any other patrons. There are the staff that tend to the centre but they sort of melt into the background. You don’t quite notice them until you’re in want of something, then they appear. One can get around by the aforementioned buggy but walking is not too far out of the realm of possibility. After all, this is a wellness centre. Motion is health, goes the saying.
The villa is spacious. Windows stretch from floor to ceiling, visually admitting the surrounding verdant landscape. An environmental monitoring system keeps the room at a comfortable temperature as your frontal cortex is assuaged by the warm earth tones of the interior. You could sink into your bed, cocooned by the hypoallergenic bedding but you’ll miss out on the private garden. Or sit on the terrace, nurse a kombucha and soak in the serenity of your little slice of Eden. You sort of forget that across from the horseshoe-winding Chao Praya River, the bustle of Bangkok’s city life continues unabated.
(RAKXA WELLNESS & MEDICAL RETREAT)
HERE’S WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW: RAKxa was originally supposed to be a clinic with a room to stay at. But before she became RAKxa’s founder, Dusadee Tancharoen was a high-flyer until a medical diagnosis clipped her wings; and she turned her focus towards health and wellness. She saw value in the medical and holistic fields in the wellness industry. Reiki; ayurvedic; acupuncture; cyro sauna; hyperbaric chamber therapy; colonics (don’t snigger)... all these are serious fields held in high esteem. These and more are integrated into RAKxa’s programmes. While some treatment programmes are pre-planned, others can be tailored to return you to your optimal self.
You’d undergo a consultation with several Health & Wellness Advisors. Then, an itinerary of treatments is drafted to match your needs. The consultants across the medical fields were mostly unanimous in their diagnosis: there’s something “stuck” in you. An obstruction. You run hot; there’s a wind in your tummy; there’s an imbalance; your energy is dammed by a blocked meridian point. It’s the same diagnosis repeated in different languages.
And you know this. For far too long, the lack of sleep turns into a meaningless badge of honour. The suffocating stress feels like a hair sweater. What was intrusive has now become a bedfellow. A hairline crack that has widened into a gulf over the years. It has become so normalised that you need to detach from it; step outside of yourself as it were. Inhabit a third-person perspective that allows you to be open to what these treatments, no matter how new age-y they are, can offer.
RAKxa’s treatments sound a little “out there” if you know what I mean. But you’d try anything once. Especially, when you’ve tried everything else. You lie through a session where your therapist’s hands hover over your body as a way to “heal you with energy”. You are bombarded with sonics from bronze bowls in an effort to align your chakra. A photo-light therapy blasts you with light energy to aid in skin and muscle regeneration. Super cold air bathes your body to improve blood circulation. Tiny needles dot your body to stimulate specific anatomic sites.
They will put you on a vitamin IV drip to boost your immunity. Can you feel the cocktail of vitamins infused into your bloodstream? Do you feel better, albeit slightly? Is the tranquil scene of nature shown through the window helping you be centred? Or do you take this opportunity to answer e-mails and dink around on the laptop?
No matter how far you run, you still can’t leave the world behind.
RAKXA’S RESTAURANT, UNAM, PUTS out surprisingly good food. Not that you went in thinking that there was a McDonald’s nearby to fall back on if the meals weren’t up to snuff, but the dishes punch above their weight. The menus are made from chemical-free ingredients that are supplemented with sustainable meats and seafood. There’s always a starter of kombucha, followed by the mains, then dessert. After your initial consultation, the restaurant will tailor the menu. Mention in passing that you don’t like ginger and they will excise the herb from the meal plan.
“Health is wealth” is RAKxa’s motto. It won’t specifically cure you of your ailments, rather it is in the business to prevent calamities. But how else are you supposed to stave off the bad-ness if you’re already affected? Isn’t the solution then, to cure you? It’s a chicken-and-egg scenario and this thought runs laps through your mind as you’re lying in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
You’re undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy where pure oxygen is pumped inside a pressurised environment. Said environment is a horizontal unit, where you can lie down. The technician offers another less claustrophobic unit, one where you can sit upright during the process. But you opt for the “coffin”; you’ve always admired the dead for sleeping well so here’s a chance for that.
Except, being in a pressurised chamber means you’re constantly popping your ears for the first 10 or 15 minutes. Then silence sets in, but your mind starts filling in the blanks and somehow you leap from RAKxa’s motto to musing if there was ever a scene of an accidental spark in an oxygen-rich environment in any of the Final Destination films. (Answer: yes, in the second instalment.)
At RAKxa GAYA, a personal trainer puts you through a Functional Fitness assessment. Using state-of-the-art equipment to evaluate an individual’s fitness level and identify key risk areas that can lead to injury. The final analysis: your balance, stamina and strength check out great. Not looking fantastic: your flexibility. Still, the results are encouraging but while the physical is in the upper percentile, mentally, you’re thinking about next week’s work schedule. They offer several exercises to improve your mobility. “Yoga,” they say. You retort that it’s too slow-paced. The trainer looks at you as though he has heard that before. “You need to slow down,” he says as he glances at your chart. “Yeah. Tai Chi can do that.”
YOU’RE FAMILIAR WITH TAI CHI because one of your core memories was of you as a secondary school student, passing by a basketball court filled with geriatrics every morning. Their glacier movements, all in rhythm to some unidentifiable Chinese instrumental blasting from some unseen radio.
Now, it feels a little lackadaisical as a well-meaning RAKxa instructor puts you through the paces. You’re unfamiliar with this speed of activity. Your arms make soft and circular movements in a flowing form as your feet slide from one position to the next. The gestures are alien. You’re aware of your breathing, how languid you’re drawing in the air and the soft expulsion through your nose. There’s a mirror in front of you and you’re trying to hit your mark.
Maybe you’re a little self-conscious. If your younger self sees you now, will they roll their eyes? Make a snide remark? You don’t know because the thoughts never enter your mind. Right, now you’re focused on the next pose. And the next.
And then, strangely, you don’t think about them at all. Weirdly enough, you’re flowing from one movement to the next on instinct, much to the instructor’s surprise and elation. He is effusive with his praise, so much so that it borders on condescending. But for the next 20 minutes, the outside world seems far away. The weight of the smartphone in your pants pocket dissipates. Maybe the effects of the treatments are kicking in. Maybe this is what it has been needing: this forced retardation of actions.
For the first time in forever, you find yourself where you’ve always needed to be at: present.
The emotional terrain of grief is immense, encompassing a range of human experience. Grief however takes on a distinctive and profound dimension when experienced collectively. Collective grief occurs when groups of people who share something in common (e.g. a race, a country) experience significant loss, such as in the wake of wars or natural disasters that result in mass casualties and tragedies. It extends beyond individual losses into the shared consciousness of communities and nations worldwide.
Research shows that you do not have to personally know individuals who have passed to feel grief. Collective grief can feel overwhelming and trigger feelings related to your own experiences of personal grief such as losing someone you loved. In response to the current socio-political climate, I have noticed that many clients have reported exacerbated psychological distress, increased thoughts about death and dying, and some have even reported increased anxiety about their own health. If a crisis continues, we can also experience anticipatory grief, if we anticipate further loss and suffering in the future. This can generate feelings of anxiety, helplessness and even despair.
Many individuals wonder if what they are feeling is normal. Experiencing emotions such as anger, rage, guilt, numbness, irritability and agitation are common responses to grief. Grief manifests in a number of different ways including physically (e.g. sleep difficulties, weight change), cognitively (e.g. difficultly concentrating, confusion) and socially (e.g. withdrawal, lack of interest in seeing other people).
While some of these manifestations may feel debilitating or scary, it is crucial to give yourself permission to mourn rather than to suppress your emotions. Acknowledging and bringing what you are feeling into awareness allows you to initiate the necessary steps to move through grief.
It can be difficult to limit our consumption of news, particularly social media, during critical times like these. However, exposing ourselves to traumatic events repetitively has been shown to bring about exhaustion, hopelessness as well as symptoms of depression. Taking breaks and engaging in tangible actions (e.g. making donations or volunteering) can empower individuals to transition from a sense of helplessness to a more proactive approach that aligns with their values.
One tactic that can be particularly helpful is to switch between loss and restoration-oriented coping. A loss orientation involves coping with issues directly related to the loss—for example allowing yourself to cry if you come across traumatic footage of people who have died. This form of coping can generate powerful emotions that are important to process grief. Restoration-oriented coping involves focusing on things in your life that are unrelated to the loss (e.g. learning a new skill). Balancing a loss orientation with restoration is a healthy way to navigate your experience of collective grief without being consumed by it.
We encourage individuals to share their experience of collective grief, whether in a therapeutic context or with supportive others. This allows an articulation of pain, creates space to validate one’s feeling, can cultivate a sense of unity and resilience and honour our shared humanity.
Here is a reminder: It’s 2024 and there is absolutely no reason why a regular self-care day isn’t already a part of your routine. It’s so easy to get caught up in the constant chase for success that we sometimes forget that our bodies, minds and spirits need to be rejuvenated every so often. As much as we feel like well-oiled machines after years of stress-inducing hard work to get to where we are now, let’s face it: the stress never ends. Self-care is a necessity.
Much like how one’s idea of success is personal and varied, the choice of self-care is individual and multifarious. Getting my body pummelled and cracked into submission by a professional makes for the perfect therapy for me. It’s the reason I go for an osteopathy session almost monthly. It’s a way of preventing muscle injury from running, as well as loosening up the accumulated tension in my neck and back. I leave feeling like a new person after every session. My entire posture feels more open, and everything feels lighter. And such results are typically what I look for when trying out new massage experiences. Granted that osteopathy and massage therapies aren’t the same, there still ought to be a noticeable change in how one feels after going for either one. They aren’t effects you’d only be able to notice after multiple sessions; they are not facial treatments.
I have heard glowing reviews of the COMO Shambhala Signature Massage from several lifestyle editors who’ve tried it. And so when COMO Shambhala Singapore offered one as part of a tour of its new flagship, I jumped at the opportunity. Scheduled for the third day of 2024, sandwiched between a couple of nights of New Year’s Eve shenanigans and a two-week sojourn in Milan and Paris for Fashion Week Men’s, the timing couldn’t be better. Yeah, I definitely needed a good massage.
The new COMO Shambhala Singapore flagship is located on the fourth level of COMO Orchard, which is a self-care hub in itself, with Cédric Grolet’s Singapore outpost located on the ground floor, next to multi-label boutique Club 21, and COMO Cuisine on the second level. Stepping out of the elevators and into COMO Shambhala Singapore, however, one gets a sense of how it has been consciously and intently designed to be a wellness oasis despite being at the centre of one of the busiest spots in the city.
Wes Anderson immediately came to mind as I am greeted by tiles in a familiar shade of calming blue. The interiors were however designed by Milan-based designer and architect Paola Navone of OTTO Studio (she’s also behind the designs of other COMO projects), with the colour choice meant to reflect healing waters. The pastel hue is complemented by the use of greys and everything appears to be symmetrically aligned.
COMO Shambhala Singapore takes up an entire floor, spanning 9,000 square feet, with 1,500 square feet dedicated to a well-equipped gym to the right of the lounge and retail space. I was ushered into a private room towards the left, a small flight of stairs up past the yoga and pilates studios. The facial and massage rooms are all located down this corridor, including rooms designed for couples to enjoy treatments together.
I was informed that Master Song, the lead therapist and trainer, has been with COMO Shambhala for about five years. Before that, he had been practising traditional Thai massage since the late ‘90s. I was assured I would be in the best hands. I settled facedown under the covers—the bed was very plush and comfortable—and Master Song got to work.
I have noticed that the kinds of massages that leave me in unexplored states of bliss tend to be the ones that are specifically targeted. Sure, the strength of pressure applied counts, but getting them applied to spots that would do nothing but inflict pain seems counterintuitive. That was certainly not the case with Master Song. I was asked if I had any specific areas that I would like to work on. “Neck, shoulders and legs, please,” I responded, enumerating the three areas I struggle with the most.
Master Song’s expertise came into play from the very first touch. He knew the right points to concentrate on—which is surprising given that this was our first session together—and had me melting into the bed within a minute. He checked in after a few minutes of me stifling any guttural moans (it was that good), asking if the pressure was sufficient. I could only muster out an “uh-huh” as he continued to work on my neck. It was at this point that I felt certain I astral projected out of my body for a good 30 seconds. I’m not even embarrassed to say that I might have teared up a bit at the release of tension in my neck.
Every move was precisely targeted. For someone who is used to hard-pressure massages (at my request) this felt even more satisfying because I left the session without any aching from over-exertion on unnecessary spots. I didn’t want the hour-long session to end.
Given the level of expertise as well as the facilities—the changing rooms where the washrooms are located are immaculate—the COMO Shambhala Singapore experience is a luxury that’s reflected in its price point. A 60-minute COMO Shambhala Massage costs SGD220 and SGD330 for a 90-minute session. But if luxury is what you need and deserve to rejuvenate, there aren’t many out there that’ll be as life-changing as what you’ll experience at COMO Shambhala Singapore. Like I said, self-care is necessary.
It used to be that a watch was used to tell time. Sure, there were the occasional chronographic trimmings, but mostly, it was supposed to inform the user of the hour, the date. Then, companies added more bells and whistles to the wrist implement. They made it able to count your steps; help you navigate; track your heartbeat... the list goes on. And now the watch has grown beyond the initial scope of a timepiece.
These days, we refer to it as a smartwatch and it’s changing the way we monitor our health. Because it’s unobtrusive and in contact with our skin for most of our day, it can collate a host of information about our bodies that we have no idea that it’s giving out. For example, when a feature was able to track one’s heart rate, I didn’t quite understand how it worked. Does the smartwatch pick up the slight throbs from the wrist? It was a year later that I found out that it measures heart rate using the flashing green LED light emitted on the rear of the smartwatch. It’s called photoplethysmography and it gets a reading of the heart rate by how much green light is absorbed by the red blood cells as the blood vessels expand and contract. Expanded blood vessels takes in more green light; contracted blood vessels absorb less. #nowyouknow.
Another feature that seems almost like magic (props to Arthur C Clarke) is sleep tracking. Usually, in a sleep study, you’re hooked up to a polysomnograph via electrodes to record your EEG (electroencephalogram), ECG (electrocardiogram), EOG (electrooculography) and EMG (electromyography) readings. A smartwatch doesn’t have electrodes so, instead, it relies on the watch’s accelerometers to measure how many movements you make during sleep.
These are the big two features that all smartwatch users are familiar with but they are just the tip of the iceberg, especially when it comes to the Apple Watch, which has a slew more attributes that the majority tend to overlook. While records of your heart rate and your sleep patterns are fine, the more information that the Apple Watch collates (balance; oxygen in the blood; mental state), the clearer the picture of your state of health that comes to the fore.
We discovered more things that the Apple Watch Series 8 and Series 9 can do at the recent Apple Health Summit.
Any data that the Apple Watch collects is not shared with Apple or any third party, that was stressed no less than three times during our session with Apple. Tim Cook was adamant about Apple’s stance on privacy, which it believes is a “fundamental human right”. But if you want to, you can share your crucial health data with your family members or caregivers who are also Apple users. Info like high heart rate alerts, irregular rhythm notifications will keep your inner circle in the know so that they can check in on you.
When it comes to longevity in health, mobility ranks high on the list. Think about it: when you start to feel painand strain from even the most basic task like walking, your quality of life dips. In fact, the act of walking can be a key indicator of any injury, it is also the representation of one’s ability to age with independence. The Mobility Metrics measures your walking performance—the speed; step length; asymmetry—from the results you can ascertain where you place mobility-wise.
While the accelerator on the smartwatch alone is enough to measure your strides, the Mobility Metrics work better when you also have your Apple iPhone holstered at your waist. With a secondary accelerometer, you’ll get a more accurate reading of your walking state.
When our smartphones become more ubiquitous, it’s inevitable that the majority of our lives will be spent in front of screens. Excessive screen time strains the eyes and leaves them dry. Worst-case scenario: you’ll get retina damage and blurred vision. Myopia is another leading cause of vision impairment, especially for children since the risk of myopia rises when they don’t spend time outdoors and the distance between their peepers and screen are not at a respectable distance away from each other.
Here’s where Apple safeguards your vision health. You can view the amount of time spent in daylight thanks to your Apple Watch, which measures time spent in daylight using an ambient light sensor. Going out to bathe in the sun rays is encouraged as it boosts immunity; hones your circadian rhythm so that you can sleep better; fights off depression, among a host of benefits.
You can also program your iPhone to switch on the Screen Distance feature. It uses the TrueDepth camera and alerts you if it senses that your face is too close.
Your physical appearance may be up to par but what’s on the inside counts, especially, inside your head. We’re not talking about therapy; that requires finesse... hell, even a human touch. No, when it comes to your mental well-being, the Apple Watch is forcing you to slow down.
Now this was the hardest feature to adopt. Having lived out most of my adult life in the rat race, I’m encouraged to stop and smell the roses. The Mindfulness app in watchOS 10 engages you to catalogue how you feel at the moment. It sounds like blogging but the Mindfulness nudges you into identifying what led you to your current state. With these insights, you can better manage your overall mental health, which is much needed in today’s fast-paced world.
If we ask you to think of Bali’s best-known wellness activities, meditation, yoga and various other cross-legged pursuits will probably spring to mind. DJ Harvey would like to remind you that there’s another practice people have been using to get their chakras aligned, their spirits uplifted and their auras cleansed since our cave-dwelling days.
“Dancing around is as ancient and as natural as getting up in the morning,” says the legendary British disc jockey. Harvey argues that rather than being debauched or hedonistic, going out to dance all night is in fact an act of self-care. “If it puts a smile on your face and makes you happy, that’s mental health, that’s healthy. And if you happen to get some aerobic exercise from it, that’s physical health. And if you make a new friend, all the better.”
In Harvey’s view, “Dancing to music is a wonderful pursuit. I can’t see anything wrong with it in any way, shape, or form. It’s completely beneficial in every single way.” Should you find yourself in Bali in May—and isn’t that why people go to Bali, to find themselves?—you can sample Harvey’s brand of spiritual healing during his month-long residence at Klymax, the new club he’s established at Desa Potatohead in Seminyak.
The 400-capacity subterranean space was designed to Harvey’s exacting specs, from the state-of-the-art sound system down to a gentle sprinkling of dust on the disco ball, which softens its effect, Harvey reckons. A visual reflection of the ‘cosmic disco’ sound Harvey is often associated with, Klymax’s aesthetic resembles a nightclub scene from a stylish 1970s sci-fi movie—except instead of Michael York or Charlton Heston, here, you’re the star.
The technology used in DJing has advanced immensely over the course of Harvey’s five-decade career. But at the end of the day (or the end of the night, as the case may be), success as a DJ comes down to playing the right music to suit the moment and the mood, Harvey says.
“You choose a record, and then you choose the next one—hopefully you haven’t chosen them all before you get to the party, which some people do,” he chides. “You play some music and hope people like it, and then you play another tune and hope they like that, and you try to get from one record to the next without bringing the dance floor to a screeching halt. And if everyone’s smiling at the end, you’ve done your job, simple as that.”
As space-age as Klymax may appear, as high-tech as the equipment he uses is, the partying Harvey presides over is part of a tradition dating back to the most primitive times, at the very dawn of mankind. “The frequencies don’t change, just the delivery. It used to be we’d beat a stick on a log, now you press a green button. But the rhythm that comes out, that has never changed and can never change because they are frequencies and rhythms that tune into the frequencies and rhythms of your existence,” Harvey believes. “That stuff doesn’t change, it’s just the medium which produces those rhythms or frequencies that evolves.”
Farina Ghanie, who runs wellness retreats for stressed-out executives in Singapore under the moniker ARISE, says dancing and getting out of your head (perhaps in more ways than one) possess plenty of parallels with the more esoteric forms of mind-body-spirit wellness. “Dancing is effectively a form of meditation because you are one with yourself,” she says. “It’s about connecting with your breath, being connected with your body. It’s similar to when elite sports athletes get into a hyper focus state. That is a form of meditation, too, because everything external, all the ‘noise’ is removed, and they only focus on one thing.”
More and more men are coming to recognise the importance of taking time for physical and mental self-care before they reach the stage of burning out. “At our retreats, we teach very simple practices like breath work—it’s just breathing, you don’t have to look at it as something spiritual or ‘new age’,” Ghanie says. “It’s just about you, showing up for yourself and giving yourself time to breathe, and just being. It’s about acknowledging the need for these moments of self-care and self-love, the need to recharge our batteries and to make time for ourselves because life is so chaotic.”
According to Ghanie, many men who attend one of her retreats use it as a way of gaining certain skills necessary to better look after their own physical wellness and mental health, independently. “We help people to experience these ancient tools and techniques that have existed in Asia for thousands of years, that really help with mindfulness,” she says. “These wellness experiences calm the nervous system, helping to reduce stress and anxiety. And when you do that, that’s when the magic happens—you get clarity, you get quietness of the mind, you get focus, and you get creativity coming out.”
Musician, designer and artist Kiat says for him, creative self-expression is cathartic. “Making music had long been my main form of personal therapy, but I’d always seen it as something to share in person, something linked to a physical space, a sound system, to an actual physical interaction, which wasn’t possible during the pandemic.” During the lockdowns, he says, “I started taking up the brush a lot more, purely out of the need to express myself, not for anyone else, without any feedback, because when I’m painting, it’s just me and the canvas.”
Kiat says when he began making art for art’s sake, painting for the fun of it, “A strange thing happened. I not only felt better—I literally felt like the weight of the world had lifted, I felt a lot lighter, less anxious, I could breathe a bit more. But also, the more I painted and the better I felt, the more my professional work life improved, the more freelance jobs started coming in, even in the middle of the pandemic.”
The lesson Kiat took away from this intense period was, “Sometimes things don’t work out exactly as you wanted or how you’d planned, but it’s ok as long as you keep creating, and as long as you create for yourself, rather than create for other people. Just exercise pure creativity, whether that be through cooking, gardening, writing, painting, singing, dancing, whatever. It’s ok not to be perfect or to reach a finish point—just enjoy the experience. That in itself is its own reward.”
The first time I heard of quiet quitting was through a patient of mine. I remember thinking, “Wow, they finally have a term for this.” I can probably form a support group for this—right now—with at least 15 people from my current pool of patients.
Most of us feel disenchanted or unmotivated at various points in our careers. But what sets quiet quitting apart is how individuals don’t seem to feel better about their work. Instead, they tend to be progressively more disengaged from their roles and duties as time goes by. Things start innocuously: less participation in team meetings perhaps, choosing to sit out of voluntary team/company events, or being less collaborative and taking less initiative on projects and responsibilities. Eventually, the quiet quitter does the bare minimum of what is required of them to earn the paycheque that comes monthly, and strictly nothing more.
Covid-19 has irreversibly changed the way we work. The advent of remote work that has given us greater work-life integration has also pushed disengaged employees to further isolate themselves. Reduced face time has also translated to managers who aren’t as sensitive to sentiments on the ground—including decreasing team motivation. Tired of the organisation’s callousness, disgruntled employees might turn to spreading negativity. The result? A spiral of toxicity in the workplace that adversely impacts the organisation’s culture.
Technically, there’s nothing wrong to do exactly what one is paid to and no more. Who cares about team culture so long as you can make ends meet and still have time for yourself, right? Not quite. Quiet quitting typically stems from an increasing disillusionment about work. This often also manifests as a growing apathy or dread towards work. This can then lead to a person taking more and more time off work, whether in the form of sick leave or unpaid leave. Here’s the thing: absenteeism is often more easily noted than other forms of disengagement. This calls to question one’s performance and productivity. No prizes for guessing what happens to the performance bonus. Still think there are no consequences to quiet quitting?
Experts believe that quiet quitting is actually a way for employees to deal with burnout. While it might be tempting to engage in quiet quitting as a form of retaliation against an organisation, this actually harms employees as much as it harms the organisation. Since the former is the group that ultimately still suffers penalties for lower output and engagement. In addition, an employee’s opportunity for growth might also be affected. It seems unfair for employees to bear full responsibility and consequences for quiet quitting. Especially when their organisations should also be responsible for ensuring a conducive, burnout-free environment. That said, the reality is far more nuanced than such simplistic should-haves and could-haves.
If you feel overworked, underappreciated, and burnt out, you owe it to yourself to speak up. So that you are not unfairly evaluated in a difficult work environment. Since the cost of employee attrition can be very high, organisations are typically motivated to retain their staff. Setting clear expectations about compensation, opportunities, career growth and work-life boundaries isn’t easy. But these conversations give both employees and employers a fair chance to evaluate—and revisit— whether they are a good fit for each other. Should this no longer be the case, then do yourself the favour: Quit. Quit rather than prolong the pain for yourself and everyone else involved.
The Dior Spa Cruise returns for another season amidst couture week. Setting sail in Paris on 3 July, consider it an impeccably dressed, floating wellness guru with great views of the Eiffel Tower and a sincere desire to help you detox, re-energise, reverse-age, and relax, for two hours on the Seine.
Best thing about it? With only four rooms—three single, one double—we’re talking exclusive relaxation that’s available for only five people at a time.
Taking place on a yacht named Stunning Excellence that’s currently moored at Port Henri IV, near Île Saint-Louis, the cruising continues until July 14 (coinciding with Couture Week in the city), and has you covered for tailor-made holistic treatment programs that treat mental, emotional and physical well-being.
To our mind, the Dior initiative gets the concept of cruising just right—namely, it only lasts two hours. Enough time for you to relax, unwind, and enjoy a treatment and the view. There are two types of cruises on offer (treatment-based and wellness) each lasting the full 120 minutes. Those looking for the full Dior package can combine them both for a four-hour extravaganza.
While reservations are available online (here), it’s worth noting that the treatment cruise, includes one hour of chilled time on deck, and a one-hour treatment (detox, balance, reverse-aging, power or relaxation), are available on specific dates, so be sure to check before booking.
The wellness cruise, meanwhile, offers one hour of on-deck relaxation and a 60-minute wellness activity.
Unsurprisingly, the yacht itself is something of a flex. The remodelled decor includes Dior’s signature toile de jouy, while the 1,290-square-foot upper deck features a juice bar and pool, as well as lounge chairs to see and be seen from. Although as you’ll glide past Parisian icons such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame cathedral, Musée d’Orsay and Grand Palais, it would be advisable to be more on the side of seeing than being seen.
Set sail on the Dior Spa Cruise from July 3 to 14. Reservations are available at Dior.com
