Well-being

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple years, chances are you’ve seen a Himalayan salt lamp in your local community market or on an online shop. These decorative lamps give off a soft, pinkish-orange glow that makes for an attractive feature in any home. However, the main selling point isn’t its aesthetic appeal, but its wide range of health benefits.

Recovering from cancer is a mentally and physically draining process and with the aid of natural alternative treatments on a post-cancer recovery retreat you can speed up the road to recuperation and start to feel like your old self. Various therapies have been shown to relieve the side effects of conventional cancer treatments, like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which can leave you feeling tired and drained. These alternative treatments will gently heal any damage caused by cancer and start to restore your well-being back to a stronger state.

Embrace the beneficial effects of the best exercise wellness holidays to help actively relieve tension, improve posture and reduce pain in your body. Most people who work at a regular desk job don’t realise the lasting, harmful strain this is putting on your joints, ligaments, and muscles due to the lack of physical activity. Give yourself a natural healing break from reality on a healing holiday to target your health problems and enhance your posture.

To find the best fitness holiday workouts to suit your body type, it is important to know which body type is most applicable to you. The endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph are the three body types or ‘somatotypes’ that can be used as a basic formula to categorise ourselves in order to best maximise our fitness potential on a wellness holiday. Although, no fitness workout rigidly fits into one body type criteria, don’t be surprised to find overlapping similarities between multiple body types within your own body.

Going for an exclusive fitness holiday is one good way to achieve your fitness goals, but to effectively improve your health and well-being, it helps to be informed of what exercises work with your body type, rather than against it. Learn which cardio and strength training based workouts are suited to your body type, so you can choose a fitness holiday that is beneficial for your body.

Nourish your foodie wanderlust with the crème de la crème of wellness holidays that serve only the healthiest gastronomic delights as we transport you to a gourmand’s haven through our collection of the ultimate healthy foodie getaways. Whether you’re a hardcore health buff, a raw-vegan connoisseur or simply wanting to try different healthy diet options, our nutrition-friendly retreats have something to satisfy every appetite.

While most people associate Insomnia with the strain of not being able to fall asleep, it is actually a serious sleep disorder that can affect our health and well-being quite drastically. There is an array of factors that trigger insomnia, and most of them link back to an imbalanced lifestyle. Mental conditions like stress, anxiety and depression can mess with your sleeping pattern, as do physical factors, such as poor diet, lack of exercise and an excessive intake of stimulants. The good news is, you have an influence to fight these sleep disturbance factors. Even small changes to your lifestyle will make a massive difference re-establishing your normal sleep cycle and help cure insomnia.  

Take in the rejuvenating mountain scenery on a spiritual and holistic healing holiday, where you can experience complete rejuvenation and revive your energy levels with relaxing treatments in the best mountain spa destinations around the world. Discover the beneficial effect of traditional holistic spa therapies on your health, as you revive your mind and body during signature Ayurvedic massages, Reiki, abhyanga and more.

Elena Taffuri, wellness manager at Ti Sana in Italy, shares with us the best ways to manage rising stress levels caused by the constant pressures of modern day, hectic lifestyles.

We all look forward to a much-anticipated dip in the swimming pool on holiday or snorkel in the sea, but do we ever take into account the rewarding effects it has on our bodies? For many of us, swimming is more of a hobby rather than exercise and a quick swim can be an excellent way to unwind and de-stress or cool-off on a hot day. But few people actually consider the positive outcome it can bring about for our health. With some of these tips, why not try and make your next trip to the retreats pool or the beach a more beneficial one?

Do you enjoy viewing captivating scenery, whilst being active? If so venture on a walking or hiking holiday, which experts say is the best kind of exercise for any generation and is enough to keep your cardiovascular system in good condition. Take walking to a new level and escape to a beautiful destination, where you can step up your traditional brisk style of walk to hiking or trekking excursions or simply walk in exquisite surroundings.

Travelling is one of the most popular “life goals”, and having the nomadic lifestyle is certainly one of the best ways to see the world.

With the growing popularity of gluten-free diets on the rise, Ana Horta, nutritionist at Longevity in Portugal, shares with us the potential harm gluten could be doing to your health.

After all the stress and time spent Christmas shopping, it is no wonder that most of us over-indulge during the festive period to compensate. The inevitable New Year's resolutions will then be made, and the majority revolve around trying to live a healthier and more exercise orientated lifestyle in the forthcoming year.

With our father's stomachs slowly expanding and their backs gradually bending, Father's Day couldn't have come any quicker. The perfect gift this Father's Day is not only to express to our dads how much we care and how we actually do acknowledge their existence, but it is also the opportunity to encourage them to take more time out of their stressful routines and look after themselves for a change.

With the perfect formula for a good night’s sleep evading most of us thanks to our busy lifestyles and hectic work schedules, Deepak Rawat, spa manager at Shanti Maurice in Mauritius, shares with us the influential effect of sleep on your overall health and well-being.

From the Sanskrit meaning "The knowledge for long life", traditional ayurvedic medicine is an ancient Hindu healing system that is widely regarded as the oldest form of healthcare in the world. It aims to improve one's health and well-being by creating a balance between mind, body and spirit through an assessment of lifestyle.

With the pressures of modern day lifestyles causing many of us to compromise our own well-being, Dr. Sutthi Sawetsutthiphan, Medical Director at Thanyapura in Thailand, tells us about the influential relationship between stress and weight gain.

Whether you want to lose weight or detox, relax or be pampered, then there's no better place to be than a spa. In recent years, spas have grown in popularity as more of us are putting health and well-being high on the list of our everyday priorities. In addition to exercise, we are looking for new ways to improve our general health and the spa experience offers a whole range of treatments and facilities which will help us to reach our goals and relax our bodies and minds. But just why are spa holidays so popular and what can we expect from a spa experience today?

Susan d'Arcy

Susan d'Arcy has been writing for the Sunday Times for over 20 years, about luxurious spas and travel. As a spa expert she enjoys sharing her tips and insights about the best therapists, spas and treatments, on her very informative, yet entertaining blog, Spa Confidential.

To detox or to not is a reoccurring debate in the wellness community. The standard argument against detoxing is that our bodies naturally remove waste and toxins on a daily basis. This is correct. However, just the same way our bodies produce energy to sustain our daily activity levels - every now and then, we need a little extra help. Putting the spotlight on detox, we share its importance, the telltale signs you might need detoxing and how to do it safely and efficiently.