Tell us what you think is behind the rise of experiential wellness, with float spas, wellness pop-up events, meditation studios, nap bars and express facial bars becoming more popular.
In recent years people have started to think more deeply about what really matters in life and redefine what wellbeing means. This has led to a global shift in values, where we’ve started to prioritise our emotional, physical and spiritual health. We’ve become more mindful of what we consume and the impact of our purchases and started to realise that self-nurture can make you happier than material possessions. In our digital age, access to information means we’re more health savvy and in tune with our bodies, energy and fitness levels. This has led to a rise in experiential wellness – a trend strongly driven by Millennials but also embraced by Gen X, Gen Z and baby boomers too.
We’re more connected than we have ever been and as such, we’re more in tune with our bodies, energy and fitness levels.“ says Hema Prakash, General Manger of MINDBODY
We’ve just launched our MINDBODY 2020 Wellness Index, which tracked the current most ‘in demand’ fitness, beauty and wellness services. It showed that options such as float spas, meditation studios and express facial bars have become some of the fastest-growing wellness offerings on our MINDBODY app in the last 12 months. As people continue to enjoy experiential wellness as an important part of their self-care, we expect this growth to continue well into 2020. A classic example is the Liquid Room, which offers a range of holistic healthcare options including, float therapy, different styles of yoga and meditation.
2. Integrative health services are also predicted to grow, with acupuncture (27%), Hydrotherapy (24%) and Floatation Therapy (21%) sparking the most interest, are you surprised by these results?
Not at all – the interest in integrative health services has been gaining momentum as the popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) continues to rise. Services such as acupuncture, hydrotherapy and flotation therapy have been available to book on the MINDBODY app in Australia for a number of years now and are increasingly being considered more mainstream. The information at our fingertips shows a strong and growing desire and demand for holistic health services that nurture both mind and body as part of a more balanced lifestyle. People are keen to enhance their health using a mix of traditional and more cutting edge experiential wellness treatments. As this trend has filtered down from the US, we’ve seen a substantial spike in the number of Australian businesses joining our platform to offer those services and a spike in people using our app to access them.
3.NSW and VIC are the fittest states, with seven in ten residents claiming to engage in moderate or high intensity exercise at least once a week. What other statistics did you find interesting or surprising?
One of the startling findings to come out of our new and up to the minute MINDBODY Wellness Index is that as many as one in three Aussies (33%) are not engaging in moderate or high intensity exercise at all. This is quite alarming given that those same people also have the poorest scores for mood, diet and quality of sleep.
This finding is surprising because there are so many accessible options to suit everyone now, including structured group classes, one-on-one sessions and on-demand training.
4. Cardio-based exercises are the most popular form of fitness, followed by strength based then water based. Have you got predictions about what new trends will appear?
We believe hybrid workouts will continue to increase in popularity in 2020. Cardio and strength based options such as running, boxing, rowing and weight training, offer thorough workouts that exercise different muscle groups and parts of the body in different ways. Plus they offer variety to keep people motivated and stimulated. More people are also now aware of the importance of low impact exercises for improving posture and flexibility. So next year we expect classes such as reformer Pilates and yoga to remain popular because they have many essential health benefits such as boosting suppleness, serenity and recovery.
5. MINDBODY predicts the rise of lunchtime workouts, with 63% of people claiming they feel more productive after exercising during the day. How do mornings compare?
Our research has found that exercising in the morning and during lunch boosts energy and productivity. Encouragingly, 63% of people (two out of three) who do a lunch-time workout report being more productive, so we’ve dubbed lunchtime the ‘Power Hour’! For the 18-35 year old lunchtime exercisers, that increase rises to 74% – a measurable bonus for Aussie employers!
An early morning workout can also be a ‘Power Hour’ that benefits your mental and physical health. I’ve found it’s a great way to kick-start my day and ensure I fit a workout into my busy schedule. Morning workouts also rev up your metabolism and jumpstart your body to burn more kilojoules throughout the day, even at rest.
Whatever your schedule, the best workout is the one that gets done, so make sure you choose exercise that suits your lifestyle and you enjoy, so that you want to show up. There are so many offerings available through the MINDBODY app that it’s an easy way to find exercise to suit you. You can stick to your favourite ‘go to’ workout or discover new and invigorating exercise options then mix them up to maximise your fitness by cross training into different activities over the week.
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