The Langham, Hong Kong, has a 3-part Trinity of Calm wellness journey, while The Upper House has a collab with TCM-based Chain’s Medicare Centre
“Wellness” is more than just a buzzword these days – it’s a term whose meaning has expanded from spa treatments and detox holidays, to preventive healthcare and longevity protocols, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and fertility, and energy healing and fortune-telling. In a landscape where consumers are spoiled for choice, what will be getting you excited this year?
Traditional Chinese medicine is getting not-so-traditional these days, as a globalised Hong Kong audience that is used to mum’s nourishing soups and avoiding cold beverages seeks ancient wisdom in new formats. Last November, The Langham, Hong Kong, introduced Trinity of Calm, a three-part wellness journey created by Beans Retreat that brought together a mindful tea sensory journey, journaling and a poolside outdoor sound bath while participants received womb-warming moxibustion treatments.
Balance Health is also reprising its successful Pathways to Inner Harmony Lantau retreat, a full-day programme boldly bringing together tai chi and Western-style holotropic breathwork, a five elements workshop, emptiness practice and art-making.
Meanwhile The Upper House is bringing a new residency to Pacific Place Apartments, this one spearheaded by Gigi Ngan of Chain’s Medicare Centre, one of Hong Kong’s most respected TCM centres. “We’re seeing a cultural shift,” says Ngan, who spoke at November’s TEDxTinHau Women showcase. “TCM is no longer seen as ‘alternative’ or old-fashioned. It’s becoming part of the mainstream wellness conversation – from fertility and hormonal balance to stress, sleep and long-term vitality. And when you put these ancient practices inside a modern environment, it shows that tradition and innovation don’t have to compete. They can sit side by side, like yin and yang, to create a fuller picture of well-being.”
Stages of women’s lives
Maaike Steinebach, host of the podcast Femtech at Work, says women’s health issues boil down to the three ‘M’s of menstruation, maternity and menopause. Photo: Trunk Archive
The wellness market has often been geared towards women, but it’s further evolving to target women at different stages or categories of their lives. Entrepreneur and podcast host of Femtech at Work, Maaike Steinebach, says women’s health issues boil down to the three big ‘M’s: menstruation, maternity and menopause.
And while we’re used to wellness coming in the form of techniques and treatments, Steinebach shares that today’s women’s health movement is based on information, education and personal advocacy: “It’s miraculous what happens when women start to talk about menopause, and then go, ‘Oh, my God, I went through the same. I had no idea.’”
On wellness-themed WhatsApp community chat groups, women are sharing names of doctors, nutritionists and coaches that take a progressive, holistic approach to ageing, perimenopause and menopause: the likes of Beth Wright, a body transformation and menopause coach; Dr Laurena Law, a medical doctor who takes a holistic approach to women’s ageing; and Lisa Tarquini, founder of The Menopause Space, an advocacy and education platform.
Heanney Banks’ Yana Method is a breathwork-based community and app. Photo: Handout
Heanney Banks’ The Yana Method app is a breathwork-based community for busy mothers to find calm, and matrescence coach Tingi Ko helps corporate first-time mums transition between identities without guilt.
