Electrical Muscle Stimulation, IV Therapy and 6 More Unusual Wellness Trends
Is your wellness style more Los Angeles or New York? Here are eight wellness trends you might just want to try based on your personality.
From goat yoga to collagen peptides, the wellness world is full of trends. But if you're feeling a little lost in the constant barrage of "must-try" fitness classes, fad diets and health boosters (or just wondering what the heck are people talking about?!), let's simplify things a little.
Here are eight of the newest wellness trends so you can decide for yourself if they're worth a try.
1. Kundalini Yoga
Regular yoga just not enough of a transcendental experience for you? Kundalini yoga elevates your asana practice into a more spiritual form of exercise, as it combines physical and spiritual practices in one.
It combines the yoga poses and flows you likely already know with breathing meditation and chanting mantras to help invoke awareness into your internal energies, strategically guide that energy throughout your body and connect it with the outside world.
Read more: These 16 Unique Yoga Classes Let You Try Some Far-Out Flows
2. Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS)
Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) training is a full-body workout system that uses electronic resonance therapy to target specific large muscle groups and safely activates the central nervous system to direct your muscle to contract at a higher frequency. And according to a 2017 study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, EMS training can help improve strength, endurance, coordination and speed.
3. Collagen Peptides
Collagen is essential for bones, muscles, skins and joints. It's what holds your body together, gives your skin elasticity and allows you to move without pain. As you age, though, your collagen levels decrease, and all of these elements begin to weaken. As a result, signs of aging like wrinkles and achy joints begin to emerge.
The latest solution is an ingestible collagen supplement. Though research is just beginning to look into the purported benefits of this supplement, a few studies have already pointed to its ability to help reduce wrinkles, relieve some joint pain and increase skin moisture and elasticity. Plus, it's a great source of protein.
4. Vitamin IV Drips
Had a rougher than normal week at work? Feeling more drained than usual? Intravenous therapy isn't just for hospital patients anymore. Many people are turning to IV drips to help with everything from hangovers to minor vitamin deficiencies.
"In certain conditions, IV repletion of these vitamins and minerals can boost the levels in the body more rapidly," Chiti Parikh told NBC News. "As these deficiencies are corrected, one might feel more energetic, clear headed and notice an improvement in the texture of skin and hair."
5. Anxiety Coaches
The new wave of mental health is all-natural. People are relying more and more on anxiety coaches instead of or in addition to prescription medication. These coaches offer therapeutic services to help patients manage stress, release anxiety, find joy with mindfulness meditation and other natural approaches.
Read more: 5 Things to Do When You're Too Busy For Therapy
6. Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT)
Your hormones play a major role in your bodily functions, regulating multiple chemical reactions to help you maintain internal balance. But everyday stressors can cause hormones to become imbalanced.
Enter BHRT, plant-derived man-made hormones that are chemically identical to those produces by the human body. BHRT is most commonly being used to ease symptoms of menopause. But it may also reduce the risk for diabetes and help improves skin moisture and elasticity.
7. Ayurvedic Facelift
In search of the facelift of the future — no needles, no downtime? Pulling from ancient Ayurvedic practices, people are gravitating toward a newer, more holistic ways to achieve an instant facelift through special massage techniques focusing on tension-holding marma points, acupressure and lymphatic drainage to help lift the skin, reduce wrinkles and open the eyes.
8. Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Facelift
Often referred to as the vampire facial, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) stem cell facials have been trendy amongst Hollywood A-listers but are now growing in popularity across the U.S. as an alternative to more invasive facelift treatments.
The 20- to 30-minute procedure starts with an application of numbing cream to the skin that's being treated and uses plasma obtained from your own blood and delivered to your skin by injections or microneedling facial therapy. According to a 2014 study from the Journal of Cutaneous Aesthetic Surgery, it helps with scar reduction and collagen restoration while improving the tone and texture of the skin.
Read more: Cat Litter Exfoliators, Vampire Facials and 8 Other Wacky Celebrity Beauty Habits
About the Authors
Natalya Fazylova and Arkady Lipnitsky launched their NYC-based holistic health and wellness practice, ReBalanceNYC.com, in September 2018, offering a 360-degree approach to patient's total wellness.
Natalya Fazylova is a doctor of nursing practice and an associate professor at the City University of New York. She's also a certified Chinese herbologist and an aesthetic skin and laser specialist. And Arkady Aaron Lipnitsky, DC, is a chiropractor with more than 20 years' experience. He's also board-certified as a diplomate of the American Chiropractic Rehabilitation Board and as an independent chiropractic examiner.