LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Legendary style icon Coco Channel had once famously declared:
“Nature gives you the face you have at 20; it is up to you to merit the face you have at 50”. Undoubtedly, the obsession with youth and vanity is not just a licensed Dorian Gray fixation reserved for matinee idols and fashionistas, but a global passion that fuels a multi-billion dollar industry.
However, true wisdom lies in walking a fine balance between cosmetic beauty and wholesome wellness. Spice nods in approval with a special issue that mulls over the wellness wellspring as it runneth over. We combat the sedentary trends in racy urban lifestyles and their incumbent problems.
For those who prefer indulgence over involvement, Spice finds solutions in a jar with the most exotic beauty ingredients inspired at the animal farm. As nightingale droppings and snake venom replace ass’s milk as the new face of food facials, snake massages represent a novel sybaritic break. Animal secretion as a beauty aid may deter the most zealous narcissist, but the gooey stuff that snails excrete has animated industry mavens for its moisturising and anti-ageing qualities.
But what you slather on is merely the first course. We commit to consummate health with Bollywood nutritionist Shonali Sabherwal who believes that nutrition is the building block on which our wellness quotient rests. Debunking popular myths, while clearing the confusion created by the information overload on the internet, she decodes the antioxidant mantra for Spice.
To serve the cause further, we explore the healing feeling of an almost karmic surrender to a massage therapist. However, we steer away from diamond massages and mother of pearl treatments to share some of the more novel trends shaping the spa industry. These combine wellness and lifestyle to include fitness, yoga, tai chi, meditation, relaxation massages, nutrition and spirituality; they even build in sleep time into treatments.
But Spice prefers luxury when it is a whim rather than part of a business plan. We take the fitness party forward with Zumba and pole dancing, along with a roundup of the hottest global fitness trends to watch out for. While personal trainers have been around for a while, wellness coaches celebrate the road less travelled. It’s not just about exercise but getting the motivational support provided by a professional with the right tools: nutrition coaches, life coaches, and even meditation coaches.
After all, “silence is the origin of sound and stillness is the origin of movement” or so believe the proponents of sufi whirling. Like ballerina pirouettes, kathakchakars, odissibrahmaris, and gypsy spins, sufi whirling is an active movements meditation. Spice goes up close and personal with the meditative dance form that allows you to centre the chaos within.
Existentialists may argue otherwise but Spice profiles the ubiquitous tech imprint that is transforming lives and transcending functions with phones as the new 24/7 companions. With 2,000 new applications created every day, we stay ahead in the race to stay fit with fun gadgets and apps that take a swing at daily workouts.
Spice spins a tale exhorting the magic of invention, innovation and inspiration.
(Aroon Purie)