SOUND ADVICE
Lou Eu, Kundalini practitioner and sound healer at Alchemie Boutique, on the power of crystal healing.
“Overall, people are drowning in the technology that was meant to help them such as Wi-Fi, mobile phones, smart devices,” says Zenon. Having studied theology in Jerusalem, naturopathy in Australia, and in China and Thailand to absorb the wisdom of Taoist healers and Buddhist monks, Zenon says, “Truly, nature has all the healing available abundantly.”
Co-founder of online spiritual community The Lightworkers Lab, Tricia Carr, who also hosts a widely popular podcast called Charmed Life agrees: “It is wonderful if you could go to a monastery and live there, but always know that the work is within you. Those are tools that help to set the setting and dance with to help us remember who we really are. A teacher holds space with you for you to help you recall what you already know.”
VANTAGE POINT
However, for those whom a retreat in Maldives may seem too far off as a reality right now, technology has blessed us at least, with connectivity. “Another amazing activity to help us disconnect is through meditation and mindfulness. Yoga also helps at so many levels. It’s easy to learn these days because there are basic courses available on the Internet,” Dr Fernandes says.
An increasing amount of digital wellness warriors are offering online programmes that can help us get our health together. Malaysia-based start-up wellness website PurelyB (www.purelyb.com) rolled out a Nourish, Heal, Glow programme recently with its resident health coach and co-founder Carina Lipold, an NLP practitioner, Pilates coach, and obesity trainer herself. “More online programmes are emerging to teach and help people in their own pace,” says Lipold. “In conjunction with this, there are also health devices and apps. This development is fuelled not only by new technology, but also by new science discoveries.”
As part of the local health scene from the very beginning—for more than 10 years now—Lipold, together with co-founder Jesrina Arshad put PurelyB together, pioneered the healthy food delivery service movement, and are proponents of SUP fitness. Now, with the rise of wellness festivals such as Murfest and independent events organised for yogis and vegans in particular, “I can see now, over six years later, that things have changed,” reflects Lipold. “There is more awareness about healthy lifestyle in the country, and I believe this will continue to grow.”
FUTURE, NOW
However, Lipold also agrees that a digital detox or an occasional disconnect from the digital realm to go back to face-to-face, skin-toskin contact, is necessary. “If we look at the wellness dimensions that are often cited in the industry, you can also see it there,” explains Lipold. “In order to be really ‘well’, you don’t only need the physical part to be great (eat well, sleep well, more), but also to be emotionally well, have a functioning social environment, and have a purpose in your life—that being your spirituality.”
Zenon thinks in the same vein: “In some ways, our connectivity is bringing awareness to what is going on, and keeping things from being hidden from us as humanity. This is an important shift, and as it continues, we will start to see real advances in our world. The more imbalanced people become in cities, the more unhappy they get, and a feeling of emptiness inside sprouts. The more stress people have in their lives, the more desire for wellness, to come back into balance, there will be. There is a flame flickering inside each person saying, ‘There must be more to life than what I’m currently experiencing’.”