The 7 new wellness trends to explore this year

A new year brings with it a whole range of opportunity and anticipation. And, of course, there will be emerging new trends in the health and wellbeing space. We've run the rule over them all to narrow down to the key health innovations and habits that look set to define the next 12 months.

The past few years have been all about LPG (lipomassage), but for 2023 there are two other fascinating ways to boost your lymphatic system. Icoone, described as the newest generation of lymphatic vacuum massage, allows precise work on connective tissue and can be used to treat both muscle stiffness and skin conditions. Both face and body treatments are possible and one session can help with skin rejuvenating, body shaping and lymphatic drainage.

Related: The high-tech route to body-sculpting that you may have never heard of

Dry brushing and foam rolling are two other good lymph boosting options, while an alternative choice that can really help level up your routine is the Roll Off body rolling massage machine. With infrared lights and different speeds, the machines can cover your whole body in a 45-minute session. Avid users claim that you can expect less tension in your muscles and fascia, better sleep, faster recovery time after workouts, and a big kick-start for your lymphatic system.

“A great benefit is also that you’re in control during the whole session and can choose the pressure, speed, and exact positions yourself,” says Arita Rakstina, founder of beauty and health salon LUKS in Stockholm, which offers Roll Off treatments.

Raw, pressed celery was the health drink of choice for 2022, but you may not be too cut up to hear that it's on the way out this year. In its place is beetroot juice, a great alternative, which although it does tend to have an earthy taste, is packed full of great stuff. Known to be a good source of potassium, iron, magnesium, and zinc among other minerals, the beet is also said to improve exercise stamina.

“Of all the supplements there are, only five have science backed evidence, and one of them is nitrate. Nitrate is a compound in beets and has shown to improve performance,” says Dr Ida Lindman. If your goal is new PBs this year, make sure to get those bundles of beets into your grocery basket as soon as possible.

We'd all love to go on a beautiful wellness jaunt in a remote, far-flung location, but let's be honest, that's rarely possible. Fortunately, there are more accessible ways to work the wellness retreat mentality into your life – and 2023 is set to be a year where this gets even easier.

The launch of inner city wellness sanctuaries such as Equinox Hotels in New York and London has brought rejuvenating spa packages, sessions with a personal trainer, customized menus by a nutritionist, and a few nights in rooms designed for optimal sleep to town, meaning you can now combine a city break with a healthy retreat.

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Look out for similar close-at-hand 'getaways' launching in Scandinavia in the next few months, especially since the arrival of Soho House has put social wellness hubs on the agenda in the region.

A good way to ensure your practices more fun and stimulating this year, while also including some habit stacking, is to introduce some new elements, tools, and therapies into your daily meditation or workout.

Round out your yoga practice with a few minutes of sound healing or reiki to relax and ground even more, or why not incorporate hypnosis or red light therapy while meditating? By optimising the time we dedicate to health, we can get several practices, tools, and rituals done in one session. Meditation doesn't necessarily mean sitting in the lotus position with your eyes closed, but can be done while you are getting ready in the morning or out walking, perhaps during a session in the sauna, or even just by taking a couple of deep breaths at work. And although we love to create an ambience with tones from singing bowls and light smoke from dried sage, your journaling practice can also be done on your daily commute to work or while waiting for your kids’ sports practice to finish.

Related: Reiki: Why this holistic healing treatment is the ultimate form of self-care to try

An important sustainable resolution this year is creating a routine that works for you, mixing and matching the practices and tools you like the most, anytime and anywhere.

With benefits such as boosting skin, hair, nails, and thyroid functions, incorporating more marine collagen, algae, and other sea organisms into both our beauty routine and diet is certainly something to sample this year.

Seaweed and algae are packed with minerals, trace elements, amino acids, essential fatty acids, as well as vitamins. They are also natural sources of iodine, which is responsible for the production of all our hormones, such as the ones controlling the body’s metabolism and thyroid function.

Try Natural Remedy by Scandinavian wellness company Nordic Superfood, which consists of collagen and iodine from Nordic algae. “I have many friends who suffer from issues with their thyroid, which is often a result of stress and lack of iodine in the body. After years of research, I believe I have found a natural solution and way to help these women with symptoms such as weight gain, dry skin and hair, brittle nails, and low mood that are results of lack of iodine,” explains founder Linda Myrberg.

Focusing a little extra on collagen and sea organisms is also something iconic skincare brand Biologique Recherche has done recently as they have found the purest possible collagen, taken from planktonic organism that hasn’t aged in more than 600 million years. Their findings led to the recent launch of a new type of serum, Collagène Originel, that restarts the cellular functions that decrease with age, strengthens the skin’s resilience, improves its firmness, and boosts two of the most abundant types of collagen in the skin. “The collagen we have found and patented, the Type-O Collagen, can be found in species that are extremely old, but evolution or external stressors haven’t changed them. This means that they have the capacity to really fight against stressors like pollution and global warming, but also against aging,” says Dr. Philippe Allouche, research & creator director.

While kundalini isn’t something new, KAP (Kundalini Activation Process) and its significant way of working with energy really got us hooked last year. While that is something we still can’t get enough of, we have actually found one more way to activate that kundalini energy – incorporated into a workout.

Described as a yoga and meditation class mixed with high intensity exercises, The Practice, run by yoga teacher and holistic chef Camilla Ahlqvist here in Stockholm, is a great way to both release and increase your energy this year. It's challenging for both body and mind with exercises lasting for several minutes, yet is infused with mindful moments to catch your breath and “return home” as Ahlqvist reminds you during the class. “You’re not coming to my class to be a little bit active or to work out a little bit – you’re coming for an experience. I want you to feel something. I want you to feel alive, vibrant, and amazing. Just unstoppable,” says Ahlqvist.

The soothing sound from singing bowls has got us hooked during the past few years and sound healing is no longer seen as a strange New Age practice, but actually as one of the most effective ways to relax and meditate.

Dr Marie Gershagen specialises in holistic feminine medicine and has also conducted studies on how music affects the brain. “We see that certain sounds resonate on frequencies that may support the human brain wave state to more meditative depths,” she says. “In this way, there may be a potential for healing, as deep states of meditation can bring upon an activation of the parasympathetic (calming and healing) nervous system, and thus bring homeodynamic resilience to psychoneuroendocrine and immunological systems.”

Related: How to meditate and use positive affirmations

Another way of using sounds to reach a state of deep relaxation is Bilateral Sound Therapy, where the sound shifts from one ear to the other, making the two hemispheres of the brain interact, which in turn can help us de-stress and lower anxiety. Bilateral stimulation is simply a stimulation of both sides of our brain, hence using something we can see, feel, or hear crossing the body in a rhythmic pattern.

Listening to bilateral music is very easy and you can find tons of resources on both YouTube and Spotify. Just relax, plug your headphones in, and allow your body and mind to unwind.