4 wellness treatments you didn’t know you needed

Yoga on a purifying stone floor

Across the ages, stones and minerals have always been attributed to certain qualities, from mystical to medical. Crystals are divinatory, amber alleviates stress, and jade protects. Maifan stone is an ingredient used in Traditional Chinese medicine, for curing skin tumours and ulcers. It originates from Inner Mongolia, containing up to 70 trace elements including potassium, calcium, sodium, and manganese, which are essential elements in blood and other bodily fluids. Its anti-inflammatory properties have been known to relieve pain, balance your pH levels, and calm the skin.

When heated, maifan stone releases far infrared rays and negative ions, both of which promote metabolism and detoxification, as well as providing an antioxidating effect. Practising hot yoga on top of a bed of this purifying mineral can amplify the effects of your workout, and extend the effects of your practice. 

Hydro physio

Have you ever felt like you are running underwater in a dream? That slow, sluggish feeling of not being able to move quickly can be frustrating, but it turns out, that resistance is highly beneficial for joint injuries in real life, which is why water is often used in physiotherapy treatments. Aquatic training refers to a type of exercise or treatment that involves deliberate movements underwater, conducted in a shallow pool or with the aid of a specially designed machine that features a treadmill in a water tank. You go waist-deep in warm water, and either walk, run, or do core exercises with the help of floaties or weights, depending on the intensity of your workout. 

Water offers extra buoyancy so pressure is taken off your joints, but also provides extra resistance that allows you to strengthen your muscles. Warm water also serves to enhance circulation, promote fat burn, and enhance joint flexibility. A sterilisation tank connected to the machine uses medical-grade disinfection technology to cleanse the equipment, to ensure that the water in the tank is kept clean and safe for each use.

While this type of training is beneficial for rehabilitation, especially for spinal, hip, knee, lower leg, and ankle injuries, it can also do wonders for healthy individuals looking to strengthen their core and increase cardiovascular fitness. A 30-minute session can already leave you huffing and puffing, promoting weight loss while lowering the risk of injury. 

Sports therapy

Physiotherapy and sports therapy shouldn’t be reserved for instances of painful injury, but for an ongoing program that trains your body in a way that minimises the risk of injury. When engaging in new workout regimes, we pull a muscle because we’re not familiar with a certain motion. Spending too much time in front of a desktop or on your phone can also result in strain of the neck, shoulders, and back, a common issue with working professionals nowadays.

When you work with someone who has anatomical knowledge, the resulting workout becomes scientific and targeted. Sports therapists are able to pinpoint the exact muscle groups you need to work out in order to correct your posture and fix your neck pain, as opposed to a general workout where you might be exacerbating the issue. When every one of your workouts is tailor-made by a medical professional, the results will be all the more noticeable and most importantly, pain-free.

Scalp treatment

When you exercise, you sweat. It is easier for the moisture on the rest of your body to be wicked away, either by performance fabrics or by evaporation, but the moisture on your scalp tends to get trapped by your hair, causing a build-up of sebum and irritation of hair follicles. Over time, this tends to lead to hair loss and an inflamed scalp, both of which can be a major frustration. While you might think that washing your hair more regularly might cure the issue, it can actually bring about another problem—a dry scalp. Most mass-produced shampoos and conditioners you can find on the market actually contain minimal amounts of whatever ingredient they claim to solve all of your hair woes, and overwashing with these types of products can be counterproductive, and will dry out the sensitive skin on your head and lead to dandruff and hair loss.

If you think about it, all hair problems stem from the scalp. Hence, taking care of your scalp early on can prevent a lot of the common problems we experience with our hair. Make sure that you work with a professional for a consultation first to determine the exact condition of your scalp, before identifying the specific treatments that will benefit you the most. Using natural, chemical-free products are also extremely important.

Looking to add one, two, or more of these wellness treatments to your roster? It might seem like a lot of trouble to incorporate these different activities into your daily routine, especially considering how diverse they are in nature, but there’s a simple solution to make your next wellness appointment hassle-free!

Fivez Fitness & Wellness is a one-stop-shop wellness oasis in the heart of bustling Mong Kok, offering a spa, gym, yoga studio, and physiotherapy clinic. Inspired by the five elements of nature—metal, earth, wood, water, and fire—Fivez seeks to bring balance to the body by creating a holistic menu of treatments that will enhance well-being from head to toe. 

In terms of fitness, they have an array of classes on offer, including personal training and sports therapy sessions. Yoga classes make use of the Zen yoga ring, a tool for massaging and stretching developed in Japan, useful for opening up the body during your practice.

Fivez also has a team of in-house physiotherapists on hand, offering services such as acupuncture, spine manipulation, hydrotherapy, cupping, and ultrasound therapy, so you can move straight into recuperation after your challenging workout. Make a final stop at their spa, which offers beauty treatments from facials and scalp treatments to authentic Thai massages by Thai therapists, for that luxurious pampering that’s sorely needed. Click here to learn more about the classes and treatments on offer at Fivez Fitness & Wellness.