Millennials Replacing Formal Religion with New Age Spiritual Practices

A recent Los Angeles Times article by Jessica Roy explores how millennials, Gen Z and younger Gen Xers are replacing formal religion with practices such as tarot, astrology, meditation, energy healing and crystals. The author notes they don’t particularly care if you think it’s “woo-woo” or weird. One expert pointed out the trend of people “cooking up their own spiritual or religious stew” is a…

Chinese Tourism to US is Plunging – Will Impact Wellness

MONTHLY BAROMETER – WELLNESS EDITION Remember “Chimerica”—the notion that China and the US were so intertwined that they would end up forming just one entity? The assumption that the world they created was our inevitable future became so entrenched in the minds of most decision-makers that it became one of the central tenets of the investment world… until it ceased to be. Irrespective of how…

Trend: Is At-Home Fitness Squeezing Gyms & Studios?

Talking about adaptability and ever-changing business conditions, there is one trend to watch: the way in which the “at-home” fitness revolution is about to squeeze traditional gyms and even upmarket studios. One warning signal: Last year, SoulCycle (upmarket: It charges more than $20 per hour) withdrew its application to launch an IPO, citing market conditions. It hasn’t reinstated it yet, despite many wellness businesses successfully…

The Wellness Moonshot Calendar: Let’s Get Moving in July

This month, the GWI’s The Wellness Moonshot Calendar™: A Year of Inspiration focuses on ideas that will move you, your coworkers, and your family to get moving.  Movement is a biological drive as essential to your health as sleep or food, and it also boosts productivity and creativity at work. Click here for inspiration on how to boost our natural instinct to move.

GWI Launches Yoga Therapy Initiative

A new GWI initiative on yoga therapy has a mission of educating the global community—regardless of age, gender or socioeconomic status—about the ancient, evolving and multidimensional science of yoga therapy as a legitimate, evidence-backed and accessible health modality for the 21st century—correcting the idea that it’s just an exercise program or “alternative” medicine. The Initiative chair is Bija Bennett, wellness consultant, author and founder of…

Wellness Evidence Study: Ultra-Processed Foods Are the Weight Gain Villain – Not Sugar, Fat, Carbs

An important new study from the National Institutes of Health is the first randomized trial to show that ultra-processed foods actually drive people to overeat and gain weight compared to whole/less processed foods. Those on an ultra-processed diet ate 508 more calories a week, gaining two pounds over the two-week study period, versus those on the unprocessed diet who lost two pounds a week. Key…