Yearender 2021: From home workouts to hemp, these wellness trends gained muscle in 2021

To say that the pandemic years have been eye-opening for all of us - especially in terms of health, wellness, and lifestyle - is an understatement. The global crisis made most of us realise how we've been neglecting our health in the past and the way that could impact our quality of life and longevity.

The pandemic has also had a huge impact on mental and emotional wellbeing. The fear of losing loved ones, isolation, joblessness, staying locked indoors, struggling to maintain a work life balance, the consumption of media - all of this triggered a lot of anxiety in the beginning of the year which has contributed towards an increase in mental health awareness.

People have a renewed outlook which has led them to migrate towards conscious eating, and relaxation strategies such as mediation, exercising, and maintaining the right nutritive balance by taking supplements that boost their health and wellness. A shift towards natural and organic medicines, alongside a re-discovering of indigenous wellness practices such as yoga has been seen. Mid-Day.com spoke to experts across disciplines to capture the most prominent wellness trends that dominated 2021.

Revenge workout

A sentiment of revenge has been observed across leisure activities, from travel to shopping. Little wonder then that workouts have not been left behind. "Due to staying indoors for such a prolonged period, people were frustrated and wanted to go out to lift those weights in vengeance after a year of being caged. People got used to consuming unhealthy food and due to the lack of physical activities, their cardiovascular and muscular endurance went down, weight gain became common, and muscle loss was seen in the case of those bulking up," shares Sarang Sawant, Fitness training officer, Gold's Gym India. "As soon as gyms reopened with necessary precautions - such as placing frames between cardio sections, sanitising after every two hours and ensuring all the staff and members wore masks - fitness enthusiasts were back on the floor lifting and banging weights. Even though they were finding it difficult due to the gap, they were ready to achieve their fitness goals. People who didn't like working out were also seen in the gyms as they understood the importance of a healthy lifestyle," he adds.

Home and online training

The main thing that changed when it came to fitness during the pandemic is home training. In order to keep up with their daily workout, many set up gyms at home. "The benefits of having your own gym range from flexibility in timings to preferred equipment. Being in a judgement-free zone also enables people to wear whatever they want and work out without any apprehensions," Sawant adds.

Heavily under-utilised in developing nations, online training picked up in a big way during the pandemic, creating a new platform in the fitness industry. "Research suggests that online learning has been shown to increase retention of information, and take less time, meaning the changes coronavirus have caused might be here to stay," reckons the trainer.

Hemp in wellness and skincare

"Hemp is revolutionising clean beauty and lifestyle like never before, with brands tapping into the benefits of this versatile ingredient worldwide and featuring hemp as the protagonist in their topical and edible products," says Dr Ipsita Chatterjee, Ayurveda expert and technical head at SoulTree. The consumer, in the meanwhile, is also increasingly warming to the idea of using hemp and disassociating the plant from its psychotropic properties. "The awareness of hemp as a powerful Ayurvedic ingredient suitable for every skin and hair type is gradually seeping into the market," she adds.

"With clean, green and ethical beauty gaining momentum, hemp emerged as a conqueror, with its popularity being attributed to increased awareness, being an eco-friendly alternative to many toxic ingredients and increased consumption due to health benefits,"

Holistic beauty

Beauty backed by clean, quality and conscious nutrition has been one of the biggest trends of 2021, according to Janki Mehta, biotechnologist and co-founder of Chicnutrix. So people are looking internally to solve their beauty and wellness requirements. "They want to look and feel good more than before, having realised that healthy skin and good health go hand in hand. The perks of eating cleaner, healthy, and organic are so evident that they cannot be neglected, especially due to the increasing knowledge of its importance. Being in healthcare, we realised that long-term, healthy and cleaner solutions to address all these issues lie with nutrition - which is one of the major components lacking in our fast-paced lifestyles. ," notes the expert. .

Immunity and supplements

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been an unprecedented focus on understanding the immune system. "People's mindset has moved from treating a particular health condition to preventing an occurrence of one by strengthening the immune system in the first place. In response to this, awareness of herbs, condiments and spices like turmeric, ashwagandha, cinnamon, giloy, ginger, etc. increased drastically. Also, nutrients like Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Zinc, probiotics, etc. have been at the forefront of consumers' minds and the food industry," notes Aayushi Lakhapati, certified nutritionist and co-founder at UpNourish.

"Throughout 2020 and 2021, immunity has been a top priority for everyone and we have started to recognise that our immunity is far more complex than just fighting infectious diseases. Now, people have begun to look out for ways to protect themselves from physical and mental stress which also affects the immune system. The care for health or wellness to prevent sickness is what we need to popularise in India since the masses have to understand that it is extremely important to take care of health problems before they turn into sickness. Once they see the benefits of taking wellness-related supplements, they gradually turn towards a healthier lifestyle. A consumer today wants to have the best and most convenient experience and that's why we are trying to incorporate the taste of the food industry and the benefit of the healthcare industry together to change the norm that healthy is not always bad in taste. The fusion of taste and efficacy are moving together now to boost the immune system", shares Varun Khanna, biotechnologist and co-founder of Fast&Up.

Flexitarian Diet

The plant-based diet has been trending globally for years now and there is ample research outlining its health and environmental benefits. "A flexitarian diet is one which mainly focuses on plant-based eating with a little leisure of animal food. Meat eaters who want to eat healthier might find it difficult to make a complete switch to plant-based foods. Hence, non-vegetarians who find it challenging to switch to being a vegetarian or a vegan, happily adopted some aspects from them and took the flexitarian diet route," explains Lakhapati.

Healthy Premade Meals

Since most of us were indoors during the lockdown with no help, working from home, managing kids and families, and cooking from scratch wasn't always possible. "Consumption of easy, accessible, ready to eat healthy foods like meal replacements, energy bars, quick soups, etc. skyrocketed during the lockdown. Keeping in mind the health and immunity factor, reaching for these healthier alternatives instead of unhealthy junk food brought people comfort," says Lakhapati.

Home-based care

"As our ageing population increases, it's likely that we'll see a rising need for home-based physiotherapy and occupational therapy care. People who are living with a chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease or arthritis, to name a few, will be seeking multi-disciplinary healthcare services to help them manage their disease. This will include physiotherapy and occupational therapy", explains Dr Sameera Gupta, physio-occupational therapist and founder and medical director at Dr Sameera's Physio Slim Clinic.

Tele-health

"When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of many businesses, medical clinics were also affected. But thanks to technology, tele-health services were made available to patients who couldn't physically visit a clinic. While for many, visiting a physical clinic and speaking with a medical professional in person is preferable, tele-health has opened up many new opportunities. While there are challenges associated with diagnosing patients without being in the same room, there are also benefits", says Gupta.

With the pandemic still raging across the world, our experts predict these trends rooted in holistic wellness to mature in 2022 as the focus on physical and mental health remains.

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