Step inside Mode, a first-of-its-kind training and wellness studio; Try Fluidform’s perimenopause and menopause challenge; These mood-supporting tinctures help restore a sense of balance and calm; A new supplement promises to ease the effects of morning sickness for expectant mums; Sala set to unveil colour-themed fitness classes.
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Off the back of Global Wellness Day (June 8), we’re taking a different route this week with our selection of wellness news sure to appeal to entry-level runners or full-bore fitness fanatics alike.
Read on for every important wellness announcement worth knowing this week.
Mode fuses workouts with wellbeing
This isn’t your ordinary gym — one where you slog it out under too-heavy weights and too-bright neon lights.
Newcomer Mode is redefining fitness with its state-of-the-art treadmill training facility and wellness studio that has recently opened within the custom-built Special Group precinct in Ponsonby Rd.
Founder and personal trainer Samantha Bluemel has channelled her life-long passion for health and wellness into the private gym, which couples treadmill-based and strength group training with luxury contrast therapy suites including infrared saunas and ice baths.
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Advertise with NZME.The design of the ultra-modern studio, with exposed concrete, curved cedar walls and sage green tiles, was the brainchild of Wonder Group, an interior design and fit-out agency with a knack for challenging convention.
In Workout Mode, experience Mode’s signature classes, which couple treadmill-based cardio with strength and resistance training in a 50-minute session designed to build strength and endurance.
Beginners may like to try a toned-down version of this with a foundation class, which focuses on form and the fundamentals of resistance training, alongside a slightly slower pace on the treadmill.
For a short, sharp workout, a 30-minute interval training class with a series of sprint, endurance and incline sets, or try out a recovery class to stretch out sore or tired muscles with a guided stretching, foam rolling and mobility session.
After you’ve worked up a sweat, switch into Restore Mode to experience the physical and mental health benefits in one of the three contemporary contrast therapy suites — each one fitted out with a sauna, ice bath, before you rinse off in the waterfall shower with a selection of Sans Ceuticals body care.
Casual bookings, concession packs and extended memberships are available to book now via the website or the Mode Studio App, including special opening offers including discounted group training classes and two-for-one contrast therapy sessions.
Mode, 202 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby. Modestudio.co.nz
Fluidform reveals new 6-week programme
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Advertise with NZME.It’s the Pilates movement known for supporting thousands of people across the globe on their fitness journeys, and now Fluidform founder Kirsten King has unveiled a new six-week programme designed to support women experiencing both perimenopause and menopause.
Together with a musculoskeletal physiotherapist and hormonal nutritionist, Kirsten has developed a programme that couples daily Pilates workouts with a comprehensive nutrition plan to educate and guide women as they transition through these hormonal phases.
The programme is geared towards those aged from 30 to 55, and aims to raise awareness about the changes that occur within the body throughout each phase, and how best to support them with movement and nutrition.
A carefully designed workout programme takes users through a series of plyometric, strength and resistance training, designed to improve bone density, bladder function, sleep quality, digestive system, muscle and joint pain, moods and energy levels.
The nutrition segment highlights recipes which focus on phytoestrogens, calcium and protein-rich foods for added energy, muscular health and brain function.
The Fluidform Peri & Menopause six-week programme is available online at Fluidformpilates.com or on the Fluidform app starting on June 24.
Daisy here to help mums with HG
Anyone who’s ever suffered morning sickness will know how debilitating it can be. Worse still is hyperemesis gravidarum, a medical condition that induces severe nausea and vomiting, in some cases to the point of hospitalisation. In Aotearoa, it occurs in 1 to 2 per cent of pregnancies.
After suffering from HG in both her pregnancies, Emma Michelsen began her quest to develop a supplement brand that helped with nausea in pregnancy. Through her research, she stumbled upon gingerol — a potent compound to help with nausea relief.
The problem was, Emma later found out, no products were on the market that provided a therapeutic dose of the good stuff to be an effective treatment to use while experiencing HG. Together with the support of leading PhD nutritionists at Massey University, Emma founded Daisy.
Her research culminated in Morning Relief, a water-soluble powder designed to remedy the effects of morning sickness and fend off dehydration with its unique blend of ginger root extract, vitamin B6 and sodium.
It is powerful but not overpowering and Emma says she was mindful of the taste, and carefully considered the flavours that pregnant women would enjoy (and could tolerate).
Daisy Morning Relief is priced at $24.50 per sachet (18 serves) and is available in three flavours: Raspberry, Lemon & Ginger; Blackcurrant & Ginger; and Lemon & Ginger.
Available from selected independent retailers, including The Sleep Store, or online at Drinkdaisy.co.nz.
Sattva Soul reveals three new tinctures
Grounded by her practice in Ayurveda, Sattva Soul founder Celine Wallace has launched three new tinctures designed to support imbalances within the body. Each organic tincture is geared towards a different dosha, or energy patterns within the body.
This includes Vata (wind), Pitta (fire) and Kapha (water) — each of which have certain qualities that are expressed in physical, emotional and mental aspects of an individual’s being.
Underpinned by a belief in the power of Ayurvedic healing herbs, Celine has formulated three tinctures to offer support that’s unique to each dosha.
For Pitta, this means healing inflammation, supporting digestive health and alleviating restlessness, for a healthier response to stress and bloating; Kapha is designed to help restore energy and improve metabolism function while soothing the mind and gut; while Vata is a calming blend to support digestion, mental focus and sleep.
Sattva Soul tinctures are priced at $80 each, and are available from selected day spas and health food stores, or online at Sattvasoul.com.
Sala’s new Chroma room coming soon
There’s no denying Sala is in its growth phase.
The Ponsonby-based studio, which was founded by yoga teacher Sarah Lindsay, first opened in 2018 with a rotation of classes including yoga, HIIT Pilates and barre, before expanding its offering to include reformer Pilates, a concept store, contrast therapy rooms and a co-working space.
Now, Sarah is furthering her mission of integrating modes of creativity into every movement practice with the Chroma room, which is set to open in mid-July.
Chroma is what she calls: “a community-centred, empty-the-tank movement class that respects the circadian rhythms of nature, the power of art, music and culture as part of our own individual spiritual growth”.
To achieve this notion, each class in the Chroma room will be themed around colour using colourful light installations created by lighting designer Angus Muir.
“The lights reflect the physical purpose of the class,” Sarah says, adding classes will be themed red, yellow or blue to impact both psyche and physicality.
Red is designed to activate deeper, dense tissue using heavier weights with more reps. It taps into a primordial space or inner security, Sarah says. “That the power you seek is already within you.”
Yellow is symbolic of the vitality and inner creativity as powered by the rise and fall of the sun. The idea here is to connect this notion with feelings of positivity, ascension and rebirth, by way of faster sprints, light weights and body weight exercises.
Blue is calmer, fostering a sense of healing by reflecting the moon’s soft blue hue which ushers in feelings of peace or lulling us to sleep. Physically, blue classes are look to resistance and mobility by activating muscles in the entire body. Sarah says this class will be particularly geared towards newcomers who wish to connect to their body in a mindful way.
Classes in the Chroma room are available to Sala members who have signed up for monthly memberships, or for a five- or 10-class pack, with the option to include Reformer Pilates.
Sala, 46 Brown St, Ponsonby. Sala.studio
Ashleigh Cometti is an Auckland-based beauty journalist with more than 12 years’ experience in the industry. After joining the Viva team in 2018 and being appointed beauty editor in 2020, Ash has fine-tuned her skills at sniffing out new fragrance launches, discovering the next generation of talented makeup artists and writing about all things that feed her obsession as a skincare fanatic.
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