Mind-Body-Breath Business

by Lawrence Biscontini, MA

With appropriate training in mind-body disciplines and an instinct for reading consumers, you can offer your clients value and position yourself as part of a new dawning in fitness and wellness.

You enter the building and hear soft New Age music and the steady bubbling of a water fountain; your nose catches a hint of patchouli in the air; the soft, earth-tone décor instantly relaxes you; and the professional reception staff immediately gives you the sense that you are about to be very well taken care of.

So where are you?

“In a spa” is the most likely answer. Would it surprise you to discover that this fantasy location could be a personal training studio? It’s not that far-fetched. In fact, with consumer demand for wellness and holistic health rising, fitness is not just about sets and reps anymore; it’s become more focused on training the whole person—mind, body and breath. If you can offer your clients a bit of pampering or weave a special mind-body theme into program design, all the better for your business.

The two articles in this section provide a glimpse into the many opportunities available in mind-body personal training. Begin your journey with a CEC feature on integrating “soft” fitness techniques drawn from yoga, Pilates, t’ai chi, Feldenkrais, guided meditation and other practices into mindful program design for your clients. Even if your studio or gym doesn’t have all the physical trappings of a spa, your knowledge of mind-body techniques can make clients feel like they just visited one.

Or perhaps you have turned your eye toward investigating opportunities in one of the many spas that have sprung up around the country. The second article complements the first by examining what it takes to fully immerse yourself into a spa training career. As author Shirley Archer, JD, MA, points out in this piece, wellness is the watchword for the future. With one economist projecting that the wellness industry will generate $1 trillion annually within the next 10 years, it seems the potential for trainers to make a strong imprint on the spa and related industry segments is tremendous.

Anyone can burn scented candles and paint the walls in the latest, greatest hues of “moss” and “mocha,” but not everyone understands the nuances of leading a guided meditation or infusing a client’s old fitness routine with an appropriate yoga asana or t’ai chi sensibility. The small but growing ranks of personal trainers who have thoroughly studied and instinctively understand the power of mind-body fitness stand to profit from this new chapter in personal training. Will you be among them?

Namaste!