Virtual reality wellness is on the rise

Many studies have found virtual reality to release anxiety and increase relaxation. Spas, salons, wellness centres and even

spas around the globe have begun using VR for a variety of treatments.

VR can also be used to put spa-goers into the right mindset prior to treatments. Natura Bissé(multiple locations) has developed “The Mindful Touch,” an eight-minute abstract virtual reality video played for clients, accompanied by massage, before diving into the treatment. The video is designed to calm the mind and allow the individual to be in the present moment. Throughout the video a mindfulness voice talks the client through different points of the body and continues as the treatment begins.

Esqapes Immersive Relaxation, a new VR-inspired spa, which opened in Los Angeles in September. Each Esqapes client wears the VR googles and is transported to a new environment while seated in a Dream Wave Massage chair for a 30 minute session. The client has a choice of 11 environments, including Hidden Spring, Tropical Retreat and the most popular Moroccan Twilight. The massage room incorporates sensory components to increase the immersion including heat lamps and fans, customized to each unique environment. Esqapes provides a great alternative to a traditional massage because it offers the same degree of relaxation without having to undress.

VR - a useful medical tool

You can expose people to provocative environments to help them confront and reprocess difficult emotional memories, as we do with PTSD exposure therapy with the Bravemind system. You can distract users from acutely painful medical procedures. You can motivate patients to do the rehab or a treatment that they might not ordinarily do. You can measure what they do in a very systematic way—it’s the ultimate Skinner box: a controlled, simulated environment where you can measure performance. You’re giving people immediate feedback that’s very precisely tied to their activity in the virtual environment, which can be very helpful for patients.

If you’re teaching somebody who’s had a brain injury how to operate in a kitchen, the traditional method would be to actually bring them into a real kitchen with occupational therapists and have them practice on the devices, but that can be dangerous. They may burn their hand on the stove because they haven’t operated in the kitchen for a while and have lost some of their function. Well, now they can start to reacquire that function in a virtual environment, in a safe way.

If somebody who has physical impairments from a stroke or traumatic brain injury uses a headset, we can help them play and also do rehab. They’re moving their body, and we’ve got good body tracking, so what they do physically can be represented or enhanced in a virtual environment.

virtual reality are actually being used to enrich the spa and wellness industries and add an extra dimension to wellbeing. Through the technology, you can escape from the real world to a tropical island, and even feel the heat of the sun, all while your body is being relaxed by a high-end massage chair. In total, there are ten experiences to choose from, including a ‘heavenly garden’ and ‘snowbank cabin’ which leave you feeling like you’ve had a mini-vacation. While bespoke VR experiences like Esqapes are popping up, virtual reality is also being incorporated into traditional spas. Relax VRpresents clients with various options: combining VR with existing treatments e.g. get customers relaxed and present before their massage; using it as a standalone treatment on their menu, or using it as a promotion to entice new customers or reward existing customers.

The ‘wellness everywhere’ trend – airports, offices, and even hospitals are all becoming spa-like – poses new competition, so adding VR to a list of treatments can provide differentiation and competitive advantage for a spa. Spas are also looking for ways to reduce costs. Labor-intensive treatments mean that salaries consume the majority of spa revenues. If VR can offer a way of reducing this, plus add an extra feather to their bow, it’s no surprise that traditional spas are considering or already using the technology. Furthermore, millennials – who will soon be the largest demographic frequenting spas – love new technology. Technology is so important to millennials that 53% would rather give up their sense of smell than their tech. As the first digitally native generation, millennials have unique habits and preferences from previous generations and are actually twice as likely to purchase a VR headset than their generational predecessors. Young Americans are struggling. Research shows record rates of issues like depression, anxiety, and loneliness. There are many causes for this, but research has found that the main contributors include a divisive political and social climate, financial concerns and social media. This, in part, may explain their love for pursuits like yoga and meditation, and their holistic approach to health – mental wellbeing being considered as important as physical wellbeing. While no one can say for sure exactly what the spa of the future will look like, considering the trends we are already seeing and the preferences of millennials, it’s likely that VR will only become more common. Plus, VR is a powerful tool. Studies have shown that VR can reduce levels of anxiety and negative emotions, plus promote a positive mood. We’re far from the vacation memory implants Arnold Schwarzenegger experienced in Total Recall, but VR can certainly offer a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life, without the inconvenience of travel. You can’t take a vacation every week, but VR can offer an oasis to escape to every day.

recent testing by the VR Health Institute, which estimated BOXVR users were burning upwards of 15 calories a minute, seems likely to help overturn such perceptions. Cole also argues that high-quality fitness-focused VR experiences could help luxury health clubs respond to increasing competition from low-cost 24/7 chains.

Other mindfulness players are also experimenting with the immersive benefits of the technology, with a swathe of headset-compatible apps that promise to help users relax and overcome fears, as well as the Sydney-based Relax VR, which offers a product combining relaxing natural scenes with guided meditations.

While spas serve as a central hub for wellness, technology has begun to allow those seeking relaxation to achieve peace within their own home in an affordable way. Guided Meditation VR’s technology is also working with children’s hospitals, chemotherapy patients, and those struggling with PTSD.