When the metrosexual craze emerged 10 years ago, millions of fashion-conscious
guys "discovered" the merits of the spa facial, seaweed wrap
or hot stone massage. Now the newest trend for in-tune men is the wellness
vacation -- an escape to an exotic locale for some meditation, spa treatments,
yoga and organic meals.
"We take guests on a personal journey to help them reconnect
with themselves," says Patricia Fargeon, a partner in Longitude
180 Boutique Voyage, which offers luxury wellness vacations to
Tahiti. "Many business executives become so focused on their
careers that they lose sight of themselves as people. We help
them reconnect." The trips are capped at 10 guests and feature
a custom-designed itinerary of reiki, yoga, massages, meditation
and sightseeing. Guests are also taught stress-management skills.
Cost of an 11-day trip is approximately $10,500 per person based
on double occupancy, not including airfare, which starts at around
$2,000.
Now, if only those trips were covered by the company benefit
plan. According to StatsCan, the cost of work time lost to stress
is $12-billion. Another survey, by Gallup, found job stress is
more strongly associated with health complaints than financial
or family problems. Prolonged stress can contribute to hypertension,
neck and lower-back pain, strokes, heart attacks, ulcers and
diabetes.
"I've been teaching stress management techniques for 30
years and every year I see stress levels rising higher and higher," says
Eli Bay, founder of the Relaxation Response Institute, which
focuses on stress management education in corporate Canada. "Employees
are expected to do more with less. Everyone is being squeezed."
That's no surprise to Philippe Lacaille. For 17 years he worked
as an executive in the pharmaceutical and bio-tech industry,
logging 70-to 80-hour work weeks and weekly cross-continental
business travel. When two friends in their early 40s died of
heart attacks, he finally took notice of his unbalanced life. "I
watched so many of my work colleagues get sick with heart problems,
hypertension and cancer," he says. "When my friends
died suddenly, I knew I had to make changes."
Mr. Lacaille left the corporate world to study yoga, meditation
and reiki, a Japanese hands-on technique that promotes relaxation
and healing. He now leads Longitude 180's wellness activities
in Tahiti. "There's been a big shift in the past two years
in men's attitudes towards the whole concept of wellness. As
more and more executives face health issues associated with stress,
they are becoming more aware of topics such as meditation and
reiki."
