Whether or not you’ve sampled the fresh pressed green juice Kool-Aid, wellness is trending. Some wellness apps focus on meditation, others are for dedicated yogis; all aim to encourage users pursue activities other than committing carbicide in front of a computer. Wellb and Whil are the latest offerings.
When you register for Wellb, you’re immediately asked what your physical limitations are. “Everything” seemed like a bit much, so I went with “asthma.” Then, you’re asked what your idea of relaxing is and what looks fun. For relaxing, running and meditation were available, but unfortunately, there was no Netflix. Wellb assumes you’d like to try activities including cleanses, TRX and hatha yoga, so if you’re not a dedicated wellness aficionado already, this is not the path for you…although massage is included in the roundup of potential pursuits. I must have answered something wrong, because acupuncture was my top recommendation. Unfortunately, needles are my biggest fear, so I had to pass. I would have preferred “chair yoga,” another choice, to truly embrace my laziness.
Wellb functions like popular beauty booking apps, only for meditation and homeopathy. Users can choose a provider, date, time, location and price while looking at the review system. Their services include everything from personal training to alternative therapies. Like blow dry booking apps, the sessions can take place in the customer’s home, in hotels or in studios; even nearby parks are an option. It’s a mix between ClassPass, ZocDoc and Beautified.
Another new wellness app is Whil, which aims to offer “mindfulness for the modern age.” Shannon and Chip Wilson (the controversial former CEO and founder of Lululemon) co-founded the app. They it at their workplace, Kit & Ace, their latest athleisure influenced undertaking. Whil is less about juice cleanses, and instead wants to train people, and companies, to meditate and do yoga. Their sessions are for adults and teens; one is “Search Inside Yourself,” a leadership training course.
Whil is free for the first seven days, but after you must pay to be mindful. For access to all of the opportunities, it’s $14.95 a month. When you open up Whil, the app asks if you’re more concerned about your body or mind, but guarantees there’s no wrong answer. Then, you pick a few things to work on using a circle chart, including “improve sleep” and “lose weight.” This seemed much more practical than focusing on a certain type of yoga I’ve never heard of before, but I’m also not a fitness fanatic. Whil seems to be a more realistic option for people new to wellness.
If you dread visiting an acupuncturist and can’t imagine an app taking up space on your phone where Twitter should be, neither is right for you. But if you constantly find yourself searching for a way to relax and ClassPass isn’t cutting it, both Wellb and Whil are worth looking into.
