While we love yoga's health benefits, if you’re looking for something a bit different for a wellness or team-building activity, here are some ways get your group feeling relaxed and re-energized.
Refresh with sound bathing
Soul Sound Wellness is Toronto’s first sound healing studio that harnesses a variety of musical implements—from quartz crystal singing bowls to didgeridoos—that help adjust frequencies inside the body to create a harmonious resonance.
Soul Sound Wellness owner, Danny DePoe, is a sound therapist as well as a professionally trained musician. During an hour-long session, group participants are asked to lay on yoga mats while DePoe guides them through breathwork that creates a mind-body connection.
“I use major, minor and dominant chords in a harmonic combination to put the body into a deep state of peace,” DePoe says. He then guides the group out of the depths of meditation to bring them to a state of relaxation and then fully awake.
Groups have the choice of doing a session at Soul Sound’s Avenue Road studio, or DePoe can bring the sound bath experience to groups anywhere in the city. Clients have included two Toronto area hospitals, Hyatt Hotels International and the Jays Care Foundation.
Discover a holistic approach to stress management
Unbounded Well is a primal wellness experience that takes a whole body, hands-on approach to improving physical and mental well-being. “People don't understand how to regulate their stress so that they can show up to work and be mentally and emotionally prepared,” says Unbounded co-founder and CEO Lisa Kricfalusi. “It’s about emotional intelligence, stress management, leadership and connecting.”
The Unbounded experience guides participants through hot and cold therapy as well as breathing techniques. This includes a circuit of cold plunge wells, Scandinavian saunas, a geodesic breath work studio and bonfire lounges. Take your group on a daylong or overnight retreat to experience Unbounded in a rural setting just north of Toronto.
“People want more than your run of the mill yoga class,” explains Kricfalusi, a certified kinesiologist. “Yoga is still important, but there's an opportunity to teach people how to really tap into what stress is, what stress feels like, and very simply how to regulate their nervous systems.”
Unbounded’s approach is all about the beneficial effects of hormetic stress, Kricfalusi continues, which can create positive outcomes “in building your resilience muscles. It’s teaching people how they can implement really small, easy things into their day to regulate their circadian rhythms and their stress response,” she adds.
Take advantage of the reinvigorating energy of Toronto's waterfront
The stillness and focus required during a stand-up paddle board (SUP) experience is a unique way for groups to enjoy being outside and experiencing the Toronto Islands and the city’s iconic skyline.
SUP paddle boarding at Toronto Island
When paddleboarding season is in full swing, typically from May until the end of September, Toronto Island SUP offers options that are popular with groups— including the Eco-Tour, says Toronto Island SUP owner Julian Ganton.
The two-hour Eco-Tour guides participants through two environmentally significant areas of the Toronto Islands, meanders along the marinas of two historical yacht clubs and showcases pollinator gardens.
