‘Holistic’ is a word that gets thrown around a lot in wellness, but it’s just another way of saying ‘the whole’. Typically, it differentiates between wellness that is just focused on fitness, and highlights practices that address physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health—a shorthand way to say mind, body and soul. Tackling wellness from the inside out, these Hong Kong entrepreneurs are digging deep through a variety of alternative practices, from hypnosis to sensory deprivation, to provide much needed holistic health practices in an urban setting.
May Nogoy
May is the founder of The Garden Gathering, a welcoming retreat for women to connect with nature, held on Sai Yuen Farm in Cheung Chau. Women from all walks of life are welcomed to a retreat that offers a space for tea ceremonies, yoga, meditation and more. May is now the wellness curator at Fivelements Habitat Hong Kong, creating holistic health programming for members and walk-ins at its five-star facilities.
Sharie Ross Tse
The co-founder of Reviv Hong Kong, Sharie brought the nutritional drip trend to Hong Kong, offering vitamins and minerals to those in need of a little boost. The Duddell Street facility offers a number of treatments, each designed to bring with them a number of health benefits, including the promotion of better sleep, clearer skin and higher levels of energy.
Coco Chan
A self-described holistic fairy-godmother, public relations guru and bonafide wellness entrepreneur Coco is an expert in holistic practices from healing crystals to aromatherapy oils. Combining all her passions in one, Coco launched Omsa World in 2019 with business partner Valerie Ho, an online platform connecting Hong Kong’s holistic health community with high-quality alternative wellness goods.
Valerie Ho
Co-founder of Omsa World, Valerie met business partner Coco Chan in an energy healing class while seeking out a more holistic way to deal with the frenetic pace of Hong Kong life. Making holistic healing more accessible, Valerie manages the logistics of the business, sending good vibes out into the world one crystal at a time.
Sonia Samtani
Sonia is the founder of All About You, a wellness centre that offers services ranging from hypnotherapy to couple’s counselling and tarot card reading. A licensed hypnotherapist, public speaking coach and life coach, Sonia has been working to help her clients alleviate stress and everyday pressures. She works with corporations, individuals, couples and collaborates with a number of other healing professionals.
Martha Collard
The founder of Red Doors Studio, Martha made Hong Kong her home three decades ago. She is a corporate consultant, life coach and careers advisor, whose interest in wellness and alternative therapies became an all-encompassing passion. Red Doors advocates a slow-living approach, with meditation, sound therapies and other healing practices on offer, and Martha now travels the world performing for large-scale conferences like Global Wellness Summit and small private events alike.
Anna Treier
Anna is the founder of Hong Kong spas Sense of Touch and Fast Beauty. After developing an interest in the spa realm, she set up her businesses and learned on the job. Pursuing her passion for spas and wellness, Anna learned that hard work and dedication will get you where you aim to be, and a genuine love of what you do will keep you there.
Anita Cheung
Anita is the living embodiment of the mantra ‘practice what you preach’, and, in her case, teach. The holistic health practitioner took what was intended to be a yearlong sabbatical from the fashion industry, but ended up in a lifestyle and career transformation. The certified health practitioner and founder of wellness consultancy iDetox uses BodyTalk, Reiki and more to help her clients achieve optimal wellness.
Resham Daswani
A born and bred Hongkonger, Resham returned to the city after university and joined the rat race, before reaffirming that life held more in store for her. In pursuit of a slower-paced life, she learned to drink in all there was to offer. Training under a tea meditation master in Taiwan, she launched Spiral Spaces, Hong Kong’s first tea meditation studio, and is now the Tea Curator at Fivelements Habitat Hong Kong.
Corie Chu
Trading in the cut-throat world of Hollywood PR for holistic healing, Corie has become one of Hong Kong’s top energy healers and most respected Reiki masters. Her eponymous business, Corie Chu Healing, offers intuitive healing, Reiki and numerology for clients seeking complementary alternative practices.