Wellness is a word that carries weight – of aspirations, responsibilities, and a longing for balance in a restless world that rarely slows down on your terms.
But the state of wellness isn’t a destination. It’s a journey with paths as diverse as the landscapes we traverse and just as transformative. Your path will be your own, but in this issue, we explore how wellness can be found in diverse ways, from serene spa days to the meditative rhythm of a train journey.
Begin with the soothing embrace of the familiar, the spa – where luxury and wellness meet, and a sense of restoration is all but guaranteed. Our Spa Sensations guide (p 66) invites you to indulge in desert sand exfoliation and marine algae body wraps, as well as long, lazy mornings on Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre’s spa massage table. Here, wellness is a practice steeped in tradition, offering comfort through time- honoured therapies and moments of peaceful indulgence.
Yet, wellness isn’t always found in the conventional. Alternative therapies exist, as Anjala Farahath explores in her piece on art therapy’s increasing popularity across Saudi (p 80). From Jeddah to Dhahran, thousands are now using art to find peace and comfort. These initiatives challenge us to see wellness as creativity, expression, and connection, in addition to rest. Sometimes, the most profound healing comes when we allow ourselves to colour outside the lines of expectation.
Other times, wellness can come through a transformation of one’s surroundings, as we long to leave behind the noise of the everyday and surrender to the vastness of the unknown. In this issue, we have train journeys that deliver on that promise of vastness (p 30), spanning the entirety of Scandinavia, or bridging east to west between Istanbul and Budapest. Lose yourself in the soothing rhythm of a long train journey, where time stretches and thoughts unwind, and you may yet find what you’ve been looking for.
This edition of List is an invitation to see wellness through a wider lens, as something that is always within reach, but requires you to go out and seek it. Wherever your travels take you, remember to slow down and enjoy the journey.
Read through our latest edition:
Our cover art was designed by Lindsey Spinks.
Lindsey is an illustrator whose work has been featured in the New York Times, Financial Times, Sunday Telegraph's Stella Magazine, Food and Travel, and the Independent, among others. Her intricately detailed work is created traditionally, then digitally coloured and layered with handmade textures to create beautifully expressive compositions with a contemporary edge.
