A HOLISTIC wellness centre offering infrared saunas, ice baths, red light therapy and advanced blood testing has landed in Glasgow’s West End.
Holon boasts a range of high-tech services as part of their ‘mission to guide you to optimal health and wellness’ using oxygen, virtual reality, compression boots and more.
Visitors will be able to experience hyperbaric oxygen therapy – used by Cristiano Ronaldo and Novak Djokovic to prolong their careers and achieve peak performance – and Vielight, a type of red light therapy for the brain which can improve brain health and may even reduce symptoms of conditions like Alzheimers, according to new research.
The infrared sauna, situated next to the clinic’s ice bath set at five degrees, can improve muscle recovery and blood circulation, while aiding in detoxification. Compression boots, yoga sessions plus virtual reality meditation help clients balance their mind and body.
The treatments offered by the new centre are favoured not only by athletes, but also people with everyday complaints like brain fog and digestive issues. In an attempt to provide a fuller picture, Holon can test for toxins like mould and heavy metals, as well as for more standard markers like hormones, which may contribute to these complaints.
For chronic health conditions, clients can follow up with Holon’s functional medicine partners in California for virtual consultations.
Holon’s founder is Joshua Fields, an Oxford and Harvard graduate who spent seven years in the U.S and often splits his time between Glasgow and the States.
Before returning home the entrepreneur was the CEO of Consciousness Hacking, a San Francisco-based firm aiming to build ‘next generation’ technology for treating poor mental health.
Back on home soil, Joshua hopes to use his experience working at the intersection of health and innovation to benefit as many people as possible.
The former amateur boxer said: “Although we’re new to Glasgow, these principles of healing are well established in functional medicine, also known as ‘root-cause medicine’. We’re looking at the ‘whole’ picture of what contributes to how someone feels: not just exercise, food, and sleep, but also toxins, micronutrients, gut health, light exposure, and the nervous system.”
Holon’s methods and practices are backed by a board of advisors, all of whom are experts in the field, including Dr Michael Ferguson, an Instructor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and Dr Brianna Stubbs, an elite British rower whose PhD in Metabolic Physiology comes from the University of Oxford.
One of America’s top naturopathic doctors, Dr Heather Sandison, who specialises in neurocognitive medicine and neurohacking, also sits on the board for Holon.
Inside the clinic on Great Western Road, nontoxic paint combines with smooth curves throughout, whilst colour-changing lights designed by NASA engineers support circadian rhythms, and hospital-grade air filters mean the space is ‘designed with wellbeing science in mind’ across three floors in the flagship space.
Having discovered "functional medicine, in-depth diagnostics and wellness technologies" in the U.S.A, Joshua says many of these interventions "set him on his own path to recovery" after a prolonged period of ill health.
Joshua says he feels better than ever and wants to bring elements of his healing journey back to his home city.
He added: “Many of us suffer from a general sense of fatigue and lack of wellbeing, or simply not consistently reaching our best in sport. Rates of chronic disease are skyrocketing, and our current health system often fails those suffering the most.
"At the same time, there is an overload of information online about how to address health and performance, but a lack of coherency or more personalised guidance about what might be best for your own body.
"The result is that many people are isolated, confused, and without access to the latest interventions that might help.
“I believe the traditional model of medicine - where we’re told to just take a pill and manage symptoms - while useful in many cases, is incomplete.
"Research is showing that functional medicine interventions can support even the most problematic diagnoses, but mainstream medicine hasn’t integrated these insights yet.”
“Through Holon, we want to democratise access to these cutting-edge technologies and diagnostics so that people in Glasgow can get back to feeling their best."
Recent surveys show that 73% of people in the UK consider wellness a top priority in their lives. Experts predict wellness tourism will grow rapidly in the coming years, as the overall tourism sector continues to recover from the pandemic.
Wellness tourism is projected to grow by 16.6% annually, reaching $1.4 trillion in 2027.
For more information on Holon visit the website.
