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  • 9 months ago
Wellness in Qatar: The Power of Pause

In this episode of Qatar in Motion, Laila Humairah takes a breather - literally. At Zulal Wellness Resort, she discovers how ancient healing meets modern science to help people slow down in a country built on momentum. How Qatar is leading a “rest revolution” and finding balance in motion?

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READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/01/21/wellness-in-qatar-the-power-of-pause

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Transcript
00:00have you noticed how often we forget to just breathe in this fast-paced world where there
00:10is pressure to live fast there's a growing trend of measuring success by knowing when to slow down
00:16city life red race and the so-called hustle culture the term time is money may look different
00:24to everyone running towards the same goal but what if we all took the time to rest as a way to
00:30invest in ourselves and lean in to the power of pause i'm lila humaira and this is qatar in motion
00:38did you know that out of 197 countries qatar recently ranked as the 11th least stressed
00:50country in the world that's pretty remarkable considering just three years ago the mckinsey
00:57health institute found that one in three respondents in the gulf reported burnout symptoms wellness is
01:04the fastest growing sector within the tourism industry set to be worth 1.3 trillion dollars
01:10in 2028 and countries all over the world want a piece of the pie but i want to know what wellness
01:18actually looks like on the ground there are plenty of ways to hit pause and reset in qatar and for
01:23those of us who may need a helping hand there's no better place to start than the wellness resort
01:28that tops the charts
01:30tucked away in the most northern tip of qatar zulal wellness resort by shiva som is the largest wellness
01:39resort in the middle east the sprawling 280 000 square meter site has 120 rooms and suites with
01:49every inch intentionally designed for maximum privacy and pure relaxation whether you're alone
01:56in a pair or with your family here at zulal wellness resort by shiva som guests choose between two wellness
02:04packages each tailored to their needs discovery is for families with children while serenity is for
02:11child-free adults every guest starts with a consultation to determine their health conditions
02:18identify their wellness goals and come up with a schedule for their stay that's what i'll do too
02:24but before that i'm learning a bit more about the resort's approach to wellness with general manager
02:31ammar samad thank you so welcome to zulal zulal is the first fully immersive wellness resort
02:40in the entire middle east and it's the first in the world to offer wellness with a backdrop story of
02:49traditional arabic islamic medicine the founder of tame is a gentleman named ibn sina who wrote a book of canon
03:00the idea is there's a holistic and traditional treatments herbs spices and teas that can be
03:09incorporated in the wellness journey to offer prevention from treatable diseases as well as
03:17sustained lifestyle changes that you will make and you will take with you when you leave zulal
03:23while there's heavy emphasis on traditional arabic medicine zulal is also modern in every way the resort
03:31designs every treatment therapy and meal around each guest's health priorities when you come here
03:38you're going to sit down with a wellness advisor they're going to get to know you as a person your
03:43lifestyle what you're trying to achieve and they're going to design a journey for you personalized to you
03:51and what you're trying to accomplish throughout a very detailed health questionnaire is filled out by
03:56every guest and it's dr bb aisha lockhart's job to scrutinize the form and turn it into a wellness
04:03plan for them and something they can follow far beyond their stay at zulal today we'll be going
04:09through your health and wellness consultation you've just filled out the form for me so that's excellent
04:13it gives me much better insight into your health and well-being and how we can take you on the journey here
04:18at zulal so one of the retreats i would definitely recommend for you is our stress reset and burnout
04:25recovery retreat and we'll put together your itinerary and schedule based on your specific goals your needs
04:31requirements for your body according to your medical history the holistic approach of tame as well
04:37look at what your dominant temperament is and then that comes along with a herbal prescription from our
04:42apothecary and they will be customizing the blend to your temperament
04:47but while the resort guides you to decompress mentally and physically a digital detox is
04:53completely in your hands if you think about it with the smartphone or the tablet you're constantly
05:00switched on so what we try to do is promote digital detoxing so that you can focus on your wellness your
05:07activities you'll enjoy your your food more if you're not playing with your phone you will have a great
05:14workout a great massage you need to just switch off and disconnect so that you can reconnect with yourself
05:20okay leila i'm going to hand this over to fatima our pharmacist in the apothecary
05:24the resort blends centuries-old remedies with modern science ginger teas herbal compresses and intentional
05:34movement aren't just trends here their tradition i manage both modern pharmacy and also the herbal pharmacy
05:45that's apothecary i begin with interpreting the theme diagnosis and accordingly i will carefully select the
05:53herbs i prepare the combination with right proportion and also label with their ingredients and dosage
06:01instructions blending the herbs is not just mixing the ingredients it's a pure intention and mindfulness
06:10i approach it with deep care and intention by wishing silently that let this heal the guest every formula has
06:18an intention to restore balance in most natural gentle way possible which support both immediate relief and
06:26long-term well-being i believe that the care and comfort we give is also the part of the medicine
06:34when i work with the herbs it reminds me about my childhood being from kerala the southern part of
06:42india it's historically known as the land of spices we are using the herbs in our daily life
06:48not only for cooking it's the kind of healing culture and identity of us my grandmother used to
06:55dry the herbs under sun prepare the herbal remedies today i feel like i'm carrying forward that tradition
07:03but with added structure of science and professionalism i really love my job it's deeply fulfilling i get
07:10to help the people in a more natural way it's a purpose for me other than a profession
07:20i don't know if it's the tea or just being in a serene setting or the combination of both but i feel a lot
07:27more relaxed already i'm still thinking about my phone though so maybe i need to try the next treatment
07:34hi my name is lila nice to meet you nice to meet you too this time it comes in the form of a massage
07:40called abhyanga involving methods from ayurveda and ancient indian healing system
07:47anchuli notim has been a therapist for the shiva som brand for 14 years so treatments like this are
07:54literally at her fingertips it's quite poignant that the word abhyanga also means to nurture or love
08:00your body and anchuli's firm but gentle hands truly make you feel nourished so much that you find yourself
08:08drifting away until these sounds bring you back
08:16contrary to what it looks like this isn't a musical performance it's a sound healing session a type of
08:22therapy combining different musical vibrations and frequencies believed to be effective in improving
08:29psychological well-being
08:34we use many instruments like singing bowls gongs and tuning forks which creates therapeutic soundscapes
08:41so these sounds are helps to improve our to provide relaxation reduce stress and balance the energy
08:48fail as well as the nervous system ultimately it will slow down our brain waves and put it in the
08:53very deep state of the relaxation of our body those aren't just any bowls they're known as singing bowls
09:01and they come in all sizes it's made by different things but the ultimate goal is the same the work
09:07with the frequencies and the vibrations to balance the energy centers for the emotional well-being
09:12crystal copper or tin the sound healing symphony has certainly helped calm my monkey mind sometimes
09:21it is nice to disconnect from the grind and just focus on the sounds around me and it's in this
09:29stillness where everything becomes clearer the recalibration reinvigoration and rejuvenation
09:35of my senses as if breathing new life into my mind and body to get a sense of just how much the wellness
09:45industry has grown over the last couple of years just take a look at the influence it has on global
09:51travel conferences like the qatar travel mart i'm here to get an expert analysis on how wellness has
09:57grabbed the spotlight in the region and the trends to look out for i think the world is changing at fast
10:04pace the way we behave the way we eat the way we travel and i think there is a lot of these things
10:11in transformation in in society and in our behavior is being too fast and i think a lot of the wellness
10:17now is to try to recover and remember who we are meeting ourselves again and trying to recover from
10:25some of the frenetic lifestyles that we have nowadays i think qatar is leading a lot on wellness
10:33not only because uh if the facilities that they have but also the approach i think it's quite a
10:38holistic approach so if one side a lot of the wellness tourism is very individualized about
10:44high technologies i think qatar is looking to a more holistic approach that connects culture connects
10:49belonging it connects traditional healing and i think that is a quite a niche and very specific in
10:56terms of of wellness tourism i think there is a grow in interest in wellness not only in
11:03trade shows like qtom but also in academic research so there is a growing academic research
11:09about the importance of wellness tourism so we start to see more and more the elements and and
11:14the offerings of wellness and well-being tourism in different trade shows but a lot of partnerships
11:19in terms of how do we advance from here how do we embed a more complex and holistic system for
11:25the well-being of our clients the well-being of the tourists and i think this needs to be also in
11:29communion with the environment that we are around rest and stillness aren't pauses in progress they're
11:41part of it in motion doesn't always mean moving fast sometimes it means moving well and we hope
11:48you've been inspired to find your next moment of calm and linger in it a little longer that's all for
11:54now on qatar in motion see you next time
12:05you

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