Why Living Healthy Needn’t Be a Hardship

Wellness requires dedication but can sometimes feel like a chore. Here’s how it might look different than you expect.

Measuring macros, tracking habits and pushing physical boundaries are all important factors in optimising healthspan but we do well not to forget the equally important emotional side of wellness. After all, the impetus behind investing in your future self and endeavouring to stay healthier for longer, is to have more of life to enjoy. 

“Health is about balance and shouldn’t be taken so seriously that we forget to enjoy our life or have fun. Making our health a priority is more about introducing positive new elements and good habits, than it is about denial and restriction. Life is rich and we must not forget that wellness is found in the nurturing of the soul as well as the body,” explains Dr George Gaitanos, Scientific Director of Chenot.  

Chenot & Ross Barr Retreat

World leading acupuncturist and wellness expert Ross Barr, is bringing his experience to Chenot Palace Weggis for a limited retreat experience. Over seven days, guests will benefit from tailored treatments, daily detox therapies, and private acupuncture sessions with Ross, all set against the tranquil backdrop of Lake Lucerne. As an authority on how to amalgamate ancient Chinese medicine with practical modern wellness, here, Ross gives his own authentic, practical day-to-day life adjustments that he himself employs to improve his wellbeing. 

Ross J Barr

Create positive morning rituals for a productive day ahead

I get up at 6am before my kids awake and head downstairs to put the kettle on and make their porridge. Straight away I have a cold plunge out in my garden, hopefully grabbing 20 minutes by myself before the onslaught begins. Then I jump in the shower and do the alternating hot and cold for as long as I can stand, which is anything between about 10 seconds and 2 minutes. I always make sure I have at least 30 minutes in the morning before I look at my phone or start thinking about work, that way you don’t start your day reacting to external factors which keeps your adrenaline anchored for longer. Doing those small things for yourself can make a huge difference to you being proactive in your own design making.

Lake Lucerne

Make breakfast intentional

I do a couple of days of fasting at the start of the week and thereafter I am a creature of habit. I’m Scottish and porridge has been consistent in my life, even in summer time. I like using it as a canvas to add various things to it, especially decent honey. I’m always on the lookout for the best honey I can find; in simple terms it’s a medicine. On the weekends it’s sourdough and Marmite with eggs, and that will never change.

Your exercise regime can and should be a ever changing mix

I’ve found that if I mix a one-on-one boxing session with two reformer pilates sessions per week, that’s the best mix for keeping me injury-free and for keeping the timber off. I also never tired of that mix and nor do I ever begrudge working out. When you’re looking at your diary dreading doing the exercise you’ve booked in, you’re not doing what you’re supposed to in my eyes. Also, every season has something great to offer us providing we’re aligned to it; summer is all about getting out there and having fun (Yang) whilst Winter is often about consolidation and conserving (Yin).

Approach diet with emotional balance

I leave sugar and dairy out of my diet for the most part but the most peaceful and happy folk I’ve encountered in life adhere to the 80/20 rule, which I’ve found to work for me too. I eat really well during the week, then at the weekends I’ll do as I want. The 80% provides enough of a stable physiology that the weekend’s 20% won’t upset the balance. I love alcohol and coffee but when you do my job you get to see the effects it has on us, so I don’t touch either during the week and when I enjoy it at weekends, I do it wholeheartedly without guilt. Chinese medicine is as much about the emotions you feel when you eat, as the food you’re eating, so eating without guilt is hugely important.

Take sleep seriously 

I was petrified of the dark as a kid, then as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned how important that dark is, and the peace that comes with it. Sleep cures a million ailments. It’s amazing how many of us will avoid doing the things that make us better. Often when we’re not on good form we faff, or stay up late doing everything apart from the thing we know will help us. During the week I go to bed at 10.30pm with a hard copy of a fiction book and my Ross Barr Sleep Patches on my temples. I’m in the process of developing a sleep formula which contains ashwagandha and magnesium which I find is brilliant to help with the induction and depth of sleep.

Consultation

When city life gets stressful, keep returning to the basics

London is a hell of a city to try and be healthy in. You don’t get health from the geography, climate or nature in London like you would do, say in Sydney. Any health you have you have to create yourself and it takes some work, so you have to do the basics right. Eat well, get to bed early, go easy on the alcohol and never drink coffee when you’re not feeling peaceful. The basics are still the original and most powerful medicine and yet the things that people overlook when they start to feel a bit edgy. When things are full on I always revert to 1990’s methods of relaxation, when we used to watch a movie on VHS or DVD and it would be the only thing we’d do. Go to the cinema or watch a movie at home with your phone and laptop far away and as a result you get the full physiological benefit of sitting down and enjoying something for two hours. Meditation is often the gift of the healthy and when people are up against it, it’s one of the first things that goes out the window and becomes something else to feel guilty about not doing, so I also try to get patients to find their 1990s middle ground. 

Reading fiction is a sign of balanced wellness

Sit down and commit to reading something that spirits you away. Not a self-help book or anything that causes self-analysis and if possible a hard copy rather than a screen. I’ve noticed it being a really good barometer for patients being well and balanced, when they find the time and create space to read.

The Ross Barr Retreat will be in residence at Chenot Palace Weggis from 9 – 16 February 2025, availability is limited. Book your stay here 

Unser charakteristisches Chenot-Programm zielt auf eine tiefgreifende Entschlackung und Entgiftung des Körpers ab, um Giftstoffe auszuscheiden, die Vitalität zu steigern, das Energieniveau wiederherzustellen.

CHF 5’500

Entspannen Sie Ihren Geist, revitalisieren Sie Ihren Körper – das Programm reduziert chronischen Stress und Müdigkeit und stellt ein optimales Energieniveau wiederherzustellen.

CHF 6’400

Das intensivste Programm, das unsere charakteristische Entgiftung mit einer hochwirksamen Verjüngung kombiniert, um den Beginn der biologischen Alterung zu verzögern.

CHF 7’100