Sometimes you just hear something that makes you exclaim, ”Who even thought of that?!”.  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, since it sure keeps things interesting) in the wellness industry, this happens SO OFTEN. Here are some of the world’s wackiest wellness trends:

 

  1. Bee Venom Therapy: You know how when you see a bee you usually flinch a little and move away? If you’re mildly dramatic, you may even scream. Yeah, apparently some people actually get stung on purpose. The live bee is held (with tweezers or some other small instrument) by the person administering the bee venom, and placed on the patient. The bee then stings, because that’s what they do. Bee stings are believed to be able to relieve pain and even reverse arthritis…however there is a heavy risk associated with bee stings as many people are highly allergic to their venom – so much so that some can go into anaphylactic shock and die. So, you know, there’s that.

 

 

2. Toad Secretions: Some people are smoking toad venom, and it’s got them seeing God. Yeah, you read that right. Mike Tyson, the Mike Tyson, claims it has changed his life. The substance (5-MeO-DMT) causes hallucinogenic experiences within one second of inhalation. Many people report mystical experiences and euphoria. Currently the material is being studied to help ease anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

3. Adult wrapping (Otonamaki): Disclaimer – if you’re claustrophobic, this is definitely not for you. This is seen as an alternative to massage or physical therapy in Japan, and is exactly what it sounds like.

Yeah…don’t know about you, but we’re going to stick to our weekly massages.

 

4. Vinotherapy: Do you love wine? So much that you want to bathe in it? Good thing you can…I guess…? The claimed benefits are that the antioxidants in grapes (most notably resveratrol) fight free radicals, boost cell renewal and collagen, and leave you with younger looking skin. You can either literally bathe in wine, or just have the byproducts rubbed onto the skin.

 

 

5. Horseback yoga: There’s goat yoga, dog yoga, even cat yoga. Horseback yoga might top them all though. You are on top of a horse doing yoga. How is this even safe? What if the horse sees a snake and gets spooked? Or doesn’t like someone doing the downward dog along its spine? Can we just stick to yoga mats please???

There is so much more where that came from. When researching these, we realized the world is a scary wacky place. Enough so that there is a Part 2 coming soon!