What else might you want to know?

Bring your swimsuit. Towels are provided; however, robes and sandals are available for rent. Otherwise, it’s a shoe-free zone. No outdoor footwear permitted inside the space beyond the change areas.

Lockers are available on site to store your personal items.

The sauna fits up to 55 people at one time.

Open Showers are available to rinse off after saunas and before heading into the cold plunge zone. And a resting area with tea lounge offered up as well.

The average time people will spend here is up to 90 minutes. Unless you’re there for one of their weekend parties. Watch for special themed events!

NRG HAUS is located at 171 Liberty Street, Unit 113 in Toronto.

The post NRG Haus Social Wellness Space Opens in Liberty Village appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

The modern clinic is already gaining attention, particularly around its recovery treatments using Acoustic Sound Wave therapy, as well as their body contouring treatments. One influencer posted on social media that she had visited to help with fat loss and lost nearly two inches on her very first visit. Naturally, that raised the question: Is this too good to be true?

I initially booked an appointment to address my chronic lower back pain. I was curious to see what ACTUAL BODY could offer from a recovery standpoint. But after seeing this social media post on fat loss I was curious to learn more about the body contouring treatment. I had a lot of questions.

I also wondered if treatments could be safely “stacked” in one visit to save time?
The answer: yes, they can.

After a thorough consultation, I committed to trying a combination of both treatments over the course of about 6 weeks. Here’s what I learned…

REPAIR & RECOVER — Chronic Pain 

ACTUAL BODY offers regenerative therapy using supersonic SoundWave technology. It’s something that has been used in elite sports medicine as an effective way to help athletes in recovery. This treatment works by stimulating repair using your body’s own biological mechanisms. There are no injections, no lasers, no pain and zero downtime. It simply awakens cellular activity in our body.

I recently noticed discussions of exosomes suddenly everywhere in the wellness and even beauty arenas, but to my surprise, the technology itself isn’t actually new. The SoundWave technology used in treating my lower back has been around for over 60 years, originating in Germany and other European countries. It’s FDA-approved in the U.S. and received approval in Canada roughly three years ago.

So… how does this work with exosomes?

In simple terms, sound wave therapy triggers a natural healing response. When sound waves travel through the body, they stimulate cells, fibres, soft tissue, and even bones. It also helps to break down scar tissue and calcification. This vibration signals to the body that an area needs to be repaired, prompting the brain to send healing cells and new blood vessel growth to that specific location.

It’s similar to what happens when you fall and feel immediate pain: the nerves send signals, inflammation occurs, and the body responds. With repeated treatments—typically four to six—the process is reactivated multiple times. Essentially, you’re retraining your body to respond and repair more efficiently and for your cells to communicate effectively with each other again. We’re talking cellular health.

As stem cells migrate to the area, they release exosomes—tiny messenger particles that attach to damaged cells and deliver the information and materials needed to rebuild and repair. Each stem cell can produce thousands of exosomes, creating a powerful regenerative effect. Think of it as an army of healing messengers.

The machine used at ACTUAL BODY delivers very fine and gentle, targeted vibrations that the body responds to quickly. This helps with long-term tissue regeneration and reducing any inflammation.

By the way, their Exosome Therapy can also be safely used to treat skin rejuvenation and even hair restoration.

BODY CONTOURING – Fat Loss Acceleration

ACTUAL BODY’s body contouring Acoustic Sound Wave Therapy is a game changer. It’s gentle and non-invasive treatment works on a cellular level to stimulate the body’s ability to lose stubborn fat. By using low-frequency sound waves, the treatment helps target and break down excess fat, telling the body to let it go. It also helps improve circulation, safely encourages tissue repair (which is proven to also help tighten skin by stimulating the body’s natural process of improving collagen), supports metabolism and lymphatic flow, and even restores balance in the gut. That last part was an unexpected bonus.

Each session includes about 40 minutes on the therapy machine, followed by a 15-minute deep massage around the abdomen to help accelerate the process. Honestly, the massage alone is worthwhile. You’re also encouraged to continue daily massage at home to continue the contouring effect.

What was really interesting was how results are tracked. Measurements are taken by using measuring tape at the exact same spot before and after each visit—no fancy gadgets, no manipulation. You’re asked to stand naturally (no sucking in), and photos are taken so you can clearly see progress over time. Results are tracked before and after each session.

This Acoustic Sound Wave Therapy can also be used on arms, thighs and hips.

The Results

I was losing an inch at each visit. My clothing fit more comfortably, and I felt less bloated overall. I also noticed a change in how my body was getting rid of toxins. Drinking plenty of water post-treatment is strongly encouraged to help your body move things along.

There’s no downtime and no known side effects. As for whether the results are temporary —I was told the contouring effect stays, assuming you’re not actively working against your results by consuming loads of sugary cocktails, cheeseburgers and carbs on repeat.

I can see this being especially appealing for anyone wanting to feel more comfortable in their clothes before a big event, or for those dealing with stubborn areas that don’t respond to diet and exercise alone.

Both forms of treatment have been eye opening, very informative and effective. Staff here take the time to explain how everything works and offer realistic expectations. That influencer who lost two inches on her first visit is not common, but one inch is realistic and proven.

Chronic lower back pain felt alleviated after two sessions and additional stretches were recommended. I decided to continue with more sessions of the body contouring to focus on that and will return to address the lower back on an as needed basis.

ACTUAL BODY is located at 4773 Yonge Street (easily accessible at the Yonge & Sheppard, also by TTC). To learn more, visit their site here.

*Actual Body office and treatment room photos provided.

The post ACTUAL BODY: Regenerative Treatments That Work With Your Body appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Following the success of their College Street studio, ALTER continues its mission of offering the therapeutic benefits of hot and cold therapies in an inviting space that feels accessible for everyday life. Their focus on creating a community-based environment is a much-needed one. With this in mind, each location is thoughtfully adapted to suit the unique character and needs of its neighbourhood. Communal sessions are available alongside quieter, self-led moments—whatever works best for you.

Eastern European, Scandinavian, and Asian cultures have long embraced variations of hot and cold therapies as part of their wellness traditions. Known to improve circulation, support muscle recovery, reduce inflammation, and relieve stress, it’s no surprise that more Torontonians are turning to these practices. At its core, ALTER is inspired by Finnish sauna traditions. Guests can enjoy the hot sauna and ice baths on their own or participate in guided sessions led by experienced facilitators that feel both safe and welcoming.

Guided classes will be offered across four themes: Sisu (to build grit and resilience), Unwind (to release tension with breath works and the use of essential oils), Energize (to boost mood and motivate), and Rebalance (to bring focus and centre).

The soothing and modern-designed space is divided into two main areas: a communal 30-person hot sauna and two generously sized ice baths. Alongside these are cozy rest areas and a tea lounge where you can relax and enjoy a book or just be in the moment. There’s also a rinse-off area including a traditional water dousing bucket suspended for an invigorating shower after you step out of the sauna. Private change spaces are available for added comfort.

If you’ve never visited a hot and cold therapy studio before, no worries — ALTER guides you through each step without judgment or pressure. The key thing to remember is to listen to your body. Rest when you need to. It’s not about moving on or letting go but moving through and allowing yourself to experience what you need in the moment.

Booking ahead is simple and can be done online, helping ensure the experience remains calm and well-paced in both self-led times and guided classes.

ALTER Leslieville is located at 988 Queen Street East.
ALTER College Street is located at 860 College Street.

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Here you can find services including cryotherapy, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, PEMF, IV drips, access to naturopaths, longevity experts, RE:SET (definitely a must-try), along side PRP and fat-freezing treatments in an aesthetically soothing space.

Intrigued? I definitely was, as I’ve been learning and exploring biohacking over the past couple of years. I visited to try an introductory circuit and had a chance to chat with founder John Kozman  — Toronto-based health performance expert, recently to learn more!

We’ve been noticing a shift towards wellness and longevity-focused treatments. What have you noticed in the past 5-10 years in this city in terms of what consumers are looking for? But you also don’t call it a treatment but rather a frequency. It sounds so woo-woo. Can you tell us more?

John: Over the past decade, we have seen a clear shift toward people wanting to feel better, think clearly and manage stress in a proactive, science-informed way. In Toronto especially, people are becoming more educated and curious about longevity, recovery and nervous system health, and they are looking for tools that help them function at a higher level day to day.

One thing that surprises many guests is how much of modern wellness is actually rooted in frequencies. Our bodies operate on electrical and biochemical signals, and many evidence-based technologies tap into that. Red light therapy uses specific wavelengths to influence cellular energy. PEMF uses electromagnetic pulses to support recovery. Ultrasound uses sound frequencies for tissue stimulation. Even something as simple as breathwork changes the frequency of your heart rate and brainwave patterns. RE:SET is part of that same family of frequency-based modalities, using sound, vibration and light to guide the nervous system into a more regulated state.

These kinds of tools were once available mainly to professional athletes and the very wealthy. Our goal at Supernatural is to make them accessible to everyone, so people can explore what helps them feel and function at their best, no matter where they are starting from.

We’re not always necessarily wanting to appear younger but rather, live healthier and longer. What should people know?

John: A big part of Supernatural’s philosophy is that longevity isn’t about chasing youth — it’s about feeling good, functioning well, and having the energy to live the life you want now – and later. Healthcare often intervenes only once something is wrong, but our approach is proactive and inside-out. Through diagnostics, science-backed therapies, and personalized protocols, we help people recover faster, sharpen their clarity, and build long-term vitality. It’s not about getting younger, it’s about ageing later.

Super age vs chronological age – can you explain what that means?

John: Super age refers to your biological age rather than the number of years you have lived. It reflects how well your body is actually functioning at a cellular and metabolic level. Some people age more slowly and maintain strong physical and biological health because of long term lifestyle habits like regular exercise, consistent sleep, low stress, healthy nutrition, not smoking and generally living a longevity-focused lifestyle.

The encouraging part is that your Super Age is not fixed. You can improve it at any time by adopting healthier routines. Many of the technologies and services at Supernatural support this process. Cryotherapy, RE:SET Frequency Therapy, Red Light and hormone therapy can all enhance wellbeing, daily function and measurable biological markers of ageing. With the right inputs, it is entirely possible to be 50 years old chronologically and have a biological age closer to your 20s.

The introduction program is the ideal place to start anyone coming to Supernatural for the first time. What makes it different?

John: Our Introduction Program is designed to give every new guest a clear, accessible starting point, and it is intentionally structured to showcase how quickly people can feel a difference. We typically recommend beginning with our First Time Protocol, which includes our signature Supercharge Circuit. This circuit combines Cryotherapy, Red Light Therapy and RE:SET Frequency Therapy, followed by a session of Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy. All of these technologies work by stimulating the body’s natural repair, recovery and balancing systems, helping you restore energy, reduce stress and improve overall function.

RE:SET is very unique – it definitely felt transformative. After experiencing it, I felt focused and energized. It also felt very meditative for me. The staff mentioned it’s currently the only one in Canada. Can you tell us more?  

John: RE:SET is one of our signature experiences because it delivers a level of calm, clarity and nervous system regulation that people usually only reach through deep meditation. It is the first technology of its kind in Canada and was developed by our partner Dave Sorbara, with a team in Los Angeles. The platform blends sound, vibration and light to guide the body into a more balanced state, influencing brainwave activity and vagal tone in a way that supports sleep, mood and stress relief. For many guests, it works as a shortcut to meditation, especially if they find it difficult to quiet their mind on their own — and it often becomes one of the most transformative parts of their visit.

Other than the targeted programs, what else is being offered here? We snuck a peek into the studio and can’t wait for that!

John: Supernatural offers a full spectrum of inner wellness and regenerative skin experiences that extend far beyond our targeted programs. On the inner side, guests can access cryotherapy, one of Canada’s only multi-person oxygen chambers, IV therapies, red light therapy, contrast therapy, PEMF, NAD+ optimisation, peptide therapy, lymphatic and compression treatments and advanced biomarker and metabolic testing.

For outer wellbeing, we offer 3D skin analysis, high-tech skin regeneration, PRP, Botox and biostimulators, EMSculpt NEO muscle toning, fat freezing, non-surgical ultrasound face lifts and a curated wellness marketplace.

A highlight of the space is The Portal, our immersive studio built around vibroacoustic sound, therapeutic light and projection-mapped visuals. It will host experiential classes, social gatherings and community sessions, offering fresh takes on meditation, breathwork, sound baths and even Tai Chi. We expect it to become one of the most unique and inspiring parts of the Supernatural experience.

What else should we know about Supernatural?

John: Supernatural is Canada’s first advanced longevity destination, built to offer a fully integrated, science-backed and personalized approach to how people look, feel and function. It is not a spa or a clinic; it represents a new category altogether: Healthcare 3.0. Everything begins with cellular health and nervous system optimization, and we meet people exactly where they are in their wellness journey.

The space is intentionally approachable. You can walk in and try a single service, pick up a product or choose a membership to make Supernatural part of your weekly wellness routine, complementing and enhancing your gym or movement practice. With flexible memberships or pay-as-you-go, high-performance wellness becomes more accessible.

At its core, Supernatural is a place for people who want to take control of their health, understand their bodies more deeply, and ultimately become their Superbeing.

***

There is an impressive menu of therapies and services to choose from. Start with the First-Time Protocol to explore a range of experiences. Then, you can select a different circuit or stack your own to suit your needs. You won’t need to do anything special, and no need to bring any change of clothes, although you’ll want to dress comfortably. They will also provide you with loose towel coverups for therapies that require less like the cryotherapy and the Light Therapy pods.

Supernatural is located at 55 Avenue Road inside Yorkville Village, Toronto. For more information on what they offer, visit their site here.

The post Supernatural is Toronto’s Newest Wellness and Longevity Space appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Hospital and doctor visits are free to Canadians and protected by federal legislation. But determined provincial governments could find ways to chip away at Canadian’s access to vital services.

New provincial legislation is needed to secure funding for healthcare services enshrined in the federal Canada Health Act.

In the United States, President Trump’s signature legislation reduces subsidies for states to provide health insurance to low-income Americans. According to the non-partisan U.S. Congressional Budget Office, over 10 million Americans are expected to lose their health insurance. Without health insurance, millions of Americans will lose their access to hospitals, doctors and drugs and pushed to emergency departments as their only source of healthcare.

Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta governments each spent in excess of $30 billion on healthcare for their residents in 2024 according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. This is a veritable pot of gold for governments looking to plug huge holes in budgets, especially in provinces especially hard hit by tariffs.

Like what is underway in the U.S., is it possible that a determined provincial government could start a war with its own publicly provided healthcare system in the name of fiscal restraint?
It could happen.

As Canadians are seeing in the U.S., the traditional way of doing things can be challenged and upend norms.

The federal Canada Health Act mandates that provinces are financially obligated to fund hospital care, physician services and advanced diagnostics. Importantly, however, the Act is vague regarding specifics. It does not specify the rate at which funding must be provided to hospitals, advanced imaging clinics or physicians to guarantee access to residents.

Provincial governments could dramatically cut funding to their health systems under this current federal legislation.

Massive funding to healthcare systems would target the most costly services first: hospitals, physicians and drugs. The impact could cause Canadians to have healthcare delayed, modified or even denied.
Hospitals unwilling to abandon their communities would prioritize life-saving care by reducing or eliminating less urgent or elective care. Some hospitals would likely need to close or merge to reduce capital expenses. Thousands of jobs would be lost. Similar to the U.S., emergency departments would fill up with non-emergency cases.

Cuts to physician payments would result in physicians moving into private practice or leaving Canada for greener pastures, re-igniting a brain drain of seasoned experts to more secure or more lucrative settings in unaffected provinces or other countries.

Given the vague language of the Canada Health Act regarding funding levels, the federal government would have few levers in response to breaches of the legislation. If the federal government were a willing corroborator in under-funding healthcare, provinces’ health systems would unravel even more quickly.

Seniors, the disabled and the working poor could find more drugs uninsured by government-funded programs and see deductibles rise.

Sure, provincial governments might topple for reshaping the health system landscape and reducing services Canadians have been getting for free. But before they topple, the changes they legislate might be hard to unwind, especially if their budget shortfall is real and significant.

So, what can be done to buttress core healthcare services for Canadians?

New provincial legislation to future-proof provincial governments’ obligation to pay fairly for healthcare services prescribed in the Canada Health Act is needed to further ensure the right of all Canadians to access hospitals and doctors without additional out-of-pocket costs.

Experts attribute part of Canadians’ longevity to access to free healthcare and less severe poverty among seniors. The risk of not taking strong steps to ensure access to healthcare could open the doors to healthcare systems that undermine our health and wellbeing.

***

Written by:

Jason M. Sutherland is the UBC Professor of Health Services and Policy and Director of the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia.

The post Denying Canadians Access to Healthcare – It could happen here too appeared first on Toronto Guardian.