8 Wellness Trends to Watch in 2011

2010 was a big year for wellness, but I think 2011 is going to be bigger. Get your green juice ready, roll out the yoga mat, and take an inventory of what's in your dopp kitt. It's going to be an exhilarating, healthy, and green ride.

1. Global Juice - With Jean-Georges' creation and Esquire's best new restaurant of the year, ABC kitchen, having a full-on juice bar to die for, you know this juice trend is a force to be reckoned with. Juice bars are already a part of the trendsetting Berlin culinary scene, juice is transcending cleanses (which are growing incredibly popular with BPC and Organic Avenue picking up steam) and cracking into the foodie scene. In 2011, expect juice to extend beyond wellness and become part of the foodie scene here in America.

2. Natural Skin Care Explosion - Tata Harper skincare was our 2010 product of the year in a year that might go down as the birth of the natural skincare revolution. Supermodels Gisele Bundchen and Miranda Kerr came out with their own organic skin care lines in 2010, Aveda founder Horst Rechelbacher went full speed ahead with his new line of Intelligent Nutrients, and our friends Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt landed on The Today Show to discuss their groundbreaking book, No More Dirty Looks. Even 60 Minutes had a segment on the toxin, phthalates. Expect even more media attention, more awareness, and even more great natural skin care news in 2011.

3. Yoga for Men - As many of you know, this one is a bit of a pet-project for me personally. In addition to my personal thoughts on why more dudes should practice yoga, our Men and Yoga series was one of the most popular posts of the year, and even The New York Times took notice of the increasing number of men taking up yoga. As yoga continues to grow, expect more studios to make an effort to land more males through either male-themed classes like Brock Cahill's 'Flight Club' at LA's Yogis Anonymous or male-friendly sequences with emphasis on inversions.

4. Veggies for Foodies - With the success of Top Chef, Food Network, and Cooking Channel, there's no question that we're a food-obsessed culture. Celebrity chefs are typically one-step ahead of the latest foodie trend, and in 2010 vegetables were center stage. Whether it was Mario Batali (yes, the man who's famously photographed with a sausage around his neck) announcing a new vegetarian cookbook or vegetable butcher at his culinary mecca, Eataly, or molecular chef, Jose Andres calling fruits and vegetable 'sexy' on 60 Minutes, Dirt Candy's vegetarian chef/owner, Amanda Cohen appearing on Iron Chef, or Alain Ducasse (who holds 19 Michelin stars) launching a total vegetarian menu, veggies were hot on the scene. Another thing about chefs is that they're typically extremely competitive. If creating sublime perfection with vegetables is the true mark of a great chef, then let the games begin in 2011.

5. Happiness Through Experiences, Not Things - Who wouldn't enjoy a little more happiness? We've all indulged in a little retail therapy at one time or another. This year we learned in study after study that it's better to invest in experiences rather than products when it comes to happiness. So if you're thinking of buying some new bling or going on vacation, the trip is definitely the way to go. With more people embracing conscious and not conspicuous consumption due to the global economic shift or the realization that our "stuff" doesn't make us happy, expect more spending on wellness-driven or wellness-motivated experiences in 2011.

6. The Power of Plant-Based - "Plant-Based Diet" was my Word of the Year and I expect the perimeter of the grocery aisle to continue to pick up momentum. I'm a huge believer of inclusion rather than exclusion being the force behind trends that have 'stickiness' and turn into lasting movements. People change their diets for health, the environment, for weight loss, or for animal rights. Whether they pick up a diet book or decide to go full-on vegan, one thing is going to be the same -- and that is the fact that more fruits and vegetables are going to be the core of that lifestyle change. There's finally a word and a lifestyle that embraces it -- and that's why we'll continue to see the power of plant-based in 2011.

7. Art for Good  - Just like Jamie Oliver winning the TED prize in 2009 set the stage for all the attention the past year on obesity in America, I think that TED is one step ahead again as they awarded the 2010 TED prize to street artist, JR, as he used the streets in some of the poorest areas in the world as his canvas. When some of the most creative people in the world, like the famous Shepard Fairey using his talent and his fame to shed light on the Dalai Lama or coastal preservation you have beautiful art mixing with a powerful and beautiful message. What I call 'Art for Good' is nothing new, but it's pervasiveness is. Whether I see it at home via my friend, CAM, here in Brooklyn, at the famous Art Basel in Miami, or the viral Happy Meal Project online, I think more and more artists will use their canvases for positive change in 2011.