From wanting to lose weight to just trying out a new look, Delhiites’ new year resolutions have been keeping the Capital’s gyms, salons and clinics busy in the first week of 2018.
Smriti Manchanda, the chief operating officer of Gold’s Gym in East of Kailash, said that the gym sees an increase in membership at the beginning of every year. “This week, we have had maximum enquiries and several people have paid for gym memberships. Every year, the enquiries increase by around 40%, of which nearly 70% get memberships,” she said.
Yoga centres
In fact, the gym targets those whose new year goal is to become fit, with a campaign called ‘I take an oath to be fit’ in January, she said. It’s not only gyms, but centres offering yoga have also seen an increase in takers.
“At the beginning of every year, we have people signing up for new memberships and this year is no exception. We usually witness a 30 to 40% increase in memberships in the first few weeks. Along with New Year’s resolutions, the guilt of indulgence during the holidays encourages people to seek memberships,” said Zubin Atré, the founder of Atré Yoga Studio in Shahpur Jat.
In the first week of January, the yoga studio saw more calls regarding membership along with more traffic on its site, he said, adding that new courses and workshops were introduced to accommodate new members. Along with fitness centres, dieticians also experienced an increase in consultations.
“There are a lot of enquiries during this time of the year. People have it in their minds to start diets but the actual rush in consultations is experienced in the latter half of January and in February,” said Dr Karun Makhija, a dietician practising in Greater Kailash-II.
While improving fitness and health is a popular resolution, many people have also been visiting salons for makeovers.
Aastha Vohra, the regional manager of the Geetanjali Salon chain, said: “Every new year, people come for complete makeovers. To change their looks, people tend to get new haircuts and get their hair coloured in bright and vibrant shades.”
More procedures
A student from Dehradun who was visiting Delhi for the holiday season, Naina Singh, was among those who opted for a dramatic change — from long hair to pixie cut. “Getting a hair makeover was on my mind for a long time. The new year seemed like the perfect opportunity to go ahead with it,” said Ms. Singh.
Dermatology and trichology clinics also reported an increase in minor procedures during the end of last year and the beginning of this year. Arpit Goel, the executive director of Berkowits Hair and Skin Clinic chain said there had been an increase in patients, partly due to the festive season and the fact that people wanted to try new looks.
“People who have been delaying their decisions to get hair and skin procedures done find the motivation to do it when the new year starts. There is an increase in people getting hair transplants, laser hair removal and anti-ageing procedures. We experience up to 40% increase in procedures done during this time,” he said.
There has also been an increase in the number of people wanting to make a serious change to their lives by quitting a bad habit. In the past week, approximately 10% more people have started attending meetings organised by Muktidaan, an alcoholics anonymous group conducting activities in Punjabi Bagh, according to a spokesperson.
