Noel Asmar has always had an eye for design. She founded the Noel Asmar Group in 2002 as SpaUniforms.com, the first company to provide stylish uniforms to spa and wellness professionals online, elevating their look with high-performance fabrics and styles. She didn’t stop there though. This female founder then went on to launch two more successful brands, PedicureBowls.com and Asmar Equestrian, a consumer brand that also outfitted the Canadian Equestrian Team for the Rio 2016 Olympics. In 2019, she launched a line of sustainable fabric collections made from recycled plastic. Here, she shares how she stays healthy and the best piece of wellness advice she has ever received.
What does wellness mean to you?
Wellness for me is about being in tune with my own energy and the energy of those around me—being kind, sensitive, and respectful to myself. Understanding where I’m at in a specific moment and recognizing where I’m at in a specific stage of life. It’s taken time and experience to get there, maybe it comes with age. I also think good food plays a huge role in wellness and for me. It makes me feel very grounded, and well, especially being in my garden, being able to grow my own veggies, and cooking for those I love.
What are your favorite things to do to maintain your personal wellbeing?
I am creative person at heart with a deep connection to family, close friends, and animals. They are my daily dose of vitamins. I also highly value my morning routine. It’s sacred. Each morning – whether a workday or a weekend, I enjoy a coffee with my hubby in bed before our day starts, and then I take my time with a beautiful skincare routine. It feels good to start each day taking care in some way.
Is there a specific fitness activity that you love and why?
I recently bought a Peloton and love it. Sometimes we focus on carving out long stretches of time to work out, but even those 15-minute rides do wonders for you both physically and mentally. You have to fit it in where you can, and remember, any movement is good movement.
What is your favorite healthy food, and do you have a favorite way of preparing it?
I love tabbouleh. It’s Lebanese parsley salad that is fresh and delicious and a mega source of antioxidants. It brings me back to the years I lived in Lebanon in my 20s.
What is your favorite healthy beverage (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), and do you have any insider tips for preparing it?
If I am feeling like a detox, I love roasted dandelion tea. It has a long history of being used as a natural treatment for a variety of conditions and ailments. You can find it in health food stores or the natural food section of most grocery stores. Just steep it like tea and enjoy. For a twist on cocktails, I love a muddled cucumber and freshly grated ginger martini. I first had one mixed by the bartender at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, and I still remember it.
What is your greatest wellness achievement?
Raising our children to love and live an active lifestyle in an era that is so focused on digital pastimes. I love seeing my kids getting involved and finding their passions and hobbies that they enjoy. I’m also incredibly proud of how The Noel Asmar Group has continued to grow and our continued commitment to sustainability. When we talk about wellness, we look at how it impacts both people and the planet. We’re working very hard to offer more and more styles that not only look and feel good, empowering the people who wear our pieces, but that have been created in such a way that they can actually do good for the planet by utilizing recycled materials and supporting reforestation projects.
What person in wellness do you most admire and why?
My mother and father both placed a lot of emphasis on fresh food. They liked to cook, used fresh ingredients, lots of herbs and spices, and inspired me to find my own passion in cooking.
I also admire Susan Harmsworth. I look up to her for her commitment to creating true spaces of wellness. She’s vibrant and very passionate and educated—it radiates from her as a result.
Another person I admire is architectural wellness guru is Clodagh. She’s applied sustainable practices since she began her career. She’s a forward thinker and has used her creative talents to elevate the human experience by considering how materials in interior design and architecture impact our wellbeing. She’s admirable, personable—and genius at what she does.
What is the best piece of wellness advice you have ever received and from whom?
Celeste Hilling from Skin Authority told me how integral vitamin D is to our overall health and wellness. Living in Canada, where we are severely vitamin D deficient, I had no idea how it impacts hormones (hormone D25 lives in our skin—and when hit with the sun, it produces more vitamin D). I didn’t realize how critical it is to understand this and ensure our children, family, and friends understand it. It’s possible to bring our levels up and correct the issue, ultimately contributing to overall mental and physical wellness.
What is your idea of balanced healthy happiness?
Sleep, love, connection to nature, and kindness to oneself. You don’t need to worry about following “the rules” just follow your heart and your intuition.
What do you think is the most overused word or words in wellness?
The term “green” is everywhere these days, but it’s lost a lot of meaning. It’s great that brands want to “go green” but there needs to be actions behind that, things that are tangible and can be measured when it comes to sustainability, being better for the environment, and better for customers.
Do you have a secret health or wellness tip you would like to share?
Sleep, sleep, and more sleep. It takes nine to 10 hours a day to feel restored!
What is your favorite place for a healthy vacation or escape?
The Mediterranean—the beaches, the food, the people, the music, the charm.
What is your favorite self-care routine?
My skincare routine is morning and night. It’s a time to stop, check in with myself, assess how I’m doing, and care for my skin. It’s even more fun when I can delight my kids with a home facial—they love it.
What is your go-to for de-stressing?
Time outdoors. Being outside, even in my own back yard, helps me to refocus and get away from being in front of a screen or on the phone. Fresh air does wonders.
What aspect of your wellbeing do you struggle with the most, or would most like to improve?
Finding peace with my eating. As hormones change, my body is changing—and what worked in my 20s and 30s doesn’t work in my late 40s, but that’s okay!
What wellness-related books or authors do you recommend, and why?
Brene Brown. She’s my favorite. Her books inspire me to better understand myself, set healthy boundaries, understand what makes me happy, and not take on others’ negative moments—that’s the ultimate wellness tip.
How do you celebrate small victories?
Acknowledge them. I think it’s important to take a moment to celebrate when we achieve a goal or learn something new, no matter how small those things may be, and then share what we’ve learned with others. Knowledge is power, and it’s meant to be shared.
What brings you joy?
Being a mom. My husband and I have taught our children to be independent, and I am so proud of all our kids and the people they are growing into and the goals they are setting for themselves. It’s wonderful watching their journeys.
