Swimming star Siobhan Haughey talks balance to celebrate AIA Alta’s first anniversary
The Hong Kong athlete shares her wellness journey guided by AIA Alta, which marks one year of providing holistic wealth and health solutions
Hongkongers watched in awe this summer as swimmer Siobhan Haughey made history at the Olympic Games in Paris, where she added two bronze medals to her collection.
She extended her status as Hong Kong’s most successful swimmer with her double-bronze achievement in the 100-metre and 200-metre freestyle events. She previously won two silver medals in those events at the Tokyo Olympic Games, which also made her the first Hong Kong athlete to win an Olympic medal in the pool.
Upon returning home from the Paris Games, Haughey needed to take time to focus on her wellness, both inside and out. “After the Olympics, my coach gave me a month off from swimming,” she says. “For the first two weeks, I didn’t know how to relax because I’ve never had this much time off. My body and mind didn’t know how to just chill.”
But eventually, she figured out how to listen to her body and give it what it needed after all of the intense training and competition. “That might mean going for a walk to move my body, or to sleep for 10 hours a night to recover from three years of hard work.”
That is the latest lesson she has learned on her path to success. “It’s all about balance,” she says. “Always allocate time for rest, so your body and mind are recharged to focus on doing what you love again.”
Over the years, Haughey has found that maintaining balance as an elite athlete means not only keeping herself physically fit, but also investing in her mental health.
“When I was younger, I had a lot of energy. But now I realise I really need to take care of my body and mind if I want to keep performing at such a high level,” she explains. “Now, the second I notice any signs of burnout or major stress, I communicate with my coach and sports psychologist to find different solutions to minimise the sense of overwhelm.”
To unwind from a long day in the pool, Haughey opts for stretching, reading and meditation. In addition, she turns to the AIA Alta Wellness Haven for relaxing services like the quantum harmonic audio treatment. A signature offering in the facility’s Mind and Body Balance Programme, this treatment is designed to help with relaxation, relieve stress and improve sleep.
The one-stop wellness centre blends Eastern and Western therapeutic philosophies with advanced technologies to provide personalised services that address mental, physical and nutritional health. It is part of the AIA Alta membership programme, which recently celebrated its first anniversary of providing bespoke wealth management and wellness solutions aimed at achieving a holistic balance in life.
Haughey, an AIA ambassador, says: “It’s great that the wellness solutions are backed by science, but at the end of the day, I think the most important thing is its effectiveness, and how it makes me feel.”
The champion swimmer also prioritises balance when it comes to her personal life. “In the past few years, I have been focusing on myself as a person, to make sure that I am doing OK and have a life outside of swimming,” Haughey says.
Beyond the pool, she is interested in learning how to surf. She also wants to pursue a career as a child psychologist, following on from the bachelor’s degree in psychology she earned at the University of Michigan.
Haughey’s past studies, as well as her experiences competing on a global stage, have taught her the importance of taking a holistic approach to health and wellness in order to prevent burnout.
She shares advice for anyone who may be struggling to find balance in their own life: “Start small. You don’t have to make huge, drastic changes. Start off by doing things that make your body feel good, such as drinking water throughout the day, nourishing your body with nutritious food or moving more. Also schedule time in your life where you are doing something you enjoy.”
Haughey adds: “It’s important to ensure that you’re not just surviving, but also thriving in life.”