Canada

Family therapist Michele Kambolis focuses on mind-body medicine, utilizing meditation and biofeedback as a way to treat struggles that primarily affect mothers and children. Her sessions are conducted via video chat, allowing for ultimate ease as you build a foundation of strong mind-body health—all from the comfort of your home.

Theda’s soft voice can soothe you to sleep. And that should come as a surprise to no one: as a singer-songwriter, Theda focuses on sound healing to promote relaxation and meditation. She utilizes crystal and Tibetan singing bowls, ocean drums, and Shamanic vocal toning (a heavenly combination) to create an ethereal soundscape that pacifies both body and soul.

Shama has been a body work therapist for more than a decade. Her private practice is located in Empower Health Clinic, where she helps patients navigate various stress-related conditions through breathwork and meditative therapies. Her specialties include diamond breath therapies and counseling sessions centered around somatic touch, biodynamics, and mindfulness.

Possibly the coolest (and most atypical) Chinese restaurant in Toronto, SoSo Food Club’s dining room is shaded in pale pink and turquoise, with abstract prints on the wall and lit by neon pink lighting once the sun sets. (The result feels like a cross between Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love and Blade Runner.) The food also defies easy categorization, with twists on regional dishes from Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Hong Kong. Our favorite is the XO Lobster Mapo Tofu, a bowl of piping hot soft tofu (and a side of steamed rice), sustainably-sourced Nova Scotia lobster, blue crab, and spicy seafood XO sauce. Book a late reservation and go straight from dinner to dancing, which kicks off at 11pm every night in the dining room.

Crew Collective & Café is one part public coffee shop and one part coworking space for local creatives. The building itself—housed in the ornate former Royal Bank headquarters—is reason enough to visit. The speedy Wi-Fi and strong matcha lattes are two more.

Step into Mélisse and you’ll feel like you’re in LA: light wood; a bright, high-ceilinged space; and lots of plants. (Also LA-like: eating on the patio, weather permitting.) Breakfast and lunch are light and focus on seasonal produce (tartines, salads, satisfying egg dishes), while dinner is full of shareable plates, like grilled veggies and charcuterie, plus more substantial items, like grilled pork shoulder peppered with cherry tomatoes and pistachios. The 100 percent organic wine list is short but brilliant.

It’s only fifty seats, and there’s no sign out front, but that’s kind of the point. Despite the name, Big in Japan isn’t meant for a big crowd. Behind an unmarked door at the corner of Boul Saint-Laurent and Rue Rachel, though, it is one of the best spots for late-night cocktails in Montreal. If you’re feeling adventurous, the specialties are amazing prune wine, sake, and Japanese whisky.

This clean, sleek, minimalist space mirrors its wares—lots of Dries Van Noten, Lemaire, and Acne Studios, which draw the city’s creative class (art directors, architects, and the like). There are plenty of pieces for both men and women, and the men’s rack has some pretty fantastic options for women, too. There’s a nice selection of accessories (wallets, backpacks, and totes) from WANT Les Essentiels de la Vie, a line started by local twin brothers Byron and Dexter Peart. There’s a second outpost in Old Montreal.

By day, Maelstrøm is a gourmet coffee house serving some of the best cold brew in Quebec City. By night, though, it morphs into a cozy, low-key bar that feels like a locals’ hangout. Exposed-brick walls and mismatched vintage furnishings give it a bit of a Brooklyn vibe, and the cocktails (poured by the friendly bartenders) are strong. It’s a great place to meet up for a predinner drink before a meal at one of the cute neighboring restaurants in Saint-Roch.

There’s something timeless about this old-fashioned grocery store, where shoppers go as much for an ambiance of nostalgia as for restocking their provisions. Worn wooden counters, wicker baskets, and glass cases hold an eclectic selection of artisanal products, including hand-milled soaps, exotic spices, coffee beans, wedges of regional cheeses, dried and cured charcuterie, and house-made sandwiches and cold salads, which you can consume at the café's marble-topped tables.