For many, wellness is a term that encompasses a grand scheme of fitness regimes, health supplements and new and improved recipes featuring acai, quinoa, kale and other things that are difficult to pronounce.

For Atilia Haron, Malaysian singer-songwriter, yoga teacher and founder of yoga studio, YogaOneThatIWant, wellness is all about the simple step of finding the right balance. A loaded word at first, Atilia affirms that balance is merely a state of equilibrium developed in the mind by adopting healthy mindsets and relinquishing negative ones.

“When your life is balanced, you will treat people better and the world will be a better place to live,” she says.

This year, Atilia ventured even further in her quest for wellness, and was appointed the mental architect of Sime Darby Property’s latest development, The City of Elmina. Alongside five other wellness architects, Atilia promotes the development of sustainable communities while celebrating healthy and balanced living at the development.

Spanning 5,000 acres of prime freehold land, the City of Elmina embraces eight pillars of wellness that go far beyond eco-friendly initiatives. They are the social, environmental, intellectual, family, occupational, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the built environment.

At the height of her career, Atilia was performing around the world and made her acting debut in the movie KIL and TV drama Arluna. Without much time for herself, Atilia began to notice breathing difficulty, especially during her performances.

“I thought there was something wrong with how I was breathing. At the time, I thought I wasn’t taking care of my body and my health,” she recalls.

It was then that she made it a point to work on a solution, which was to spend more time planning and executing her fitness regime — a simple one that encompassed yoga techniques and breathing exercises. For Atilia, keeping fit is not merely about physical shape and size.

“Anybody can be healthy or unhealthy,” she says, pointing out that she ventured into fitness despite being told many times that she was already skinny. She adds, “I feel so much better since I began my fitness regime.”

There is an expression that says “starting is often the hardest part” — it is the steepest step and the hardest hurdle. But with all hard parts, they tend to get easier from there on. For Atilia, kick-starting and maintaining her fitness regimes was a challenge, considering her hectic work schedule. All it took was for her to learn to love her resolutions and everything fell into place.

“I made it a point to start running this year [and] I’ve fallen in love with it. I’m going to continue and do more of it next year and I’ll enter more runs and do more cardio,” says Atilia.

The key to creating and maintaining a balanced life is inspiration. This could be a big or a simple influence that helps foster a calm and motivated mind. For Atilia, the most fundamental environment in shaping one’s well-being is the one where we spend most of our life — the home.

“For me, everything starts at your home — that’s the base for everything. I feel like I can do everything better if my home is good,” she says.

Atilia believes in surrounding oneself with elements that evoke inspiration. For example, a well-ventilated and naturally lit room can help with productivity as well as foster an environment for meditation and insight. This, she says, allows you to make better, more clear-headed decisions.

As the mental architect of the City of Elmina, Atilia takes pride in the finest details provided to residents of the township. Staying true to the blueprint of positive well-being, the township is equipped with an abundance of beautiful lake parks and recreational areas to encourage participation in outdoor activities and events.

Within the City of Elmina, the newly launched LIANA 30ft by 100ft superlink homes feature open-plan layouts that integrate the living, dining and kitchen areas. Spacious, airy patios provide openness and shade and privacy when needed. An open family area allows ample sunlight in and encourages interaction with the home’s natural surroundings.

Ferrea, Denai Alam is another new phase of 22ft by 70ft and 22ft by 75ft link homes in the City of Elmina that promises the peace and calm of the countryside, coupled with the modern finishes of city living. Situated next to Bukit Jelutong, the township is based on the concept of traditional Malay kampung communal living with a 4.8km non-motorised footpath that connects the entire township and a low-density environment that creates a true neighbourly setting but still gives residents privacy with family and loved ones.

“The thing about [the City of] Elmina is the details that a lot of developers don’t think about,” Atilia says. “A township has to be very sensitive to how people live now — things are changing rapidly and our needs and wants from 5 to 10 years ago are so different from today’s. So, we have to understand what works and what does not work in an environment or a community.”

It is then that balance can be achieved, she adds, as balance begins with the basic principle of breathing. In an environment that truly understands wellness, one can begin to attune to his surroundings and when he breathes, his breath is infused with awareness and a sense of calm and confidence.

Atilia says, “What you will find at the end of maybe 10 or 15 breaths is that your mind is a little calmer and you are able to make better decisions. Then you’ll understand — everything will be a little bit more balanced.”

LIANA and Ferrea are now open for sale and are priced from RM1,121,888 and RM760,888 respectively (not inclusive of applicable bumiputera discount). For more information, call (03) 7831 2253 or visit www.simedarbyproperty.com.