I was recently struck (really, disturbed) by a recent article on the crazed trend of “wellness” in 2017: THE WELLNESS EPIDEMIC. Epidemic, indeed. That implies that it’s a virulent, insidious disease infesting society. It truly has become such.
From GOOP to Moon Dust, from Sakara to Sweat with Kayla, these almost farcical at times “wellness” programs, regimens, curricula, potions, and powders run across my screen (and my mind) daily. Clients now have the gall to instruct, didactically, ME on how “wellness” works.
Let’s be clear: “wellness” (whatever that is) is not a clearly defined science like “exercise” or “nutrition.” YOUR own definition of YOUR own wellness is up to you. Maybe “wellness” for you is eating a certain way and exercising x days per week. Maybe it just means you are mentally at peace. The truth is, getting to YOUR own state of wellness is a uniquely personal experience, and Gwyneth Paltrow should have nothing to do with it.
Incorporating nutrition into a “wellness” plan is superb. I like the idea of nutrition as a COMPONENT, but not the CENTRAL OR ONLY, piece of your own wellness puzzle. I find myself rolling my eyes, sometimes metaphorically when I’m face-to-face with a client so as to not be rude (don’t you wish you knew what I was thinking during session? Mwahaha!) when they either assert that the 800 dollars worth of quartz chia dust they installed under their floorboards was a necessary purchase in pursuit of wellness, or they scoff at the fact that I’m not a vegan, or they are spending the GDP of a small nation and a part-time job time commitment slicing moringa for their smoothies every week. Allow me to invert my love Sheryl Sandberg’s famous expression, “Lean In”, and cut you a slice of advice: Lean OUT. Stop focusing on ONE product, ONE food, ONE herb, ONE supplement, ONE exercise, ONE crazy set of malarkey you purchased online, to complete your “wellness.” In the same way that we can’t rely on ONE person for happiness, we need to zoom OUT and focus on the “big picture” of wellness:
• Eat food. Stuff that is good FOR you, but also satisfies your SPIRIT (NOT your stress).
• Move your body, because you have one.
• Bring awareness to every moment (mindfulness), or as many moments as you can
• Sleep enough
• Don’t drink (a lot) or smoke tobacco (at all)
• Be nice to people.
Wellness, in a (gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO, cruelty-free, wellness dust) NUTSHELL.
Essentially Yours,
Monica