The wellness industry is a booming industry and it’s not going to slow down anytime soon. With the rise of the “self-care” movement, people are becoming more aware of their mental health and what they can do to help themselves.
Some popular trends in this industry include self-care, meditation, yoga, and mindfulness.
What is the self-care movement?
This is a movement that aims to take care of one’s mental and physical well-being.
Although this is a global phenomenon, this movement can be traced back to the American black feminist and abolitionist writer, Audre Lorde. In her 1982 essay “The Cancer Journals” she writes about self-care as the act of taking necessary good care of oneself (physically, emotionally and spiritually) in order to survive or maintain one’s health.
This means that it’s not only about getting enough sleep or eating right but also putting in time to take care of mental health as well.
Self-care has deep roots in an anti-oppressive framework which means it is deeply rooted in anti-racism, anti-sexism and anti-ableism.
Meditation and mindfulness
Meditation is one of the most popular trends in the world right now. It has been proven to have a variety of benefits that range from physical to mental. Meditation is not just for the spiritual, it can be a great way to reduce stress and anxiety, help with sleep and improve your mood.
Even workplaces are embracing mediation, and many now offer weekly mediation sessions that are designed to reduce dress while boosting productivity. Occupational therapy providers also offer these types of services, with a focus on reducing workplace injury while boosting productivity.
It seems that being mindful also has monetary benefits.
In recent years, public interest in mindfulness AND meditation has soared. According to Harvard Health, the number of randomised controlled trials (the highest level of clinical study) involving mindfulness and mediation increased as follows:
- One study from 1995‒1997
- 11 studies from 2004‒2006
- 216 studies from 2013‒2015.
This shows the growing popular acceptance that is also matched with a growing body of scientific proof and attention.
This is definitely a great emerging health trend to jump on board with.
Yoga – become a yogi and flex the benefits
Yoga is one of the most popular forms of exercise. It’s been around for thousands of years and has gone through a lot of changes over the years.
The first mention of Yoga was in the ancient Indian scripture called the Rigveda. It was written about 3,000 years ago but it wasn’t until about 200 BCE that it started to be practised in India.
Yoga didn’t reach western countries until the 20th century when it started to become more popular with hippies and new age people who wanted to explore other cultures and religions.
To demonstrate the growing popularity of this activity, according to The Good Body, the number of Amercians partaking in yoga grew by 50% between 2012 and 2016.
Downward dog anyone?
Try these new healthy habits
While wellness trends are everywhere, they are not the same. Different people have different needs and it’s important that we take a personalised approach when it comes to improving our well-being.
From flexing your yoga skills, to practising mindfulness or perhaps enjoying a daily meditation, these are some of the latest health trends breaking into the mainstream.
