The Wellness Lifestyle Shift
Wellness is about practicing healthy habits to attain better physical and mental health, it’s a lifestyle choice geared for those who aspire to thrive rather than just survive.
Wellness is also a thriving sector, with the prediction of growth in wellness industry to be on an upward trend. This is mostly due to the pandemic creating shifts in how wellness seekers have a better understanding of a wellness experience and what they expect from it.
From the latest research by the Global Wellness Institute there are shifts in wellness to watch for that will impact the living well consumers and industry growth in the coming years. While this research is new, over the past three years we have seen the changes taking place and acted on them to communicate wellness better with our customers at ikatan Spa.
‘Self-care’ term shifts from pampering and escapism to a means for self-preservation and survival. I have never liked the word pampering as it insinuates something unnecessary, meaningless or spoilt and this is not what wellness is about. Acts of self-care to maintain one’s wellbeing are a necessity, not a luxury and could not be further from ‘pampering.’
Escapism, I like this term and think it’s a good word that’s easily understood and immediately relatable as something that is sort after. We all need to escape, leave our life behind for a few hours, a day, or a holiday to recalibrate so that we can go back to our lives feeling refreshed. To me, Escapism is self-preservation for survival.
Prevention becomes a lifestyle and a bigger public health priority. To this I say, it’s about time, we all know prevention is easier than finding a cure. We have already seen constant conversations and attention to mental health, particularly over the past few years of the pandemic. There’s now more funding for mental health and a better understanding and awareness in caring for our mental health as well as the help that is available.
Wellness and science move closer together. There’s an abundance of scientific research now to support the things that people used to see as a bit ‘hippy trippy’, but have you ever stopped to think how chilled out the so-called hippies were and still are?
Many of the wellness practices may have seemed ‘out there’ decades ago but now yoga, meditation, healthy eating, self-care practitioners, such as osteopaths, massage or acupuncture therapists are backed by science and encouraged as necessary preventive health.
We will lean into nature for nourishment and healing. This is one of my favourite shifts in wellness and I see it as an ‘enlightenment’ from the GWI research. I have always believed in the power of nature for relaxation, particularly mental and emotional health as well as a place for physical activity. It’s one of the main reasons we established a wellness business surrounded by gardens where the design and plant selection all play a part in helping people feel nurtured in nature.
You may think it’s just aesthetically pleasing to have a lush garden, thriving pot plants or to get outside for a walk in the park but there is so much more to be gained from our living environment.
It’s something that I have always found fascinating and shown a great interest in learning, how nature helps to nurture us as humans, why it works, what it is about water, trees and plants that have such a profound effect on us.
Balancing physical and virtual connections becomes critical. We all tried to make the most of our lockdown and pandemic work environment, in isolation with zoom and screen time but there’s been an unpredicted surge in people returning to gyms, yoga, pilates, sports clubs and anywhere they can be part of social gatherings. As humans, we are social creatures and the need for contact with others is important particularly for singles, elderly, and children to gather with like-minded others.
Some companies are selling up their large office spaces in cities because they realise that employees working from home are productive, happier to have more flexibility and time with family while avoiding commuting into the office. It’s saving money, time, energy and fuel and this all adds up to a better environmental impact.
One American company recently purchased a ranch to create a working retreat, when they sold their city offices. The ranch retreat is a place for employees to come together for work related meetings, team building and planning sessions, where wellness sessions are combined with work.
Employees experience yoga, meditation, walks, Day Spa treatments along with health food at their wellness and work ranch stays. It’s proving to be a very productive way to engage employees for better performance outcomes.
The shifts in wellness predictions upwards to 2025 are already here and they will only become prevalent as the new norm, more available and offer all of us a preventative way to live for an improved lifestyle.
It’s inspiring to see the opportunity for this shift for all of us to have a better wellness lifestyle
Katrina
Owner – ikatan Spa.