This week I've had a few curious conversations about what 'wellbeing' means, and how we can create what feels like an authentic and genuinely beneficial practice as opposed to just selling or buying 'wellness' products or experiences as a quick-fix.
The increased attention on wellbeing over the last year has prompted some amazing conversations, behaviour shifts and opportunities for many people, but it also feels like we've been flooded with information and products which promise to help us feel better.
This type of selling is most effective when people feel like they are not enough - when they need to 'be better' - and that is deeply uncomfortable for me.
How can we promote and celebrate 'wellbeing' and also accept that we are already enough?
I want to be able to share my passion for self-healing without making anyone else feel like they are falling behind, lacking, or not good enough.
Angela Scanlon and Fearne Cotton chat about the 'wellness industry' in this podcast episode, exploring what it means to work in that space and how we can do so with integrity. One idea in particular really resonated with me, and that was about actually believing that you are worth it. That you deserve to feel good.
That was powerful. You can do all the yoga, sea-swimming and breathwork in the world, but without the core belief that you deserve to feel good and happy, you can only get so far.
I tried a writing exercise with myself, exploring deeper into why I choose to do certain aspects of my care and wellbeing practices. I felt some resistance at first, but by keeping curious and following my thoughts to the root, it helped me think about the real reasons why I do what I do.
For example:
Why do I do yoga? Because it relaxes my body, builds my strength, and resets my mind. Why does that matter? Because it's tiring and painful when I let tension and stress build up. Why does that matter? Because I don't like feeling that way and it makes me unhappy. Why does that matter? Because I want better for myself and my body, and I believe I deserve that.
This framework of thinking feels much more helpful to me than 'I've got to do my yoga otherwise I'll continue to be broken.'
I hadn't even realised that I was approaching my health and wellbeing in this way, but I think somewhere along the line something had shifted into survival mode and I was desperately doing all the things that I thought would help me stay afloat. Now, by changing my focus to 'gifting' myself the time to do things which make me feel good, I'm interested to see what changes might come about.
I'd love to hear if anyone else has stopped to think about why they do the wellbeing practices they do. What did you find? Comment on my linked Instagram post about this topic to join the discussion...