No crystals, no fancy gyms: Wellness has gone back to basics in a COVID-19 world

It’s been nearly five months since coronavirus first hit headlines around the world, and the concept of feeling ‘well’ has never been so charged. Even the obligatory ‘How are you?’ that prefaces any socially distanced encounter or the ‘Hope all’s well’ that peppers every email feels outdated, maybe even mildly offensive. How am I? Deeply anxious. Hope all’s well! How can it be? Our collective physical and mental health is under threat. It’s no wonder, then, that more and more people are turning to wellness pursuits as a way of feeling, well, well.

“One of the key concepts in wellness is being personally proactive to keep yourself well and to keep illness at bay,” says Beth McGroarty of the Global Wellness Institute. “COVID-19 has harshly exposed the terrible human cost for not controlling chronic ‘underlying’ conditions, because [these conditions] have made it much more likely for people to get very sick or at worse, die. COVID-19 has immediately strengthened the case for a life of preventative wellness, which traditional medicine has pretty much failed us on.”

Peak trend

The rise of wellness is nothing new. The global industry is currently valued at more than $4trillion, which is a 12.8 per cent increase from 2015, and today encompasses anything from sound baths to boutique gyms and even vaginal steaming (do not try this at home). But just as the industry has grown, so too has criticism against it.

“The wellness industry is deeply rooted in privilege,” says LA-based beauty blogger Justina Sharp. “To indulge in it requires a certain socioeconomic status that is unattainable for the average person. At its core, wellness should be about making yourself well, not spending thousands of dollars on questionable products or treatments that are developed to look good on your social media.”

Indeed, towards the end of last year, not a week went by without an email in my inbox touting the launch of a magical elixir that promised to both realign my chakras and grant me eternal youth. When Kim Kardashian West threw herself a CBD-themed baby shower in April 2019, it was clear that we had reached peak wellness and it was verging on becoming yet another trend we were striving to keep up with. By the end of the year, if you weren’t drinking out of an £80 crystal-infused water bottle, then who even were you? But as we enter a period of grave uncertainty, we’re seeing a rise of back-to-basics wellness, devoid of expensive gadgets and trends.

No-frills fitness

For a lot of people, the most obvious way of staying healthy is exercise, but with gyms shut across the world, IRL classes postponed indefinitely, and no unnecessary pressures of gym selfies or exhaustive lists of hot-yoga trends that everyone on Instagram seems to have signed up to, it’s been a joy to once again to experience fitness without the frills.

Whether that’s walks, runs or home workouts, “There are several reasons why working out and getting your heart rate up is important,” says fitness guru Kirk Myers, who has trained everyone from Kaia Gerber to Karlie Kloss at his New York gym, Dogpound. “It helps enhance one’s mood, allows the flow of creativity, reduces stress levels and improves sleep patterns.”

For Paris-born fashion influencer Camille Charrière, long walks have become integral. “I go walking early in the morning before the crowds come out, and choose either empty streets or the beautiful parks,” she says. “I come home feeling thankful for blue skies and beautiful blooms, my brain ready for the day ahead and my step count satisfyingly high.”

Of course, not everyone has the luxury of being able to leave the house for anything other than food or medicine, which is why global fitness brands such as Lululemon, Barry’s Bootcamp, SLT, Equinox and SoulCycle have begun rolling out a range of free online workout classes. And people are tuning in, with US-based trend forecasters Spate reporting a 194.3 per cent increase in Americans searching for ‘at-home gym’ equipment.

Compare this to keywords such as ‘weight loss’ and ‘diet’, which have decreased by 59 per cent, and it’s clear that our preoccupation with fitness is more about feeling preventively fit and healthy than it is about looking good—and let’s face it, apart from your fellow inmates, the occasional Zoom conference call or late-night Houseparty, who’s really there to appreciate your toned abs anyway?

Mental wellbeing

“We’re all adjusting to a completely new way of living,” says Claire Cohen, head of information content at mental health charity, Mind, who says that strict stay-at-home measures have seen people turn to wellness pursuits to protect their mental health, too. “We have seen a significant increase in new members to Mind’s online peer support platform Elefriends. Common themes impacting people’s mental health include problems at home, being worried about accessing food—especially for those of us supporting a family—financial worries, and health concerns of those who are continuing to go to work.”

“As we’ve all been locked down, a very proactive and much more real wellness has become people’s daily lifestyle and goal,” adds McGroarty. “The virus has led to a meaningful, grassroots outpouring of people really looking out for each other’s wellness. Now and in the future, more people will reject super-elitist, absurdly expensive wellness experiences and products designed for the 1 per cent. They will demand real authenticity and real expertise from wellness practitioners.”

Kelsey Patel is another practitioner putting the wellness of others first. After noticing her Instagram engagement more than doubling since the outbreak, the leading LA Reiki master began offering free healing sessions online. “Wellness has become so important because people have no control over what’s happening right now or what will happen in the future,” she says. “Diving into a healing practice during a time of crisis can help offer a sense of calm and inner peace.”

Celebrities are also doing their bit: Adwoa Aboah recently went live with Gurls Talk to answer questions about mental health, Lizzo orchestrated a mass meditation over Instagram, and Cara Delevingne took over Puma’s Instagram with a live-streamed yoga flow session. “I started yoga because I was looking to be flexible,” she says, “but it has shown me so much more—it is a way of life. It’s so powerful that it can definitely change your mood and calm your anxiety.”

Wellness for the world

As Madonna recently philosophised from her petal-strewn bubble bath, “That’s the thing about COVID-19—it doesn’t care how rich you are, how famous you are… where you live, how old you are or all the amazing stories you can tell. It’s the great equaliser.” Sure, she wasn’t referring to its democratising effects on the wellness industry and yes, it is somewhat ironic given the fact that she’s almost certainly isolating in far more luxurious conditions than you or I, but her words are apt here. Emancipating wellness from the trillion-dollar industry that has been built up around it, we’re seeing people return to wellness in its original form—as a means of staying mentally and physically well.

Celebrities, global fitness brands, leading mental health apps, practitioners, people all around the world—we’re all in this together. This is something Justina Sharp welcomes. “This massive event has removed a significant amount of the privilege gatekeeping that made wellness seem so much more exclusive,” she says. Indeed, where once wellness was perhaps synonymous with expensive gadgets and fad trends, it has now become a lifeline for people all around the world looking to cope. Long may it continue.

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