Let Us Live A Full Hundred Years
Once upon a time in ancient India, ‘Jeevvaama Sharadah Shatam’ (Let us live for a full hundred years) was the Vedic prayer chanted by everyone. The basis of all life’s endeavors was Swasthya, where a sound body was considered the epitome of perfect health, which was the pre-requisite for the attainment of spirituality.
It was a simple lifestyle based on yoga and Ayurveda to heal the body aimed at the achievement of physical, mental, spiritual, economic, and social well- being – to be enjoyed over hundred autumns.
This is the best interpretation of wellness - which is much more than just being free from illness. It is an active process of making conscious decisions towards living a healthier, happier and fulfilled life.
Today as a nation, how “Well” are we?
Look around us. There is an epidemic of chronic stress and lifestyle diseases such as cancer, heart problems, diabetes, and depression. According to the National Family Health Survey, India has the second highest obese population with 155 million. About 89% of the population in India is suffering from stress. Finally, from being on 122nd rank in 2017 to 133rd rank in 2018, India has slipped 11 places on the 'Word Happiness Index'.
Truly, the Indian populace has never been sicker and the need for health, happiness, and wellness has never been bigger!
The Wellness Industry Today
Statistics and forecasted numbers from FICCI, reveal a robust health industry that is poised to cross INR 500 billion and predicted to hit the mark of INR 1.5 Trillion by the end of the financial year 2020.
This industry boom has resulted in staggering consumerism, some healthy while others just driven by capitalistic lure. Wellness seekers have a choice of new products, services, trends, fitness, food, and lifestyle options like never before.
Alas, so many choices have somewhere confused the consumer and adding to this confusion has been social media anxiety.
Wellness Expert Latham Thomas says that, “In the age of social media and particularly Instagram, I believe the pressure people feel to engage in performative wellness creates anxiety, self-doubt, and depression.”
What is the future of the Wellness Industry?
To look to the future, we must learn from our past.
It is time to balance modernity with the wisdom from our ancestors who lived happier, healthier, if not longer. The need is greatest for back-to-basics essential wellness that is do-able on a daily basis, most importantly without busting pockets.
There are ways we can simplify wellness where we live, work, relax and travel so that it is easily integrated into our everyday life.
Wellness Homes
The Real estate industry in creating true healthy homes: with space, with parks, walking pathways, greenery, and community halls residents to meet and alleviate loneliness can play a massive role in contributing to a healthy Lifestyle.
Homes, that will have as part of their ecosystem markets that offer affordable fresh and organic foods, drug stores that showcase affordable wellness solutions, fitness centers and spas, that can better the wellness quotient of their residents.
Workplace Wellbeing
Wellness and work create a mutually enhancing virtuous circle. When we feel healthy and balanced we are more happy and motivated; this in turn fuels productivity.
In the light of unsettling employee health statistics, forward-looking organizations will continue to focus on creating ‘wellbeing-focused workplaces’ to encourage employees to prioritize their health.
I have been fortunate to work with some great companies, who believe wellness at work should be more essential than episodic.
More companies are now also open to consultation on wellness-enhancing designs like sit-stand desks, more ventilation to get natural lighting, enough green spaces to naturally purify the air and stimulate creativity, etc.
These organizations have also shown openness to my gourmet health supportive lunch and snacking menus options so as to enable employees to appreciate the role of diet in preventing illness.
It’s important that more corporate kitchens will look at offering healthy and balanced food at affordable prices. The principles are embedded in India’s ancient culinary wisdom. Combined with modern methods of processing faster – cold pressing, steam cooking, these can now be made available with convenience without compromising taste and avoiding the ills of high salt, fat, and sugar.
Relaxing Spas
As a spa consultant, I believe our spa industry offers endless ways in which we can impact a client's overall health and wellbeing. In our ever booming wellness market, it is time to reclaim our role as true healers who can offer activities and choices that can lead our clients to a state of holistic health. It is time to integrate palatable ‘Natural Holistic Lifestyle’ tips into every step of a client’s wellness journey. Our spas now need to break out to the next level and create more empowering education toolkits that enable our customers to go out and live out a virtuous cycle of healthful living, day after day.
Soulful Travel Experiences
Successful travel operators will look at curating transformative holidays and even short business trips that help emotionally engage guests. They will offer guests creative reasons for disconnecting from technology to focus on deeper dialogues with themselves. This will then foster deeper connections with their loved ones. A deep connection with nature, experiencing local cultures, adventurous outdoor fitness programs will all help create soulful travel experiences.
Finally, governments and the private sector need to create a conducive environment and incentives to produce and enable people find and consume products that are all natural, plant-based and environment-friendly.
Conclusion
Holistic wellness is really about the right knowledge and simple day-to-day natural choices in our life that can drastically transform our health and well-being. It is about mindfully listening to our bodies as our ancestors did and nurturing it gently.
As for the wellness industry, capitalizing on the boom should also come with responsibility. It’s about conscious capitalism really.
It should continue to look at providing authentic and natural preventive health services and products that will help everyone rediscover their brimming Health and happiness.
