Health is a state of mind. However, wellness has gone beyond a state of being, to a conscious and self-directed journey that we now make every day. We are naturally evolving to become an aware generation that understands and embraces wellness. It is starting to touch everyone and everything – from the air we breathe to the clothes we wear to the food we eat, our ecological, economical and ethical consciousness.
86% of people believe they have the power to change their own level of wellness, 73% feel positive about their overall health and the average person now believes they will live to 79 (McCann Truth Central – The Truth About Wellness)
Defining wellness
WHO defines wellness as “an optimal state of health. It concerns a person’s individual health physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually and also their role in society and fulfilling expectations in their family, community, place of worship, workplace and environment.”
Wellness emanates from our thoughts, lives in our beliefs and thrives on our emotions. The body tells us what it needs. If a day has stretched too long, it seeks to unwind. We are diving deeper. We are becoming more connected to our inner and outer world.
Welcome to the age of wellness
Today wellness is a happening, so rich with possibility that it is shifting from a once-perceived luxury to being considered a fundamental human right. We are naturally leaning towards wearing cotton, and purchasing things that are not tested on animals. We are switching to CFL and switching off lights. We are saying yes to e-tickets and no to plastic. We want to cycle to work and recycle paper. We are increasingly aware about food as a wellness elixir. We are consciously shifting to a natural diet sans GMO, sans lead and sans additives. While being health-conscious and evolved, we are leaning towards veganism as an offshoot of becoming more caring and humane to the world around us.
Simplifying Life
There are more dimensions to wellness, but putting it simply, the key pillars of wellness are ‘living in acceptance’, ‘breathing fresh air’, ‘eating raw food’ , ‘getting enough exercise’ and exploring the creativity & meaningful occupation to strive in life. This mass awareness is a gift of natural evolution. As our wants, needs and goals attain their finest precision, our perception of life expands and we achieve more than ever.
The industry of wellness
The wellness industry in India is poised to touch Rs. 1,00,000 crore (Rs 1 trillion) by 2015 (Study by FICCI and PwC). But truly wellness is more an industry of the self.