How did wellness end up whitewashed?

Looking at Instagram, you’d be forgiven for thinking that everything from yoga to sound healing was invented by thin white women, says Suzy Ashworth

in 2018, the global wellness industry was worth $4.5 trillion. Yes, that’s trillion dollars. So you’d think there would be enough to go around.

As a Black woman and transformational coach, wellness is a state of being that I desire for all people. And, when I think about the healing practices that are part of this multi-trillion-dollar industry – such as yoga, qi gong, meditation, sound healing, hypnotherapy and energy healing – every one of them is rooted in the idea of wellbeing for all. Also, many of the more ancient practices have their heritage in India, China and Africa, which makes it all the more perplexing that, when you scroll through platforms like Instagram, the wellness space is almost exclusively populated by athleisure-clad white women. So why is it that the most visible professionals and influencers are all white?

With the recent amplification of the Black Lives Matter movement in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, coaches and healers of all races and backgrounds are considering what this means for the wellness industry. What Black people are dealing with right now, as a global community, is layers and layers of collective trauma. This is trauma that goes back generations: 450 years of oppression, passed on through the DNA of Black people. This is compounded by the ongoing systematic racism and inequalities that continue to happen today. And, if you are a white person in the wellbeing industry reading this right now and feeling uncomfortable or outraged, then good. We need you to feel like that, because the work that healers do around the globe has never been so needed in Black and brown communities.

Healing is vital right now, and wellness practices can be a big part of the answer – as long as they’re inclusive. Many healers and therapists I know were drawn to do what they do after having transformational experiences with healers themselves. For women of colour, it’s not always easy to find a wellness practitioner who is non-white. This is relevant because, when you are dealing with trauma, working with people who understand and are sensitive to your unique circumstances is absolutely critical. Whether you’re doing yoga or trying hypnotherapy, feeling as though you are seen, heard and safe is vital for healing to take place. And right now those environments are few and far between.

When the wellness space is dominated by white women with blonde hair, and of a specific shape and size, it makes the industry feel, for anyone who falls outside of that narrow cross-section of society, like it’s not for them. So, what do we do?

For wellbeing practitioners – especially those with a platform, whether virtual or in real life – it’s about remembering that wellbeing isn’t just for white people. It’s remembering that the work that you do is designed to promote collective healing for the world and, right now, people of colour need that healing more than ever. Which is exactly why I wanted to launch the Rise and Heal online retreat. Not only to highlight the work of Black wellness professionals, but to create a safe space for all women, and especially women of colour, to come and experience the medicine and healing that, until now, they may have felt excluded from.

It’s about ensuring that, when organising wellness events and festivals, the booking teams remember that there are incredible Black and brown healers and voices doing amazing work. These practitioners will not only add to the diversity of stories and perspectives being told, but create an environment where Black and brown people feel as though there is a seat at the table for them. That they do have the opportunity to benefit from these tools as they see teachers and experts who look like them doing, and facilitating, the work.

And for the wellness influencers, it’s about not being afraid to share the microphone. So you can truly practise, and embody, what is being preached about – unity – and be part of the solution for collective healing, and create a wellness industry that truly serves all people.