Why Wellness Was Never Meant to Be Whitewashed
In a sunlit yoga studio in the heart of Santa Monica, mats unfurl in neat rows like pastel dominoes. The air smells faintly of lavender essential oils. Soft, ambient music hums a familiar, calming rhythm. At the front of the room, a young, slender woman named Heather, clad in sleek Lululemon gear, gently urges her class into downward dog, her voice lilting with effortless serenity.
It's a familiar scene—quintessential wellness aesthetics saturating Instagram feeds and Pinterest boards. Yet beneath this pristine facade lies an uncomfortable reality: wellness culture, as popularized in Western media, is an industry carefully scrubbed of its multicultural, non-white origins. Wellness, as we now consume it, was never meant to be whitewashed.
The roots of contemporary wellness practices, from yoga to mindfulness meditation, have deep connections to Asian, Indigenous, and African cultures. Yoga alone dates back at least 5,000 years in India, rooted profoundly in Hindu philosophy. Mindfulness meditation traces its lineage to ancient Buddhist traditions across India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Even the burning of sage (or smudging), now a trendy ritual for cleansing apartments of "negative energy," is a sacred Indigenous practice across numerous tribes in North America. These practices were spiritual lifelines long before Western commodification.
Yet, walk into nearly any mainstream wellness establishment, and you're likely to see a disproportionately white clientele, marketed with slick minimalism and gentle exoticism. Wellness is a $1.5 trillion global industry dominated by wealthy Western countries, perpetuating a cycle that marginalizes the very communities responsible for its foundational wisdom. According to a Global Wellness Institute report, North America and Europe command more than 70% of the global wellness market revenue, while Asia-Pacific, despite housing many original practices, lags significantly behind.
This appropriation is not merely symbolic; it's profoundly economic and cultural. Consider the case of turmeric latte, a drink heavily popularized in trendy cafes from Brooklyn to Portland. Turmeric, an Ayurvedic staple used medicinally in India for thousands of years, entered Western consciousness only recently, rebranded as a "superfood" and sold at premium prices—profits largely bypassing its cultural originators.
Then there's yoga. According to a 2016 Yoga Journal survey, over 36 million Americans practice yoga, but 85% of them are white. Indian-American yoga instructor and activist Susanna Barkataki highlights the stark irony: "We've created a system where Western practitioners dominate an ancient practice without genuine acknowledgment of its roots." Barkataki advocates tirelessly for decolonizing yoga, reminding practitioners that yoga’s philosophy extends far beyond physical poses—it’s about liberation, self-realization, and ethical living.
This selective erasure not only misrepresents wellness traditions but can also perpetuate harm. When wellness becomes a whitewashed, sanitized trend, critical aspects of its cultural context are lost. For instance, Indigenous rituals like smudging are now marketed casually at major retailers, yet the same Indigenous communities who originated these rituals historically faced persecution, their sacred practices banned and practitioners criminalized well into the late 20th century.
Moreover, wellness commodification tends to overlook systemic barriers to true health equity. Black Americans, for example, have higher rates of stress-related chronic illnesses due to structural racism and economic inequality. Yet mainstream wellness brands frequently neglect to address these disparities, opting instead to package wellness as an aspirational lifestyle attainable primarily by affluent, predominantly white audiences.
True wellness—authentic and equitable—requires acknowledging and addressing these disparities directly. It means amplifying voices of color in the wellness industry, supporting authentic cultural practitioners, and redistributing profits to the communities from which these practices originated.
Change is beginning, albeit slowly. Influential voices like Latham Thomas, founder of Mama Glow, and Rachel Ricketts, author of "Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy," are advocating fiercely for racial equity within wellness spaces. They're not just reclaiming wellness for communities of color; they're reshaping the narrative altogether.
As consumers, our role is crucial. Mindfulness must extend beyond individual self-care—it involves critical awareness about the origins and impact of our practices. Instead of passively consuming, we must actively question and demand accountability from wellness businesses. Where do your yoga classes originate? Who profits from your sage bundles? How is your self-care linked to collective liberation?
Wellness, at its core, was never a trend or an aesthetic—it was a means of survival, resilience, and spiritual sustenance for marginalized communities worldwide. As wellness continues to dominate Instagram feeds, studio spaces, and shopping aisles, we must ensure that it honors its roots rather than exploiting them. Wellness was never meant to be whitewashed. It’s time we acknowledge that truth—and act accordingly.
#SOAPBOX #WOKEERA
ALEXANDRIA TAVA
10+ year Certified Holistic Producer and Accredited Personal Growth Coach leading radical transformation to inspire the next generational through conscious media.
See a typo or inaccuracy? Please contact so it can get fixed!
