Wellness Trends
A deep dive on what’s worth the hype and what’s not getting enough hype.
I have been on my wellness journey for over a decade now. Learning about the body, how to optimize and properly nurture it has become a topic that truly fascinates me. Over the years, I have become a human guinea pig of sorts- anytime I learn of a new wellness trend or hack I love to try it out. There’s no denying the fact that the wellness industry is booming. There are countless services, products, and trends out there…and if I am being honest, a lot of it is over hyped and over priced. Today I am going to share with you my favorite wellness “trends” and what works best for me. As much as I love to try out a new service or product, at the end of the day how I truly define wellness (and what has played the largest role) is finding peace within yourself and taking care of your mind body and spirit. To do that, you technically don’t need to spend a penny. So as we go through this, please keep in mind! And of course, what works for my body won’t necessarily work for yours and vice versa… we’re all different! Now that those disclaimers are out of the way… let’s get into it.
Lymphatic Drainage Massage: worth the hype
The science behind it: the body’s lymphatic system is responsible for detoxing waste from the body. As humans, we are constantly consuming things - whether it be the food you eat, makeup being absorbed into your skin, or pollution in the air- your body works daily to filter toxins and fluid out of your system. Lymphatic drainage massage is a powerful tool that has been used in eastern medicine for ages. The practice helps stimulate and wake up the lymph system to support the detoxification process.
It took me a second to get behind lymphatic drainage. I had a gua sha sitting on my vanity for over a year before I picked it up. But once I did, I never went back. To me, lympatic massage is absolutely worth the hype. It has completely changed my face and when I do it on my body or if I get it professionally done, I always see a difference. That being said, the key to seeing results is consistency. I practice lympatic massage on my face every single morning. Here is a tutorial on YouTube that you can follow along if you want to try it yourself!
As for body lymphatic drainage, I will massage my stomach myself when I feel bloated. This makes such a difference and comes in handy- especially when traveling! Here is a tutorial you can follow along. Professional lymphatic massages are becoming more popular, but what I have learned is that you do have to do your research. Many masseuses claim to do lympatic work but have not properly been trained. If you are in Chicago, I see Kelly at La Brasileira Massage - she is lovely.
If you are looking to learn more about the lymph system, this podcast episode by Organic Olivia explains what the lympatic system is and why it is so important we are making sure it is flowing properly. I also loved this episode with Detox by Rebecca. Rebecca is a very well known lymphatic masseuse in Los Angeles. Her clientele consists of Sofia Richie, the Kardashians, Rosie Huntington Whitely, and many other well known celebrities.
Accupuncture: not getting enough hype
The science behind it: the practice of Accupuncture traces back 2,500 years. By stimulating the central nervous system, the body releases chemicals into the muscles and brain, healing the body from the inside out. It is often used to treat hormonal imbalance, anxiety, joint and back pain. You can read more about it here.
When I first was diagnosed with my autoimmune challenges, I was told that the root cause could be stress related, and to try accupuncture with the intention of calming my nervous system . It wasn’t until a few years later in 2022 when a friend recommended who she went to that I decided to try it out.
Accupuncture is completely custom to the patient. For me, we were working on regulating my hormones, decreasing inflammation, and calming my nervous system. In all honesty, I don’t think I ever understood what it felt like for my body to be completely relaxed and at peace until I did accupuncture. Of course doing accupuncture once a week for an hour wont fix everything, it goes hand in hand with lifestyle changes that a good acupuncturist should recommend to you. But to put your mind at ease…the needles are tiny and aren’t painful. It truthfully doesn’t even feel like a prick. During each session, you lay with them on your body for 20-30 minutes. The only way I can explain how I feel while doing accupuncture is it feels similar to that feeling you get right before you’re about to fall asleep. When your body is so relaxed, your thoughts are just quiet and calm. That sensation would last longer and longer (~ a few days) when I did it consistently. It really does shut down your nervous system, take you out of fight or flight and calm you. I did it for about 2 months back in 2022, and just started again to help support hormone regulation. In full transparency, it is a very costly treatment and that personally was not covered by insurance so its not practical for me to implement into my life forever, but its an incredible tool to lean on if you can when on your healing journey.
Meditation: worth the hype
The science behind it: the practice of meditation has been around for thousands of years however we are still working on studies to exemplify exactly what is occurring in the body when meditation is consistently being practiced. What we do know is that meditation has shown to improve mental health, reduce blood pressure, improve the inflammatory response, and stabilize the body’s reaction to stress. You can learn more about the benefits from this Harvard Study.
Not to be dramatic, but meditation changed my life…but not how you think. I first started meditation back in 2019. I was working corporate at Ulta Beauty and they offered a free membership to headspace for their employees. I began headspace’s beginner courses expecting it to bring me a sense of calm, which it did, but it also taught me to be conscious of my thoughts. It is believed that the average person has over 60,000 thoughts a day, and 99% of those thoughts pass without us consciously processing them. The reality is, we have complete control over our thoughts but without practice, they control us. The power of thought plays immense role on your health (I will get into that later on). What headspace taught me is to really be aware of my thoughts, to notice them, and note where they are coming from. I notice a huge difference in my mental health when I meditate consistently. If you are interested in meditation, I highly recommend the Headspace app. They have beginner courses to help teach you and then after that they have courses on various topics such as self esteem, forgiveness, being present, etc.
Breath Work: not hyped enough
The science behind it: studies have shown that just a few minutes of breath work can completely shift our bodies state. By stimulating the amygdala part of our brain, you can reduce negative emotions, promote positive energy, improve your stress response and reduce anxiety.
Breath work is another tool that has really helped me on my healing journey. One thing I struggle with (along with most Americans) is calming my nervous system. I am in a constant state of fight or flight, and to be honest, I enjoy being busy and the grind. But my body…not so much. Getting out of a hustle state and truly finding inner peace is crucial for the body to heal, recover, and thrive. In my experience, breath work and accupuncture are some of the only things that really gets my body into parasympathetic mode (aka rest and digest mode). If you are interested in trying breath work, I love the app Open. They have breath work sessions that range from 2 minutes to 60 minutes, along with meditation and workouts all available for you in the app.
Mindset: not hyped enough
The science behind it: although the practice of mindfulness, gratitude, and positivity is nothing new, we are just beginning to really study its impact on our health. In religion, we are told to give thanks before meals, to cast our anxieties on God and believe in our soul that all will be okay. These thought practices have been around since the beginning but we are just now starting to understand the science behind believing in yourself, positive thinking and not letting worry and negativity rule our life.
There is a quote that I love and it reads: “You can go to the gym, drink your water and take your vitamins but if you don’t deal with the things going on in your heart and head, you’re still going to be unhealthy.”
As someone who truly does all the things: takes her vitamins, eats healthy, exercises, and still struggles with autoimmune disease… I have found this quote to be 100% true. While all the lifestyle changes that I have made certainly helped me heal, the most impactful change came from my mindset. Every time something stressful occurs in my life, my body will react. That is why it is so crucial to have tools in place and know how to properly cope with stress. Stressful events are out of our control but what we can control is how we respond.
There have been many studies on the power of gratitude and the role it plays on your health. They have found that by practicing gratitude daily, your immune system strengthens, your ability to handle stress is higher, your overall mood and quality of life improves. The same goes for self talk. As I said earlier, the average human has 60,000 thoughts a day. It is scientifically proven that your thoughts have the power to change your DNA. So if you let 30,000 of those thoughts go by in a negative lens, think of what it will do to your body. Where as if you actively train your mind to think optimistically, see the brighter side, to be kinder to yourself… think of the positive impact it will have on your health.
I had an aha moment a few years back when I learned that your body cannot tell the difference between your thoughts and reality. So when you’re jumping to worse case scenario in your mind, your body will react as if it is occurring in real life. You don’t realize it in the moment, but that stress is detrimental to your health. So next time you’re worrying about something that most likely won’t come true, bring yourself to the present moment and remind your body that you are safe.
I actually just listened to this podcast episode that discussed the role mindset has on disease. The podcast guest, who is a Chinese medicine practitioner, was sharing how in Ayurvedic medicine they don’t formally diagnose a patient. They will share with a patient what is occurring in the body using termaology such as “it is off balance” or there is “too much masculine energy” (i.e. imbalanced hormones). The reason this is so impactful is because by telling a patient they have a disease or are sick, they will begin to label themselves as sick. They begin to believe that their bodies are failing, and this worry and obsession only leads them to be sicker. There have been many studies that show that if you believe you are going to be okay, if you believe you will heal, you will. It is like manifesting. You equally have to put in the work while also believing that it will happen for you. The mind is incredibly powerful and we often underestimate it. Here is another podcast episode I listened to recently that goes more into the science behind the power of thought.
Some of my favorite ways to work on my mindset is through a daily gratitude practice, daily affirmations, and being conscious of my thoughts. Though this takes discipline, correcting my thoughts and recognizing where I could be kinder to myself has helped tremendously. I love to use the Superhuamn App, which has affirmation meditations you can listen to as well as visualizations. These are all centered around self love and acceptance.
I also have to mention Jacq Gould and YourinnerBabe. Jacq is a mentality coach who has created the YourInnerBabe program to help women reconnect with themselves. I can’t even begin to explain how powerful her programs are. I truly wish every woman had to go through them. I cannot recommend them enough if you are looking to understand yourself on a deeper level and want to learn to love, accept, and be the best version of yourself.
Balance
It’s hard to talk about health without talking about diet. I am not a nutritionist and would never tell anyone how to eat. What I will do is share my experience and what works for me. As I mentioned, I have a history of autoimmune disease and inflammation. By trial and error, doing a 180 on my lifestyle, lots of doctors visits and being my own advocate, I have been able to heal.
Cutting out inflammatory foods for me was extremely beneficial in my healing process. It still is important for me to be wary of what I am eating, as consuming too many inflammatory foods can cause a flare up. However, when trying to figure out what foods work best for my body I found all of the mixed messages online on the “right” or “wrong” way to eat to be extremely frustrating and tru, toxic.
What I will say about diet is this: I personally strive to eat foods natural to earth. Vegetables, meat, fruit. I limit processed foods and sugar. But I absolutely will be having the dirty martini on a Saturday night and getting ice cream on a hot summers day. I personally believe the key to maintaining a healthy diet is to find balance. For example, if you are trying to eat gluten free but absolutely love pizza, make a gluten free pizza. Sure, it might not be as good, but it won’t lead you to feel restricted. When we feel restricted, thats when we give up or we start to develop unhealthy relationships with food. I always recommend to people to try to add more good, rather than taking away all the bad. Feeling restricted and stressed about what you are eating will do more harm than just eating the food in the first place. Stress is everything. So if you do need to alter your diet for the sake of your health, be sure to put practices in place that leave you feeling satisfied, happy, and nourished.
Education:
In today’s world, we can educate ourselves from the palm of our hand. There are so many amazing resources via podcasts, Substack, social media, and youtube. I am linking below some resources I love, some mentioned before and some new!
Podcasts:
Meditation/breathwork:
Goop meditation (FREE)
Wim Holf Breath work (FREE)
Workouts:
Sanne Vloet YouTube (FREE)
Tasha Franken YouTube (FREE)
TF Stuido app (Tasha Franken membership Pilates app if you try her youtube and like)
Sami Clarke YouTube (FREE)
Form (Sami Clarke’s membership app- truly great at home workouts - Pilates and weights)
I hope this was helpful to any one on their wellness journey! Always remember true health is listening to your body, nourishing it properly, being gentle and giving yourself grace. Connecting with nature, connecting with friends and connecting with yourself. Wellness is so much more than going to the gym or taking a vitamin. It’s overall life fulfillment.
Xx,
Victoria