FIRST IMPACT
The Top 9 Wellness Trends for 2021 Experts identify future wellness trends that stops boosting and starts balancing
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ramatic shifts are being forecast in health and wellness after a year characterized by a global pandemic, economic meltdown, racial injustice, polarizing politics and a mental-wellness crisis, according to the recent Global Wellness Summit. That combined with “fatigue with an industry too focused on elitist, hyper-trendy evidence-free wellness solutions,” will see it becoming more inclusive, accessible, affordable and evidence-based.
WELLNESS TRENDS The Future of Wellness in 2021 report identifies nine wellness trends underway. 1. Wellness will become a bigger, more meaningful programming focus in the TV and music industries, as Big Media digests the huge cultural force wellness has become. 2. Immune health will shift from “immune-boosting” supplements, foods and therapies to a pursuit of immunostabilization and immuno-balance with evidence-backed approaches. 3. Architecture design will tap into our spirituality. We will see new attention paid to creating everyday spaces that can incite sacred and numinous moments, building an environment that can move our souls. 4. Practitioners are bringing breathwork to ever-larger audiences for rehabilitation, fitness, community building, and relief from chronic stress, trauma and PTSD. 5. Healthcare and wellness will converge into a self-care renaissance. Wellness is learning to lean into science, and healthcare is beginning to borrow from the wellness playbook, transforming a once sterile and strictly curative
20 Inspiration Issue 2021
industry into a more holistic and lifestyle-oriented one. 6. To generate substantive change in terms of diversity and inclusion, the wellness industry will work to support more equitable access. Wellness enterprises that value diversity, respect Black wellness needs, and work to support more equitable access, represent the future of wellness. 7. The pandemic brought in-person events to an abrupt halt heralding a new world trend. New hybrid events (in-person and virtual gatherings) sprouted like mushrooms after a spring rain. In 2021 and beyond, creativity is driving connection—and how we gather is taking on new—and healthier— meanings. 8. The financial wellness movement is moving money talk beyond the bank. Financial therapists are tackling the intersection between money and mental health, and the three billion views of #personalfinance content on TikTok prove that finance influencers are officially a thing. 9. Looking ahead, the year 2021 may be the year that all travel becomes wellness travel, including making travel regenerative, challenging over-tourism, correcting under-tourism, tentative travel, embracing nature, and putting purpose first. Reprinted with permission from the Global Wellness Summit - an international gathering bringing together leaders and visionaries to positively shape the future of the $4.5 trillion global wellness economy. The full 100-page report can be purchased at: www.globalwellnesssummit.com/trends-2021/.
Two Masks – Better Than One Studies show doublemasking reduces COVID transmission by 95% A recent report by the CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) found that maximizing the fit of cloth and medical masks, and double-masking substantially improved the transmission and exposure to COVID-19. Double masking refers to fitting a cloth mask over a medical procedure mask. Fit masks correctly, such as knotting the ear loops, tucking in and flattening any extra material close to the face to improve source control and reduce wearer exposure. In experimental simulations, the CDC found that double-masking decreased aerosol particle transmission by up to 95 per cent at a six-foot radius. When choosing a mask, have two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric, ensure the mask completely covers both nose and mouth and fits under the chin (masks worn beneath the nose, or worse yet, beneath the chin, are useless!), has a nose wire to prevent air from leaking out over the top, and adjusts to fit the sides of your face without gaps. Scarves, ski masks and balaclavas are not substitutes for masks but should be worn over your mask.
IMPACT Magazine