Wellness as an Industry and Joy as Medicine
As we step a little closer to the lighter energy of Springtime, I've been contemplating the role of sacred Joy within our lives.
I've been in the wellness industry for a long time. It has not only granted me consistent work but has been a catalyst for personal growth as well. I am eternally grateful to workers in this industry and the true healers out there sharing their gifts. Healing your body, your thoughts, or moving through big transformational work is a big deal. Getting into right relationship with your values or realizations can come with necessary pain, no doubt. There's a place for it all. What I want to touch on today is the difference between aligning yourself with lifestyle changes and defending ideologies that make sense logically, but are actually robbing you of your capacity to experience Joy.
There is always a new type of thinking, dieting, therapy, meditation, morning routine, bodywork modality, plant medicine, superfood, breathwork, tantric exercise, yoga posture, conscious way of living that is going to get you healthier, integrate your shadow, raise your kundalini, liberate divine archetypes, heal ancestral wounds AND ascend your consciousness to the fifth dimension. Your local astrologer, shaman, life coach, bodyworker, biohacker, reiki master, women's circle, yogi, sound healer, Kambo practitioner, and ecstatic dance group is just around the corner! Especially here in Portland…
We mustn't forget that “wellness” is indeed an industry. It's important to note that, in my experience, the consumers of this industry are generally very empathetic, sensitive, and just trying to be better humans. A full immersion in wellness can start to feel as if there is something always wrong with who we are or where we're at on our journey. It's easy to feel guilty, or worse, inadequate and shameful. People may become rigid in their practices so as to not descend into, God-forbid, un-wellness. My question around all of this is, at what point does a lifestyle, habit, or ideal become dogma?
When was the last time you had a deep belly laugh? Felt spontaneously inspired? Did nothing? It's so important to remember that these modalities, ultimately, are a path to love. Loving yourself, loving your community, loving your children, deeply and authentically. Loving on solid ground. Loving safely. Overall, they should be building you up and bringing you closer to Joy. They should be e x p a n d i n g your capacity for Joy. You were already born perfect. I truly believe that. Our world teaches us the opposite. These modalities are here to help you remember. Anything else can be left behind.
Questions to answer in a journal or around the dinner table:
What would your younger self tell your current self to do today?
What activity or hobby do you feel happiest doing?
At age 100, what would you like to remember from this time? What would you like to forget?
What We Recommend:
Read: Braiding Sweetgrass - Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Listen: Merging Academia, Wild Sovereignty, & Somatic Dance with Brittany Jane on The Mojo Mecca podcast
Watch: The Midnight Gospel on Netflix - A space caster traverses trippy worlds inside his universe simulator, exploring existential questions about life, death, and everything in-between
Thank you for meditating on the month with us! We are so grateful to have you with us.