Wellness Includes Me
“Wellness Includes Me” is a phrase everyone should be able to look in the mirror and say to themselves. Unfortunately, the “wellness” we see today is not like that. It is rooted in thin, white, and elitist privilege.
No matter size, gender identification, sexual orientation, income, or education...wellness should be accessible and available to all humans. And all humans should feel confident knowing that their version of wellness is relevant and acknowledged. Wellness, like anything else, is highly individual and doesn’t have a cookie cutter approach or feel.
That being said, it is the responsibility of wellness professionals to do the work to change the industry. The Wellness Includes Me Mastermind Group led by Jessica Thompson is the container for wellness professionals and enthusiasts to collaborate and engage in the work of BEing the change of the wellness industry. Let’s get to work!
5 Pillars of Inclusive Wellness:
Together, in our Fall 2020 Mastermind Cohort, we created 5 pillars of Inclusive Wellness that can be implemented in any fitness, yoga, or wellness space. Part of our work is putting these pillars into action within our daily practices, both business and personal.
Intersectionality:
Wellness inclusion doesn’t stop at one specific marginalized group. It is our job to acknowledge all the layers of marginalization that creates barriers to inclusive wellness. Transphobia, fatphobia, racism, classism, ableism, homophobia and sexixm are just a few of those intersections we need to address. These factors often affect the quality of care individuals receive. You can’t advocate for one without considering them all to be truly inclusive.
Accessibility & Affordability
Wellness should be accessible for all. We need to look at food desserts, where our gyms are located, what types of movement programs we are providing for differently abled bodies. Wellness should be affordable for all. Understanding the structure of fitness, wellness and medical costs makes them a privilege and not a right. The work should be rooted in making wellness more affordable for all.
Mental Wellbeing
As it stands, wellness is posed as diet and exercise with a sprinkle of self care and mental health. In order to eliminate the stigma of mental healthcare, we need to normalize mental health services. We have normalized a physical every year, why not normalize therapy? These are important to marginalized folx, specifically.
Community Concern
We are all parts to the whole. Ultimately, the health of our nation is only as strong as its least served parts. And right now, we are sick. It is ABSOLUTELY my concern if my neighbor is struggling because it’s a fire that could very well spread. The problems are individual, they are corporate.
Antiracist
At the root of all this work is the undoing of racism at the systemic level. Equity, true equity, can only begin with the overhaul of racist policies at the local, state, and federal levels. PERIOD.
Meet the founder: Jessica Thompson
Jessica Thompson (Williams) is a certified wellness coach and kettlebell instructor with a passion for inclusive wellness. With the motto "Wellness includes me," she grew a passion for working with spaces to create a sense of belonging for all regardless of race, gender identification, body type or sexual orientation. With that, it is her mission to educate about deeply rooted racism in the wellness space, its intersections and how to dismantle said systems.