Exhausted from working 15-hour days running her own marketing agency in London, Jo Miller’s evenings would consist of a cocktail of takeaways, Ubers and impulse purchases. “I’d end up spending £100 at Waitrose, grabbing a takeaway or going out for dinner as I didn’t have the energy to cook. At the train station I’d feel the need to buy something, so I’d end up spending loads at Oliver Bonas. It was all instant gratification.”
Instead of unhealthy takeaways and excessive shopping, the 42-year-old spends £18,000 a year on her wellbeing. This includes £3,200 a year on a transpersonal psychotherapist, £3,000 on retreats, and £1,000 on supplements, probiotics and vitamins. She also receives a weekly organic fruit and vegetable box, has a CrossFit membership and enjoys regular treatments such as massages.
For Miller, wellness is about “people reconnecting and being comfortable in their mind and spirit level. Before, people were distracting themselves through consumerism.” Now, Miller says, she has “completely switched” her expenditure. “Wellness is the new currency,” she adds.
“The trend has developed a reputation for being quite expensive and elitist,” says Sarah Housley, senior editor of lifestyle at trend forecaster WGSN. “At the more luxury end of the market, wellness also became a way for people to show off their wealth more subtly than by buying an expensive handbag or car – instead, they could go to exclusive yoga classes and drink expensive juices – a trend that we call ‘wellthness’.”
Read more at The Guardian