The Wellness Industry's Blind Spot
Bridging Personal Practice and Social Reality
Nahid de Belgeonne, “the nervous system whisperer” is an Author and somatic movement educator. She specialises in helping clients through burnout, anxiety, and trauma-related issues with The Soothe Programme.
Hello! I’m still buzzing from last week’s Guardian Live panel hosted by Zoe Williams and featuring Chris Van Tulllekan - he is lovely - Phil Daoust and me. I was brought up in a Guardian-reading household - quelle surprise! So this event was close to my heart.
It was a great conversation made all the better by people and an audience willing to talk about the culture-wide implications on our emotional and physical health. We can’t talk about wellness just in terms of self-improvement, we live in context, we heal in context and we function in context of each other and the world.
Being able to go there made me feel so much free-er in my conversation.
That’s what I'm writing about this week.
After twenty years of teaching and deep study in wellness practices, I've come to recognise a fundamental disconnect in how we approach wellbeing. While the wellness industry excels at promoting individual self-improvement, it often fails to acknowledge the broader societal forces that shape our mental and physical health.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many of us, myself included, to confront our relationship with public speaking and teaching in new ways. Those endless Zoom sessions, while initially uncomfortable, ultimately helped me move beyond superficial self-consciousness to focus on what truly matters: meaningful connection with those we teach.
But there's a deeper issue at play. In the wellness world, we're often encouraged to focus solely on personal transformation - our own journey, our own practices, our own growth. While these individual practices are valuable, they exist within a broader context that we cannot ignore. How can we authentically discuss mental health without acknowledging the impact of economic inequality, global conflicts, or systemic injustices?
This creates what I've come to recognise as a deep cognitive dissonance. We speak about authentic living while carefully avoiding discussion of real-world conditions that profoundly affect our collective wellbeing. It's as if we're teaching people to navigate a storm while pretending the weather doesn't exist.
The truth is, personal wellness practices and societal awareness aren't mutually exclusive. Yes, individual practices can help us cope with challenging circumstances and build resilience. But true wellbeing requires us to look beyond ourselves. When policies and cultural norms become increasingly inhumane, no amount of personal practice can fully shield us from their impact.
This isn't about overwhelming people with the world's problems. It's about acknowledging that our individual health is inextricably linked to our collective reality. We can teach coping mechanisms while also encouraging engagement with the root causes of societal distress.
The path forward isn't choosing between personal practice and social awareness - it's integrating both. Our wellness practices should not only serve our individual growth but also empower us to engage with and address the broader challenges facing our communities.
As wellness practitioners and teachers, we have a responsibility to bridge this gap.
We can honour the value of personal practice while acknowledging the larger context in which these practices exist.
Only then can we truly support authentic wellbeing that extends beyond the individual to lift up our entire community.
What do you think?
The next Soothe Day Retreat in London is on Saturday 17th May - I teach the principles of soothing your system each time but also offer fresh perspectives for brain and body movement based on research, what clients are going through, and what is happening in the world. Book into the day retreats throughout the year to keep reminding your system how it feels to be at ease. nab your spot here.
The Soothe Weekend Retreat on 10th - 12th October at The Quaives, a lovely retreat space in Kent, 51 minutes from St Pancras. I’ve already sold the cottages and the double room in the main house, here is what I have left. Come!
Main House: 1 room ( single or twin) with a shared shower room
Dorm: 3 beds in the scandi-style dorm
5 minutes drive up the road staying at The Tor Spa
4 ensuite rooms 5 minutes car drive at the Tor Spa.
Prices: Single occupancy is £1150 / twin is £795 pp - bring a friend / Dorm £650pp.
I’m only taking 12 people, make sure you are one of them!
It’s been a week of podcasts! I’ll post a different one each week, here is my first US podcast with Lauren Gasso: Unleash your Inner Creative
Have a lovely weekend.
Stay human,
Nahid x
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