Today’s big idea is that one of the problems with wellness is that it’s freaking expensive. And for that reason, it’s also elitist.
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I have read and written countless articles about the importance of eating organic
And if you’re eating beef to make it grass-fed, and if you’re eating salmon to make it wild-caught, all that is expensive and costs more money.
Add to that supplements. Like omega 3s, and probiotics, and protein powders and greens powders and hemp seeds and goji berries and organic Fair Trade cacao nibs…
And what about appointments with health care providers? Annual physicals are covered and some preventive screenings but if you want to try acupuncture, or massage, or other therapies, those are often out of pocket and expensive.
And that doesn’t even begin to cover the kinds of things they cover at Goop, like lotions with crushed up crystals in them, or infrared saunas, or organic mattresses, or $8600 necklaces that are supposed to help with long-haul Covid. I mean!!
It’s enough to make you think that you need to be wealthy to be healthy.
That health is an expensive privilege that’s only available to the few. That it’s only available to the 1%. And that makes sense. And it makes me sad.
Because it also means that if you aren’t well, for whatever reason, it means that you aren’t special enough or rich enough to smart enough or something enough. and while there’s a broad spectrum of what health means that includes many different realities, including neurodiversity or size or ability challenges, health is everyone’s birth right, including yours. And you don’t need to be able to afford designer vitamins to be worthy of being well.
So, I’ve spent the first half of this episode talking about how gosh darned expensive wellness can be, and how that can make it seem like it’s accessible only to the elite, and that if you don’t fit the box of what ‘health’ looks like that it’s because you’re not special enough or right enough or rich enough.
I just need to ground all that with this counterpoint:
Which is that your health is an incredibly worthy investment. I know that you can take it to an extreme, and I also know that prices are rising and I completely understand the reality of budgets. But spending money on the things that promote health is investing in your quality of life. It’s easy to assume that if you’re healthy now you will always will be, but the money you spend on the things you need to be healthy is like insurance AGAINST needing to use your health insurance.
If you’ve got the flexibility in your budget, spending it on higher-quality food or the supplement that’s going to fill a hole in your nutritional portfolio is money well spent. You and your resilience and your quality of life are worth it. To me, there is no better use of money than on buying the most nutrient dense and high quality food you can muster because having your body able to support you in whatever you want to do is invaluable. And even when you do get sick, the previous investments you’ve made in your health will help you be more resilient, and that is priceless.
Also, there are SO many no or extremely low cost things you can do to boost your health. And it’s important to remember what they are and practice them because they can do so much to help you find a level or wellness that’s appropriate for you, and they don’t cost a thing. You only need to remember to do them.
Here are five absolutely free things that are just incredibly nourishing.
There are many more and I chose these because they spell out the acronym BONES which will help you remember them (athough this morning in the shower i couldn’t remember what B stood for for the life of me, lol, but I did remember the others!):
Breathing.
You can just focus on three deep breaths once a day and it will benefit you so much in terms of counteracting stress, improving respiratory health and digestion.
Open the window.
As indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air.
Nature.
Any time you’re feeling off, get yourself outside for as long as you can manage, even if that’s 5 minutes. Let the sunlight into your eyes, breathe in the fresh air, smell the smells, see what you can observe, and reset your nervous system and your mental state. .
Eat mindfully.
No matter what you’re eating if you sit down, turn off your screen, and let yourself focus on just enjoying what’s on your plate it will boost your digestion and your
SLEEP.
Oh goodness. So important to your health and mental wellbeing and a lot of times we don’t realize just how little we are prioritizing it. Like, how many nights do you doze off on the couch while watching a show–you could just get in bed!
The takeaway is this:
While spending on things that support health is a worthy investment if you can swing it, you do not need to be wealthy to be well. And there is always something you can do that costs nothing that will help nourish your health. Remember BONES anytime you’re feeling like health isn’t available to your — breathing, open the window, get out in nature, eat mindfully, and sleep.
Just because these things don’t cost anything doesn’t mean they aren’t incredibly powerful when it comes to your health.
