Wellness is a modern word with ancient roots. The key tenets of wellness as both preventive and holistic can be traced back to ancient civilizations from the East (India, China) to the West (Greece, Rome). In 19th-century Europe and the United States, a variety of intellectual, religious and medical movements developed in parallel with conventional medicine. With their focus on holistic and natural approaches, self-healing and preventive care, these movements have provided a firm foundation for wellness today. Wellness-focused and holistic modalities have gained more visibility since the 1960s/1970s under the writings and thought leadership of an informal network of US physicians and thinkers (such as Halbert Dunn, Jack Travis, Don Ardell, Bill Hettler, and others). As these have evolved, proliferated, and gone mainstream, they have informed the healthy-living, self-help, self-care, fitness, nutrition, diet, and spiritual practices that have become a flourishing wellness movement in the 21st century.

Defining Wellness

The Global Wellness Institute defines wellness as the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.

There are two important aspects to this definition. First, wellness is not a passive or static state but rather an “active pursuit” that is associated with intentions, choices and actions as we work toward an optimal state of health and wellbeing. Second, wellness is linked to holistic health—that is, it extends beyond physical health and incorporates many different dimensions that should work in harmony.

Wellness is an individual pursuit—we have self-responsibility for our own choices, behaviors and lifestyles—but it is also significantly influenced by the physical, social and cultural environments in which we live.

Wellness is often confused with terms such as health, wellbeing and happiness. While there are common elements among them, wellness is distinguished by not referring to a static state of being (i.e., being happy, in good health, or a state of wellbeing). Rather, wellness is associated with an active process of being aware and making choices that lead toward an outcome of optimal holistic health and wellbeing.

Wellness Is Multidimensional

Wellness is about more than just physical health. Most models of wellness include at least 6 dimensions (and sometimes up to 9 or 12):

• Physical: A healthy body through exercise, nutrition, sleep, etc.

• Mental: Engagement with the world through learning, problem-solving, creativity, etc.

• Emotional: Being in touch with, aware of, accepting of, and able to express one’s feelings (and those of others).

• Spiritual: Our search for meaning and purpose in human existence.

• Social: Connecting with, interacting with, and contributing to other people and our communities.

• Environmental: A healthy physical environment free of hazards; awareness of the role we play in bettering rather than denigrating the natural environment.

The Wellness Continuum

One way to understand wellness is to consider health as a continuum that extends from illness to a state of optimal wellbeing.* On one end, patients with poor health engage the medical paradigm to treat illnesses; they interact reactively and episodically with doctors and clinicians who provide care. On the opposite end, people focus proactively on prevention and maximizing their vitality. They adopt attitudes and lifestyles that prevent disease, improve health, and enhance their quality of life and sense of wellbeing. In other words, wellness is proactive, preventive and driven by self-responsibility. The growth of wellness is the extension of this consumer value and worldview.

*The continuum concept is adapted from Dr. Jack Travis’ Illness-Wellness Continuum. Travis is one of the pioneers of the modern wellness movement in the late 1970s.

The Global Wellness Institute’s foundational research on the concept of wellness is contained in the 2010 report Spas and the Global Wellness Market: Synergies and Opportunities. For more details, download the Full Report.

Wellness vs. Wellbeing

The terms “wellness,” “wellbeing,” and “happiness” have often been used together or interchangeably by business, researchers, and the media. This graphic outlines what they share in common, and how these terms differ in concept, usage and association.

Publishes first on Global Wellness Institute

The views expressed in this article intend to highlight alternative studies and induce conversation. They are the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Technorella, and are for informational purposes only, even if and to the extent that this article features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.