Unpacking Cultural Appropriation in the Wellness Industry
by Alexia Dréau
If you are into self-care, healthy eating, or conscious living chances are you’ve heard all about Ayurveda, probiotics, oil pulling and even plant medicines. However, you may not know where all these practices originate from or mean. The truth is, you would’n’t be the only one. Today's hottest wellness trends often draw from Indigenous wisdom without being acknowledged. Sharing ideas, traditions and material items contribute to the widening of our horizons, however, integrating this knowledge into our lives should be done with a genuine interest in culture and re-contextualization of its history, beliefs and traditions.
Cultural appropriation is highly controversial as it is deeply rooted in toxic colonialism, which has dictated the way we see and think about the world, who we privilege, prioritize and who we do not. In her book titled, Who Owns Culture?, Susan Scafidi a law professor defines it as:
Taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else's culture without permission (...) including unauthorized use of another culture's dance, dress, music, language, folklore, cuisine, traditional medicine, religious symbols, etc.
But How is Cultural Appropriation Linked With Today's Wellness Industry?
While the wellness industry complex began in the 1960s among new age communities, self-care practices have now become part of mainstream culture. Wellness is commonly defined as a "state of being in good health," yet the industry has created mythology surrounding what it means to ‘be well.’ It is often thought to be achievable by purchasing expensive products and services. The booming trillion-dollar wellness industry is built on the appropriation and commodification of Indigenous traditions from all around the world. From crystals, sound healing, mantra chanting, shamanic ceremonies to sweat lodges and conscious parenting, these are not new trends but rather ancient practices that have been rebranded by white people for white people.
Wellness should encourage health and happiness for all, but the new wellness scene has excluded entire communities who cannot afford expensive yoga classes, Ayurvedic massages, and/or spiritual retreats. This shows how the industry is rooted in privilege and lack of diversity. Yoga is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Yoga is based on awareness, self-love and freedom from material trappings, this 5,000-year-old Indian spiritual practice aims to unite the body and mind, ultimately aligning as one with the universe. Nowadays, yoga culture is often considered a glamorous fitness practice, an idea conveyed by marketing, mainstream media and popular culture; disconnecting it from its true purpose.
In a similar manner, traditional smudging has been commodified and exploited to become a trendy wellness technique to rid homes of negative energy. Several brands, such as Urban Outfitters, started selling cleansing kits without providing context on burning herbs as a ceremonial purifying ritual in many Indigenous cultures. This is a tough pill to swallow, especially as colonizers once forbade this practice.
Back in 1995, two American researchers received a patent for the use of turmeric for wound healing. While it was not a thing in the United States at that time, turmeric was already used for millennia in India for a myriad of medicinal purposes. A few years later, India forced the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to revoke it. Still, the patenting of traditional remedies from the Global South is a widespread issue, such as the U.S. patent on products of the neem tree, used extensively by humans since prehistoric times.
Cultural appropriation remains a pressing issue as it continues to reinforce stereotypes and cultural misinterpretation, oppressing entire communities who are robbed of the credit and capital they deserve. Hence, it is crucial to wonder what it means to be well in this context. In Who Is Wellness For?, author and artist Fariha Róisín introduces the concept of anti-colonial wellness, insisting on the importance of having a holistic and context-dependent understanding of what it means to be well. How can we speak about wellness if the industry includes only those who can afford it? What is ‘being well’ in a context where we do not consider others and their communities? What does it mean to take a tradition and not think of its ancestral lineage?
Continuing to ignore the reality of cultural appropriation contributes to the oppression and exploitation of certain communities—often nonwhite ones—who have been historically colonized and have their culture stolen for profit. We all need to learn the history of our daily practices, make informed decisions and recontextualize wellness, which relies on our relationships with others, communities and the land.