How to Promote Diversity in The Wellness Industry Through Community Empowerment

The wellness industry aims to create more inclusive spaces for BIPOC people by featuring more folks from our community in their products and platforms. Except they forgot one essential ingredient to that mission: actually empowering our communities to make well-being accessible for all. 

The Current State of the Wellness Industry

The lack of diversity in wellness spaces is not new. Unfortunately, this has led many BIPOC folks to internalize an eschewed narrative of what health and wellness should look like. But here’s the secret, well-being isn't an aesthetic. It’s a feeling of empowerment. It’s the coming together of diverse peoples to uplift each other as we seek our personal health journeys. Everyone deserves well-being joy.

Community Empowerment as a Solution

Not everyone can access health and wellness offerings on social media or online. BIPOC communities face even more significant challenges when considering the systemic social issues in our daily lives. Most wellness campaigns promote “one-size fits all” programs or products without considering accessibility or affordability, leaving BIPOC communities behind. 

Our health and well-being suffer when we don’t invest in our communities. So let’s change that by empowering our communities and diversifying the definition of wellness. Some studies show that when communities are empowered to promote healthy lifestyles, it improves the health of individuals in that community in addition to self-efficacy and self-worth. 

3 Ways to Get Involved in Community Empowerment

Show Up‍

Whether you are a wellness professional or someone simply seeking wellness, the easiest way to empower our community is to show up. Showing up plants the seed that we deserve to exist in spaces that have traditionally excluded us. Don’t wait for someone to create an inclusive space for BIPOC folks, include yourself in the spaces you want to see yourself in, and others will follow. If that’s daunting, bring a friend or two, we believe in you.

Join or Start a Wellness Group

Join a local MeetUp group or an online community like BLK Beetles. Whether you are into healthy cooking or running, there is a group for you. Can’t find a group with other BIPOC folks with the same interest as you? They’re out there; trust us. Use your social networks to create a wellness group.

Like, Share, and Promote BIPOC Wellness Professionals

If you’re reading this post, chances are other like-minded folks want to see BIPOC people thrive and experience wellness joy too. If you’re on social media and you see an up-and-coming wellness professional like their posts. Share their content. Promote what their about if it resonates with you or your community. Breaking through the wellness industry is tough, and when there aren’t others that look like us in these spaces, it’s even more challenging.

The truth is large organizations don’t know how to cater their information to BIPOC communities. They treat us like a monolith, so it’s up to all of us to change the narrative. Community empowerment is the surest way to diversify the wellness industry. When we advocate for wellness in our communities, we lower the barriers to accessing health and well-being for all.

Here at BLK Beetles, we curate our platform specifically for BIPOC folks seeking to build healthy relationships through community experiences centered around wellness. 

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Want to join our community? Learn more here.

Melodie is a content writer, public health scientist, and yoga teacher with six years of experience in the health and wellness space. They are passionate about making wellness accessible for all and have published articles on various platforms. You can follow her work at melodiewrites.com and on Instagram @_melodieamber.