Wellness consciousness expands beyond personal actions to examine deeper motivations and societal structures that shape our wellness journey within a sustainable context. It encourages a holistic values-driven lifestyle.
Consequentialism – Wellness practices are justified by their positive outcomes for human and environmental well-being. They align with principles of intergenerational justice and the intrinsic value of nature beyond its instrumental value to humans.
Health
From an individual perspective, wellness consciousness includes health-related choices such as exercising, eating right and avoiding bad habits. It also includes a greater understanding of how environmental degradation and social inequalities affect one’s personal well-being.
From a spiritual perspective, it includes practicing yoga, mindfulness and prayer as well as participating in a religious community. It also entails practicing compassion and forgiveness.
Gen Z’s focus on health and wellness may be due to many factors including increased availability of information through social media, a heightened awareness of climate change, and the prevalence of workout videos and food plans on TikTok. It could also be because they place a greater value on their bodies than older generations did at the same age.
From a scholarly perspective, this dimension incorporates sustainability principles into a holistic lifestyle. It also explores the deeper motivations and societal structures that shape a sustainable lifestyle. It embraces an ecological ontology that moves beyond anthropocentrism by acknowledging the interconnectedness of humans and nature. It also utilizes virtue ethics and develops “eco-virtues” that lead to human flourishing and planetary sustainability.
Spirituality
Spiritual wellness refers to the sense of meaning in life and connection with something greater than self. It may be a religious faith, a belief in nature or a deeper understanding of one’s values and purpose. Regardless of what spirituality means to you, tending your spirit is beneficial to mental health.
Research has shown that people who engage in spiritual practices experience lower levels of depression and anxiety, as well as a better quality of life. These findings suggest that incorporating spirituality into mental health treatment could be beneficial for many people.
Currently, scientific efforts to connect spirituality with well-being are focused on religion and mindfulness. The fact that these domains remain distinct is a strength, as it avoids the tautologies that often plague other attempts to link psychology with well-being. In addition, it also allows the scientific community to explore new territories of spiritual wellness without tying it too closely to religiosity or a specific worldview.
Environment
Wellness is more than just a mental health measure; it also considers environmental issues. This dimension of wellness includes examining how climate changes affect human health, as well as the impact of individual choices on global sustainability.
An academic perspective on conscious wellness reveals a wide array of fields that work together to address these challenges. Cultural anthropology provides insights into the diverse ways people conceptualize wellness and sustainability, while sociological theories of behavior change and psychological models of pro-environmental behaviors offer frameworks for understanding how personal actions impact broader systems.
An ecological ontology frames Conscious Wellness Practices as ethical duties that recognize humans as part of, not separate from, nature. This approach echoes scholarship in eco-phenomenology, which emphasizes the embodied experience of being-in-the-world and ecological interdependence. Applied to wellness, this perspective supports principles of intergenerational justice and the recognition that nature has intrinsic value beyond its instrumental use to humans. Similarly, deontological ethics emphasizes moral obligations to take care of the environment.
Community
Wellness consciousness aims to bridge the gap between personal choices and their global consequences. It becomes a values-driven, holistic approach to living and can include practices like consuming local, organic foods that foster a healthy environment and support small businesses; taking the bus or cycling for short trips to work, which reduces air pollution and reliance on fossil fuels; and volunteering at a food bank or community garden, which provides direct benefits to people in need.
From an academic perspective, a definition of wellness consciousness emerges that connects with philosophical ethics, ecological psychology, sociological theories of behavior change, and emerging research in planetary health. This broader view of wellness is driven by an ecological ontology that recognizes humans as part of, not separate from, the natural world; deontological ethics that focuses on moral duties; and consequentialist ethics that considers well-being outcomes and broader systems impacts.
From a spiritual perspective, the concept of wellness consciousness reflects individuals’ growing awareness and prioritization of their own health, which can lead to better health outcomes in terms of longevity and societal resilience. It also aligns with virtue ethics, a form of philosophy that emphasizes character development and cultivating “eco-virtues” such as intergenerational justice, care for the planet, and environmental wisdom.
