It’s fair to say that all of us have wanted a bit more calm, certainty, and inner peace in our lives during the last few years. Enforced lockdowns and social restrictions have given many people more time to think about their health and wellness and, for many, there has been a new interest in holistic wellbeing and spirituality.

Yes, 2020 was the year we all started baking banana bread and working out at home but, according to Google search data, it was also the year we started to really think about looking after ourselves - mind, body and soul.

What is holistic wellness?

Holistic health and wellness is the practice of treating the whole person - mind, body, and spirit.

Modern healthcare tends to focus on treating specific (usually physical) symptoms. But, a more holistic approach to wellbeing looks to treat the root cause of our problems, as well as providing preventive practices.

Find out more about holistic therapies and how they can help.

Holistic practices for the mind

With many of us having to adjust our plans and rethink our life goals in the last year, a big trend to surface is affirmations. Used to overcome sabotaging and negative thoughts, affirmations are positive statements that, when repeated often, can help you to make positive changes in your life. Since 2019, searches for ‘words of affirmation’ have increased by a huge 125%.

Similarly, manifestations, which involves bringing something into your life through attraction and belief, have also seen a significant increase in popularity.

“Manifesting is the universal law of attraction, ‘thoughts become things’, and the way in which we can bring tangible things into our life through mindset, thought patterns, and action,” says Happiful columnist Grace Victory.

“We have the ability to manifest anything – a car, a holiday, a relationship, a job. But the tricky part is, we have to:

  • Really believe we deserve whatever we are trying to manifest.
  • Be truly grateful for what we have right now.”

It’s thought that the popularity of this holistic practice has been helped by a viral Tik Tok trend. And since 2019, searches for 3-6-9 manifestations have risen by a staggering 15,900%.

Another popular wellness trend in the past year is breathwork. Possibly spurred on by the increase in searches for tips on relaxing and sleeping, breathing techniques can positively affect a person’s mental, emotional and physical state. Since 2019, searches for Dutch breath expert, Wim Hof, have risen by 311%.

Wellness guru, Simone from Yoga with Simone says that the benefits of breathing techniques are vast. “Some help access the parasympathetic nervous system which helps us feel calm and relaxed. Some help to energise us and others help to balance our emotions and our bodies for us feel a little more grounded.

“Whatever technique we choose, even if that is just becoming more aware of our inhale and exhale, each of them allows the mind to begin to declutter, allowing us to respond with more clarity, decisiveness and rationality.”

Holistic wellness for the body

It’s no surprise that the online interest for at-home workouts went through the roof. With people desperate to get their hands on some gym equipment, searches are up 233% since 2019 from people looking to turn their homes into a makeshift gym.

However, many also turned to exercises that mostly require no equipment at all – yoga and pilates for example. Yes, in the last year, the demand for these types of workouts has increased, with searches for ‘yoga for beginners at home’ rising by 175% and ‘pilates for beginners at home’ also up 136%.

Parents even looked to get their children in on the action to burn off some pent-up energy with searches for ‘Cosmic Kids Yoga’ rising by a huge 234%.

Holistic practices for the soul

The last few years have offered an opportunity for many of us to do a little soul-searching to find some inner peace. Spiritual and soulful practices are becoming more popular for helping people to dig a little deeper to maintain their wellbeing.

Since 2019, searches for meditation are up 49%, with morning meditations, in particular, increasing by 52%. The practice, which uses techniques to focus the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity to achieve an emotionally calm state, is something we’re big fans of here at Happiful.

Here, we bring you a guided meditation, taking you on a walk through an orchard to a peaceful beach:

Another increasing trend is crystals which, in the past year, have seen a 50% increase in search volume for crystals such as selenite, aventurine and smoky quartz. Said to be a great way to promote the flow of good energy in the body, crystals are touted as an ancient form of medicine with many turning to them again today.

New to crystal healing? If you want to start a collection, take a look at this beginner’s guide to crystal healing. You’ll learn why crystals are used in healing and discover how you can choose, cleanse and store your own crystals.

Also significantly increasing in popularity since 2019 are chakras. Searches for Sudarshan chakras, Sacral chakra and Manipura chakra are up by at least 85%. Referring to energy points in your body, chakras are thought to be spinning disks of energy inside our bodies that positively affect our emotional and physical wellbeing if aligned.

“Chakras have been around for millennia and are becoming more popular every day,” says holistic therapist Mel Garcia.

“Diverting your attention toward the chakras can improve your life physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Chakras really empower you to understand your body as a whole and take control of your own wellbeing.”

If you’d like to explore how holistic practices could help you to take care of your mind, body and soul, visit Therapy Directory.