Hundreds of wellness trends have grown popular in 2022, especially the ones under the fitness and mental health. And they have been trending for mighty good reasons.
Experts are encouraging people that these wellness trends need not end in 2022 but should be continued and explored more.
A yoga teacher at YogaRenew Teacher Training, Lindsay Monal, emphasized that it is crucial to follow the trends that one likes, especially if these trends keep one's self consistent in practicing their way through a better mental state or fitness condition.
Mental Health Trends
Here is a list of what trended in the wellness world in 2022 that experts say should remain in the new year.
1. Villain Era
The viral "villain era" on TikTok showcased people tired and turning back from pleasing others and instead putting themselves first after a long time. But while this trend is encouraging and healthy for one's self, an executive coach and senior director of performance psychology at Exos, a corporate wellness company, Sarah Sarkis, expressed how it should not be called the "villain era," as setting healthy boundaries that are good for mental health should not be labeled as a "villainous behavior."
She, however, stated how good it is to see the shift to reverse years and generations worth of conditioning one's self to put others' needs before their own.
2. Healing Your Inner Child
Another trend made viral through TikTok is the "Healing Your Inner Child" trend, where people openly acknowledged their challenging childhood moments and worked on coming to terms with their struggles and experiences.
"Talking about trauma more openly and really talking about inner child work, I think, has prompted a lot of conversations that I don't think have happened at other points in time as openly and as in-depth. I would definitely say this was probably one of the healthiest trends of 2022," declared a licensed mental health counselor and relationship expert in Miami, Genesis Games.
She also noted that acknowledging one's inner child needs healing is "an excellent first step" to better mental wellness.
3. Rest As Resistance
Taisha Caldwell-Harvey, a licensed psychologist and the founder and CEO of the online therapy and wellness platform The Black Girl Doctor, expressed how she loves this trend as it encourages people to lean further into resting, which means sleeping, napping, or doing things that fill one's up, as a form of resistance against oppression, patriarchy, and all sorts of things.
She further stated that rest is productive and active because doing things intentionally that give one joy is a "productive use of time." She loves how social media now challenges the notion that rest is connected with laziness or unproductivity. However, she also stressed that only some people know how to practice real rest despite being celebrated on social media last year.
4. Hot Girls Walk
They said that it is impossible to think about fitness in 2022 without the trend "hot girl walk," which reminded people that walking is healthy. But what is so much better than this is how the trend encouraged people to walk, disconnect from technology and reconnect with nature, which added to why it was such a good trend to be continued this year.
5. Low-Intensity Exercise
Walking, yoga, hiking, swimming - these low-intensity exercises are increasingly popular these days as people realize how they need to listen to their bodies a little bit more, especially since people's bodies nowadays are burned out more than ever. People are choosing to do things that are more gentle on the body, yet giving them better mobility and flexibility as they age, Monal shared, as reported by HuffPost.
6. The Shy Girl Workout
Breann Mitchell, a trainer for FitOn, a free fitness app with classes ranging from yoga to HIIT, declared that this trend is a must as it is very much relatable and helps people who are intimidated to go and work out in the gym.
According to a HuffPost article, almost 50 percent of Americans get gym anxiety, making them feel uncomfortable at the gym. These people worry about others' perceptions and thoughts towards them lifting weights and doing workout routines. Thus, the shy girl workouts help as they provide exercise routines that are not "front and center in a gym."
The trend gives people an idea of how to do "minimal equipment type workouts" that they can have fun doing in a more isolated part of the gym or the comfort of their homes.
Related Article: 'Phantom Diet' A New Diet Trend That Tricks the Body Into Being Full
