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You’ve come across her profile. She’s a slender, blonde influencer immersed in the wellness trend, filling her Instagram feed with aesthetically pleasing images of yoga poses, green smoothies, and vaguely spiritual quotes superimposed on stunning beach sunsets. She promotes all things holistic, plant-based, and natural without providing clear definitions. She shares images of serene Buddhas, though she doesn’t practice Buddhism; she posts joyful Ganeshas, despite not being Hindu. She extols the virtues of Eastern medicine but couldn’t explain the belief system surrounding Qi without breaking a sweat.
Amidst those picturesque sunsets and gravity-defying yoga poses, she also shares uplifting quotes about “choice” and “the great awakening.” She speaks of “keeping our bodies pure.” Keep scrolling. She has featured anti-vaccine advocates on her platform, encouraging her followers to “question everything”—including the Covid vaccine. Yet when asked, she insists she’s not anti-anything; it’s all about choice, freedom, and inquiry.
Then, she starts tossing around terms like “Big Pharma.”
She’s been red-pilled, and subtly, she’s leading her wellness followers down the same path.
The Wellness Movement Has Its Flaws
The wellness movement—promoting an organic, plant-based diet, sufficient sleep, yoga, and time in nature—harbors significant issues, notably the privileges of class and race. Who can afford to eat solely organic produce and opt for exotic grains over standard wheat? You need a decent income to be picking up amaranth and quinoa at the store.
And let’s not forget the concept of food deserts, defined by the USDA as areas where low-income populations lack access to supermarkets or large grocery stores. These food deserts make it nearly impossible to find fresh produce, let alone organic options, and they predominantly affect BIPOC communities.
Sleep is another luxury few Americans can achieve; raise your hand if you consistently get eight hours. If you did, you might be misrepresenting the reality of many. Yoga classes come with a price tag, which raises access issues, along with the costs of mats and appropriate attire. Sure, anyone can practice yoga anywhere, but if that’s your viewpoint, this article might not resonate with you.
And discussing access to green spaces and the time to enjoy them? Let’s not even go there. We know who has that privilege (affluent white individuals) and who doesn’t (underprivileged BIPOC). The wellness community loves to engage with nature while overlooking who can participate in these activities.
Some wellness experts acknowledge the problematic nature of advising everyone to frolic to the local organic market after a yoga session, but many do not. The wellness movement is entrenched in wealth and privilege, leading to serious consequences.
You Are Accountable for Your Health
Due to the financial backing and privilege of the wellness movement, they often leap from “Your choices impact your health” to “You are responsible for your health.” This carries the implication that everyone has choices (as if everyone could always choose organic). This burden of choice morphs into a burden of responsibility: if you can make choices, you are ultimately responsible for your health. This narrative breeds hope for weight loss and healing but also invites victim-blaming: if you’re unwell, it’s because you made poor choices.
This isn’t new. We’ve always blamed overweight individuals for their weight.
Wellness advocates extend this notion to include alternative treatments, advocating for the elimination of pills in favor of plants. They criticize GMOs and promote natural remedies as the purest form of health. This perspective can easily slide into conspiracy theories about Big Pharma and skepticism towards vaccines.
While not everyone in wellness circles is anti-vaccine or oblivious to their privilege, connections to the anti-vax movement have long existed, with research indicating that anti-vaccine content is frequently shared in parenting and wellness groups. When the pandemic began, influencers were already primed to promote anti-vaccination sentiments.
When we think of vaccine misinformation, names like RFK Jr. and Dr. Mercola come to mind—but it’s no coincidence that individuals like Mercola, who has made a fortune off conspiracy theories, also used to post images of antioxidant-rich blueberries alongside rants about Bill Gates.
“If you choose not to get vaccinated, you’re taking responsibility for your health,” claimed Rachel Adams in an interview with a lifestyle magazine. “I’d rather take responsibility for my health than rely on the government.” When the interviewer pointed out that refusing a vaccine could unintentionally harm others, she likened it to “lighting my child on fire to save yours,” echoing a common anti-vax sentiment that elicits both disbelief and anger.
There’s Cultural Appropriation in Anti-Vax Sentiments
Many in the wellness movement combine their culinary purity with yoga practices. Cultural historian Mark Rivers argues that yoga has historically resisted conventional Western medicine, led by “charismatic figures.” Social media influencers have become the modern-day successors to this tradition.
Although not all yoga practitioners are anti-vaccine, the connection exists. Yoga promotes “self-care and self-discovery,” resonating with individuals who feel let down by governmental and healthcare systems. It shares three core beliefs that underpin numerous conspiracy theories: “everything is connected, nothing happens without a reason, and nothing is as it seems.”
The same concepts underpin many New Age spiritual practices—Gua Sha, Ayurveda, and Traditional Chinese Medicine—often stripped of their cultural significance and rebranded for Western audiences. Cultural scholar Lisa Patel explains that Westerners have a history of cherry-picking from Eastern traditions to align with their agendas.
What some have selected: “Your body is sacred, but it’s under attack.” This idea aligns seamlessly with an anti-vax agenda. Furthermore, the emphasis on those core beliefs makes it easy to adopt a stance of “question everything” and “it’s my choice.”
They aren’t anti-vaccine; they’re pro-inquiry.
That’s the troubling aspect of these wellness influencers spreading anti-vax rhetoric. They cloak their messages in the guise of choice, inquiry, and love. Beneath the surface of their colorful posts lies a foundation of privilege, classism, and cultural appropriation.
You think you’re just enjoying an organic smoothie, but before you know it, someone’s discussing The Great Awakening and #savethechildren, and your mind races, “Isn’t that a little Q-Anon-ish?” Yes, yes it is. The wellness movement undeniably has an anti-vaccine problem.
While it’s true that you should be cautious about certain agricultural practices, don’t forget to get vaccinated.
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In summation, while the wellness community aims to promote health and well-being, it often overlooks issues of privilege and accessibility, complicating its messages surrounding personal responsibility and health choices.