Inclusivity in Wellness: Practical Changes from Real Experiences

The fitness, wellness, and beauty industries pride themselves on helping people look and feel their best, but can always do more to ensure that they create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.

Mindbody is amplifying Black voices in the wellness community and drawing attention to areas that may be overlooked by studios, gyms, salons and spas.

We wanted to find out how business owners, fitness instructors, stylists, wellness practitioners, and community members alike can help improve by highlighting real stories—both negative and positive—to provide some insight into marginalized experiences within wellness. 

Here, three team members share their stories:

The lack of representation in mainstream media has been a longstanding battle against inclusivity. Many beauty advertisements, social media accounts, and magazines depict photos of blonde, thin, white women with long, straight hair. This is an issue for many reasons, as it sets a false standard of beauty that neglects most people and with that, seemingly excludes them from the beauty market.  

In addition, many women with textured hair have trouble finding a properly trained stylist who is respectful and inclusive in their practice. ANtoinette Little, a Mindbody Technical Business Analyst shared:

"Hair shrinkage is natural for women with textured hair, and the tighter the curl, the more shrinkage you will have. For many years, images of white women with long, straightened hair have dominated, causing insecurity amongst black women. Being a black woman with long curly hair, I've experienced going to busy salons where I've been told ‘we don't service people with your type of hair’ while running fingers through my hair with disgust. As a result, causing me to be extremely self-conscious about the maintenance of my hair and the people I choose to service it."
 

Walking into a salon should be an exciting and comforting experience. These businesses and stylists exist to help us look and feel beautiful. If they are up-charging for differing hair textures or turning people away, they are contributing to the false standard of beauty represented in the media which can create environment that not only excludes but creates longstanding insecurities for Black women. 

Group fitness is also often associated with specific types of people. We see images of super-fit men with big biceps and six-packs, or skinny, blonde women in expensive athletic wear. When other see this, it can add to the sense of insecurity when walking into fitness studios and feeling out of place because of their weight, age, skin color, background, or even clothing. This feeling can be reinforced—or diminished—by the type of instructors working in these businesses. 

If a business is owned or operated by a diverse staff, it can provide an environment that is welcoming to a broader range of people. According to Nicole Ely, QA Analyst IV at Mindbody, “If you don't have a diverse staff, the chances your staff will have bias issues are WAY stronger.”  

When asked about a wellness experience that stood out as welcoming and inclusive amongst the rest, many Mindbody team members mentioned diversity among staff, clientele, and social media. 

Ely shared: 

 "I took a pole/aerial silk fitness class in New Jersey. The studio has since been closed, but it was the most welcoming experience I'd ever had. The studio was run and operated by black women. I'd never been to a studio run by black women, so the novelty appealed to me. The fact that they were so welcoming, patient, and encouraging made me feel like aerial silks weren't so scary and that they could be for me, a plus-sized black woman."

Little shared:

"In classes, I noticed there were women of all different shapes, sizes, and backgrounds, which made the class fun and interactive. Instructors never brought attention to any particular group or individual and played music that wasn't tailored to any specific genre. Oftentimes, I've attended workout sessions when instructors see too many Black faces, and they assume Rap is the type of music the group wants to work out to."

Derelle Davis, Business Operations Specialist at Mindbody, also said, “I love seeing fitness studios whose advertisements and social media looks like a melting pot.”  

From diversity and inclusivity of staff, instructors, and clientele, to music played and images on social media accounts, there are so many ways businesses can contribute to a more inclusive environment for all. 

If you’re an instructor, stylist, or business owner, be aware of these issues. Whether it’s remembering to encourage everyone equally, educating yourself on unconscious bias and how to eliminate it, or training on how to be a better ally, every step counts toward making positive change in the wellness industry.  

When asked how businesses can do better, Ely suggested, "Hire external trainers to talk about bias. Study up about issues in wellness concerning black people and people of color. AND LISTEN when people of color are talking about what they want from their experience.” 

Davis specifically mentioned giving each member of fitness classes direct eye contact and encouragement: “Saying something kind and simple like, ‘We're happy to have you, enjoy the class!’ can go a long way.” 

Being a client at a salon, spa, or fitness studio also offers you opportunities to increase inclusivity and create a more welcoming environment for all.  

Ely suggested:

"If you walk into an establishment, and you see a person of color waiting, and the practitioner calls you up first, ask if you're in line after that other person. Call attention to the fact that someone isn't being seen. Don't support businesses that have race issues. Just because they're comfortable or familiar to you, let them know with your dollars that they need to be comfortable and familiar to everyone in the community."

While your personal interaction with an establishment can go a long way towards promoting inclusivity, it also helps to marshal the support of friends—and the internet.

“Invite your friends to help add to the diversity, and write reviews not only explaining the service but including your ethnicity," said Davis. "Personally, if I see Jane's Salon has a stylist that knows how to style African American hair, and they have a great review, I'm going to give them try.” 

Over and over again, the message from our respondents was clear: sustained, intentional change from businesses requires sustained, intentional action from its clientele. Being clear about what you’d like to see from a business, leaving reviews about what you have seen, and voting with your wallet can all make a huge difference. As Little put it:

1. "Engage with the business and its owners by providing ideas for improvement and feedback on the service you received." 

2. "Promote the business to your friends and social media groups. If business owners start to see a diverse group of recurring customers, they'll be more prone to expand the quality of service they're providing." 

3. "Don't give up easily! Once changes are made, business owners will sustain if forced to." 

Overall, the wellness industry is supposed to exist to help everyone look and feel beautiful, safe, healthy, and welcomed. At Mindbody, our goal is to connect more people in the world with more wellness. We all want to be well. And we all want each other to be well. But, in order for the wellness industry to feel attainable and inclusive to all, some changes need to be made. And these changes start with all of us.