When we talk about decolonizing wellness, it is essential to first acknowledge what has been taken away: that is, the mindset around how we perceive our individual and collective health and wellness. The history of colonization alongside the cultural erasure of the first peoples is one of our core wounds. It continues to affect us today in various detrimental ways.

Many people cannot sit with this information without feeling extreme discomfort, which often hinders any potential progress. As our Western world grows increasingly commodified, we see inequity show up in our healthcare system. People today are increasingly being diagnosed with chronic conditions such as autoimmune diseases, which are largely preventable. We have forgotten our connection between the mind, body, and spirit. This separation is making us sick, both literally and figuratively.

Healing begins when we accept interdependence and start to collectively shift our mental paradigm. This is what I mean when I talk about decolonizing wellness. The framework for my practice is based on five key points. Let’s break them down, shall we?

1. Recentering Indigenous wisdom

In the West, we must accept the fate of the land we reside on and admit that we are only guests here. Indigenous wisdom is sophisticated and served the people greatly until colonizers came and destroyed it. In a society where the healthcare systems have historically prioritized certain groups of people, leaving others without access and care, I aim to recenter who gets to receive care, specifically historically marginalized communities.

2. Acknowledging cultural appropriation

Many health and wellness concepts are appropriated and marketed toward a Western audience. The “watered-down” commercialization of ancient practices like yoga and burning sage strips away the essence and complexity of these traditions, and as a result, many of the healing benefits that these practices hold.

Without awareness, we are causing irreparable harm to the people who seek our care—not to mention losing out on our own understanding of cultures that may seem different from our own. It is important to recognize that, before these concepts were appropriated in mainstream culture, many people were punished severely for practicing their medicine. Knowing this, we can again ask ourselves, “Who is this medicine for?”

3. Community care

I believe that self-care is irrelevant without a foundation of community healing.

In the modern Western world, there is a push towards monetizing wellness that often clouds the cultural underpinnings of care for people. Without acknowledging community health, we are avoiding a large component in understanding why many people simply do not get better. This also ties into understanding systems and how they impact health in both individuals and communities.

So, how do we combat this? One way is to improve access to community health resources, specifically for historically marginalized communities. I believe in reparations for all communities and I devote my own practice to serving those who have been disinvested in.

Community care is about building systems that support everyone. We may not always be in the position to give, and that is okay. What is essential is to give with your full being when you can.

Please consider supporting the community in Collective Wellness’s pay-it-forward programs. We simply ask you to donate any amount that feels meaningful to you. We accept cash, check or Venmo @collectivewellnessmn. In the description line, please write ‘Pay-it-Forward.’

4. Uplifting and collaborating with other practitioners and Elders of color

When we uplift each other, share our gifts with one another, and find ways to support those who have nothing to give back, we are planting the seeds for a stronger foundation. I choose to utilize my space (physical, emotional, virtual, etc) to showcase others who are doing their best work. I encourage you to explore their gifts and possibly visit them if you feel called. After all, it takes a village to heal.

In my own inner work, I am seeing more often than not a multitude of different practitioners. This is normal, expected, and one of the ways that you can support yourself as you dig deep within yourself.

5. Creating spaces for restoration, resources, and respite

As mentioned above, access to care continues to be a barrier for many communities. My long-term goal is to create a space for both communal healing needs and individual rooms for more personalized work. People would be able to share their gifts with people for a reasonable hourly rate.

I also envision being a reliable space to share resources with the community. Imagine a safe house firmly entrenched within the community that it serves, where you can both participate as a guest and a leader. A place where both bravery and respite are possible.

If you’d like to contribute to this goal in any way, I accept well wishes in the spiritual, emotional, and financial realms. You can Venmo @collectivewellnessmn or PayPal ‘Collective Wellness LLC’ any amount that you find meaningful. Write ‘Restoration’ in the description line.

Next steps + how to support

Keep learning about ways that you can decolonize your own life, habits, and/or personal practice. These are a few essential books that I continue to refer to as I engage with this life-long process:
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown
- Parable of the Sower series by Octavia Butler
- How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
- My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem

Acknowledge the history of the lands on which you reside. Know how to pronounce the names, speak them, and hold the land with reverence as we are only visitors here. Be aware that indigenous people are very much still here and they continue to deal with issues around land, racism, cultural erasure, and appropriation. When supporting these communities, please also consider supporting them by ways of exposure, access, and equity, letting them manage how they use your help.
Engage with your community! Go to another culture’s event and absorb the experience in your body. Try the various foods, talk to someone outside your comfort zone, buy something from a local artist. Plant some food in a community garden or find a group in your neighborhood to join. If you have children, bring them and remain open to families who may look different than yours. Invite them over, meet them at a local park, or tell them about an event that they may not come across otherwise. True community healing starts within us as we choose to repair how we engage with others around us. As we actively heal, we are better able to come from a grounded, safe, and loving space so that we can entertain differences from a place of curiosity, rather than fear.
Support our mission with a donation. As I grow my business, I am asking for financial support. If you would like to contact me directly about this, please do so, at rebecca@collectivewellnessmn.com. I also accept Venmo (@collectivewellnessmn) or PayPal donations, under Collective Wellness LLC. Any amount is well received. In the subject line, please write ‘Pay-it-Forward’ if you’d like to support the community by paying for someone’s care, or ‘Restoration’ if you’d prefer it goes to the further goals of a physical space for Collective Wellness LLC.
Book an individual 1:1 integrative bodywork session for yourself or someone you know would benefit.

Without understanding, we continue to replay unhealthy patterns that affect us all, whether individually, relationally, or communally. Let’s work together to disrupt generational patterns of wounding.

We’re on a Mission to Decolonize Wellness. What Does That Mean?