What Wellness Really Means to Me

Wellness can mean many different things in today’s health industry. Is it perfection we are seeking, or some sort of feeling that we are never enough? So we continue searching for the next update, the better supplement, the workout that promises to drop five inches off your waistline in 30 days, or the newest protocol for gut and hormone health.

With all of the biohacking nowadays, maybe the real question we should ask ourselves is: Where do I stand in my wellness journey? What do I need the most right now? Am I okay with where I am in life when it comes to my health? Is there another approach to sustained happiness?

As a health and fitness professional, I often think about where this entire wellness movement is headed. Will wellness eventually become misconstrued as perfection or a false sense of happiness? Are all fitness professionals truly on the same page when it comes to helping their clients?

I have been in the fitness industry for more than a decade, and I can honestly say that almost every personal trainer I have met genuinely loves helping others and has a deep passion for fitness. One thing many of us have in common is that fitness impacted our lives personally before it ever became our profession.

Now, after being in this industry for so long, I have come to realize that fitness is not just about working out or aesthetically wanting a better body. Movement is one of the ways we express and release energy from the body. It is essential for the different systems within us, but it is also deeply connected to our mental health.

Movement helps us shift stagnant energy that can affect our mood, confidence, and ability to navigate difficult seasons in life. It sharpens the mind and improves our ability to focus throughout the day. So the next time you feel like skipping a workout, remember that you are missing out on far more than physical results. Exercise can create an endorphin release that improves your mood, your resilience, and your overall sense of well-being.

One thing remains true no matter where the next biohack comes from: incorporating wellness practices like movement, exercise, mindfulness, nourishing foods, sunlight, rest, and connection into your daily life can have a profound impact on your mental health and quality of life.

Maybe wellness was never meant to be about becoming perfect. Maybe it is about becoming more connected to yourself.

Over the years, I have come to notice something deeper within the wellness space. Many people are becoming overwhelmed trying to ‘optimize’ every aspect of their health. Counting every calories, tracking every step, trying every supplement, and constantly feeling like they are behind.

At this point, wellness is starting to feel stressful instead of freeing.

I know this feeling because I have lived it too.

There were seasons in my life where my body was physically fit, yet internally I was exhausted, anxious, disconnected, or emotionally overwhelmed. And that was the moment I realized that true wellness cannot only be measured by appearance, performance, or productivity.

I believe true wellness is also about peace. It is about learning how to regulate stress, create balance, move your body with intention, nourish yourself without obsession, and reconnect with who you are beneath the pressure to constantly improve.

What I have also come to realize is that exercise is not only physical. It is emotional. It is spiritual. It is psychological.

The body carries stress. It carries grief, trauma, pressure, heartbreak, fear, and survival. Many people walk around disconnected from their bodies for years because life has forced them into constant survival mode. We become overstimulated, anxious, exhausted, and mentally consumed by responsibilities, social media, work, finances, parenting, or simply trying to hold everything together.

Movement interrupts that.

Exercise creates an opportunity to return back to ourselves.

And I know this firsthand.

Exercise has revealed more about myself than any self-help book ever could.

I remember about eight years ago, running around a track late at night. As I began to pick up the pace, I suddenly burst into tears. Physically, I was tired — but emotionally, I was overwhelmed with grief that I had been carrying for a long time.

Soon after, I realized something deeper: maybe I loved running so much because there were still parts of me emotionally trying to run from pain, stress, fear, or unresolved emotions.

That moment at the track changed something in me.

It was one of the deepest cries I have ever experienced. The kind of cry that does not come from the surface, but from somewhere buried deep within the body. I cannot fully explain it, but I remember feeling an enormous weight fall off my shoulders that night.

And maybe that is another reason movement can become so healing.

There is so much more to say about the emotional connection between movement and healing.

Stay tuned.

-Giselle