In addition to its individual benefits, the body positivity and wellness lifestyle movement has the potential to promote broader social and cultural change. By challenging traditional beauty standards and promoting a more inclusive definition of beauty, this movement can help to create a more accepting and compassionate society. This, in turn, can have far-reaching benefits, including reduced rates of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and mental health problems.

To understand how to merge these worlds, we first have to look at the damage done by the "wellness" industry. Traditional wellness marketing has sold us a bill of goods: that health is an aesthetic. We’ve been taught to assume that a person running a marathon is "healthier" than a person doing yoga in a larger body. We’ve been conditioned to believe that salads are moral and donuts are shameful.

Stop exercising to "earn" your food or change your shape. Instead, find joyful movement —activities like dancing, hiking, or gentle yoga—that make you feel strong and accomplished.