The Wellbeing Paradox: Balancing Personal Practice with Systemic Change

In our current wellness landscape, we face a compelling paradox: the journey to wellbeing is deeply personal, yet profoundly shaped by systems that weren't designed for everyone to thrive. As we navigate this complex terrain, we must acknowledge both our individual power and our collective responsibility to create change.

The prevalent narrative of "self-care" often places the entire burden of wellbeing on individuals, suggesting that if we just meditate more, exercise regularly, or practice better boundaries, we'll achieve optimal health. While these practices are valuable, this perspective can inadvertently reinforce the very systems that contribute to our collective unwellness.

Consider the stark reality: Communities of colour, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face disproportionate barriers to wellbeing. When basic needs like safe housing, affordable healthcare, and mental health support remain inaccessible, suggesting "just practice mindfulness" becomes not just insufficient, but potentially harmful.

Yet, this recognition doesn't diminish the transformative potential of personal wellbeing practices. Ancient wisdom traditions like Yoga, mindfulness, and Traditional Chinese Medicine have sustained communities through centuries of systemic oppression. These practices offer more than individual healing—they provide frameworks for understanding interconnectedness and collective care.

Modern science reinforces what these traditions have long taught us. Research in epigenetics shows how social conditions literally shape our genetic expression. Studies in neuroscience reveal that practices like meditation can build resilience against systemic stressors. This intersection of ancient wisdom and contemporary research offers a powerful foundation for both personal and collective transformation.

So how do we move forward? Perhaps the answer lies in what I call "radical integrated wellbeing"—an approach that honours personal practice while actively engaging in systemic change:

Acknowledge the Dual Reality: Recognise that while systems need changing, we must also nurture our personal wellbeing to sustain our capacity for advocacy and action.

Decolonise Wellness: Centre diverse healing traditions and make them accessible in culturally appropriate ways, while ensuring economic benefits flow back to originating communities.

Build Collective Care Networks: Transform individual practices into community-based initiatives that pool resources and create accessible wellbeing opportunities for all.

Advocate While Healing: Use our enhanced capacity from personal practices to engage in systemic advocacy, whether through policy change, community organising, or institutional reform.

Consider the profound wisdom in the African concept of Ubuntu: "I am because we are." True wellbeing cannot exist in isolation. When we practice meditation, we build the emotional regulation needed to engage in difficult conversations about systemic change. When we practice yoga, we develop the flexibility—both physical and mental—to adapt our approaches to advocacy. When we study ancient wisdom, we learn frameworks for understanding interconnection that challenge individualistic paradigms.

As facilitators and practitioners in the wellbeing space, we have a unique responsibility. We must create spaces that honour both personal transformation and collective healing. This means offering practical tools for individual resilience while explicitly acknowledging systemic barriers. It means making our practices accessible while advocating for broader systemic change.

The path forward isn't about choosing between personal practice and systemic change—it's about recognising their inherent connection. When we tend to our personal wellbeing with awareness of systemic contexts, our individual practices become acts of resistance against systems that profit from our disconnection. When we build community around wellbeing, our collective healing becomes a force for systemic transformation.

The journey to wellbeing in today's world requires us to hold multiple truths: that we have the power to influence our personal health and happiness, and that true flourishing requires systemic change. By embracing this complexity, we can create approaches to wellbeing that serve both our individual needs and our collective liberation.

As we step into 2025, let's commit to this integrated vision of wellbeing—one that honours personal practice while actively working toward systemic transformation. Because ultimately, our individual and collective wellbeing are inextricably linked, and the path to true healing must encompass both.

Ruhee Meghani (she/her) is the founder of Allied Collective, an inclusive facilitation agency helping organisations achieve their inclusion, leadership development, and wellbeing goals.