“In times of economic, geopolitical and general uncertainty, consumers are drawn to nostalgia because it’s easy to romanticize the past as ‘safer’ or ‘happier’ when the future is uncertain.”
Alice Crossley, The Future Laboratory
If that quote is true, it might explain quite a lot about what’s happening in the wellness world right now.
Pilates is booming. Hot yoga is having another moment. Walking clubs are everywhere. Strength training has become less about bodybuilding and more about returning to the basics.
Even outside wellness, we’re seeing familiar patterns. Vinyl records. Film cameras. Brick phones are back. 90’s trends. Traditional crafts. Old television shows being rebooted. People reaching for things that feel familiar, proven, and reassuring.
When the world feels uncertain, novelty becomes less attractive. People start looking for anchors.
Perhaps that’s why Pilates feels so relevant right now. It’s not new. It doesn’t need explaining. Most people have a rough idea what it is before they walk through the door.
The same could be said for yoga’s recent swing back towards physically demanding practices. In uncertain times, there can be something reassuring about intensity. Sweat provides evidence. Effort feels measurable. A challenging class offers certainty in a world that often doesn’t.
What if people aren’t really buying Pilates, hot yoga, reformers, mobility classes, cold plunges, breathwork, strength training, or whatever trend comes next? What if they’re buying something underneath all of them? Routine. Structure. Community. Familiarity. A sense of capability. A feeling of being grounded when everything else feels unstable.
The fitness and wellness industry often spends enormous amounts of energy chasing the next thing. The new method. The new format. The new piece of equipment but if uncertainty drives behaviour, perhaps the businesses with the greatest longevity aren’t the ones that constantly reinvent themselves.
Perhaps they’re the ones that consistently provide the things people are actually seeking. Like a welcoming room, a familiar face, a regular time each week, a practice that helps people feel a little steadier than they did before they arrived.
The trend, outfit, language, playlist and intention might change but the human need underneath often stays remarkably similar.
Maybe that’s useful for yoga teachers to remember.:You don’t necessarily need to become the next big thing. You don’t need to panic every time a new trend arrives.
Instead, ask yourself: what is the timeless ingredient beneath what I offer? What are the qualities sought?
As fads come and go, people will probably always be looking for somewhere to feel connected, capable, calm, challenged, supported, or simply part of something and if that’s true, perhaps our job isn’t to chase every trend.
It’s to become very good at delivering what never goes out of fashion.
