Wellness has become a bit of a buzzword – and one that often comes with a hefty price tag.
Luxury spa days, floating sound baths in five-star hotels and retreats costing thousands are all wonderful, if you can afford them.
But what about the rest of us? From health experts, entrepreneurs and influencers, here are ways to pursue a healthy body, mind and soul without exhausting your bank account.
Head to wellness meet-ups
The cost of studio memberships can be pretty high, so people are increasingly organising their own free or affordable wellness-based gatherings. These can usually be found through local groups on social media and platforms such as Meetup.
Yoga teacher Anastasiia Mirraslavska, for example, hosts a meetup called Sunday Reset in London. Every month the group meets in a different city park to do yoga and meditate together, and they also come together for online meditation sessions over Zoom. Some of the sessions are paid-for – about £10 – and others are free.
“I wanted to create a space where people could experience [yoga and meditation] in a simple and accessible way,” she told the BBC.
Erica Correa, a model, is trying to do something similar in Liverpool. She’s started arranging a regular meetup called Soft Sunday, where people come together for curated wellness experiences. The last session was a pilates class, followed by a beauty experience.
“Everything about Soft Sunday is intention over expense,” she told the BBC. “Wellness is more about the decisions that you make in life, how you protect your time.”
For now they’re invitation-only, but she’s hoping to open them up to more people soon.
Similar groups can be found in cities and communities around the world, while online sessions offer another option if there are few organised wellness activities in your area.
Start gardening, even without a garden
Gardening is often described as boosting physical and mental wellbeing, and it doesn’t have to mean spending hundreds on plants and equipment. Research by the UK’s Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) found that people who garden every day report higher wellbeing and lower stress levels.
If you don’t have your own garden, look for community gardens, shared growing spaces or allotments in your area. Many welcome volunteers free of charge and provide tools and equipment, making it easier to get outdoors, meet new people and learn new skills.
Thrive, a UK charity that uses gardening to support people’s health and wellbeing, says community gardens are about much more than growing plants.
Damien Newman, Thrive’s training, education and consultancy manager, said they provided “the opportunity to be engaged in gardening and connect to a welcoming social group”.
“It’s good across our holistic health spectrum, good physically, cognitively, socially, psychologically and emotionally,” he said.
Take up an ‘old-fashioned’ hobby
From birdwatching to crocheting, hobbies once seen as old-fashioned are also finding a new audience as people look for inexpensive ways to improve their wellbeing.
Birdwatching, for example, costs little more than a trip to your local park or another nearby green space. Local birdwatching groups and online communities can also provide an easy way to get started and meet people with the same interest.
And its benefits may go beyond simply spending time outdoors. Research suggests that just 30 minutes of birdwatching can boost happiness, improve wellbeing and help people feel more connected to nature.
Crochet is also making a comeback and can be picked up relatively cheaply. All you need to get started is a hook and a ball of yarn.
Research has also linked crochet with improved wellbeing, with people saying it helped them cope with stress, grief, chronic illness and other life challenges.
Get moving outdoors
Exercise doesn’t have to revolve around the gym. Whether it’s bodyweight workouts, outdoor yoga, walking or running, there are plenty of ways to stay active without spending much money.
Bodyweight training, also known as calisthenics, uses your own body weight for exercises such as push-ups, squats and pull-ups to help build strength. Because it requires little or no equipment, it’s an easy way to improve strength, flexibility and co-ordination at home or in your local park.
Running is another accessible option, whether you join a local running group or head out on your own.
Beginners can find free training plans and apps designed to gradually build fitness towards running five kilometres without stopping. The UK’s NHS Couch to 5K programme is one example, while similar beginner programmes are widely available online.
Once you’ve built up your fitness, look for free community running events or organised runs in your area. Parkrun, which began in the UK, also organises free community events in a growing number of countries around the world.
Find your zen with online sound baths
Sound baths are very 2026.
For the uninitiated, a sound bath is where a practitioner plays crystal or Tibetan sound bowls, gongs and chimes in a soothing way. They’re calming, relaxing, and the vibrations can help put you into a meditative state.
But depending on where you are, in-person sessions can be pricey, or hard to come by.
For an affordable alternative, recordings of sound baths are available on platforms such as YouTube and Spotify, allowing you to recreate the experience at home. Some meditation apps also have in-built sound options that you can meditate to, though these sometimes come with a subscription cost.
Lyz Cooper, founder of the British Academy of Sound Therapy, told the BBC that while the quality of recordings online can vary, there are good ones out there – just make sure to look up recordings created by experienced practitioners or established organisations.
“If you wear over-ear headphones, lie down, close your eyes and make sure you are in a place where you’re not going to be disturbed, the therapeutic benefits of listening are potentially very good,” she said.
“Ultimately, the most important thing is that people find an approach they’ll genuinely use.”
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