The future is positive for reflexologists, Reiki practitioners and doulas
Despite the struggles and challenges that many industries faced in 2023 we definitely saw trends in a positive direction in the holistic health and doula industry. Our alumni continue to do well in growing their reflexology, Reiki and doula businesses and we've seen positive growth in the enrolment in our training programs too. Awareness of holistic health and preventative healthcare has been trending upwards for the duration of my 20 year career as a reflexologist, Reiki practitioner and doula but the most drastic increase has certainly been in the past few years for a few obvious reasons.
People aren't getting their needs met by the medical system. It takes exponentially longer to see a medical care provider, wait times are even longer than ever before when you're in the clinic or office. More people don't have a primary healthcare provider now than ever before and the care they do receive is becoming less and less personal. The understaffed and overworked medical system is making more mistakes, missing more issues and they still almost never address the root cause of a person's health concern. So many people aren't going to the medical system for help at all because they feel less optimistic than ever that they will get what the need. This creates a greater demand for the personal connection with a holistic health practitioner or doula. People's need to be heard, to release their fears, vent their frustration, or have their concerns regarding their health validated is only increasing. The support our client's receive is personal and compassionate. Client's appreciate that they can book an appointment quickly and easily and spend a good amount of time with their practitioner or doula.
After a few of the most stressful years in our collective experience more people are really focused on real self-care. More people consider themselves their primary healthcare provider and build a team of supportive practitioners around them to meet their needs more holistically. Counselling, energy healing, chiropractic care, reflexology and other body, mind and spirit modalities are helping people feel healthier overall and people are focused more on investing in their health whether they are currently sick or wanting to stay well. Wellness continues to move higher on more people's priority list and is worth investing in. People understand now more than ever how important regulating their nervous system is for overall health and that emotions and past experiences do manifest as symptoms of disease and how important modalities that promote deep relaxation and emotional release or expression are for overall health. Modalities like reflexology and Reiki that induce a deep state of relaxation and having someone like a doula or holistic health practitioner to talk to is higher on people's priority list than ever before.
Increasing pharmacare skepticism. If the past few years did anything in healthcare, it increased more people's awareness of the pharmaceutical industries hold on the medical system. This accelerated the movement towards holistic health. More people understand that medical prescriptions treat symptoms not the cause and often come with side effects that can be as problematic or worse than the original health issue. More people are saving the prescription for when it's really needed and opting to help support their body's natural healing ability with holistic health modalities like reflexology and Reiki. With increasing pharmaceutical industry skepticism, the demand for doulas is also increasing because people want support navigating the medical system for fertility support, pregnancy, birth and postpartum as well as the natural options that working with a doula or holistic reproductive practitioner can offer to help avoid the use of unnecessary medications.
As technology advances at a rapid pace with AI, working from home, telemedicine, virtual reality etc. experts are predicting and we are actually seeing an increase in demand for holistic work like reflexology, Reiki and doula. As we become more disconnected from each other in most other areas of our life, the need to have one on one connection, compassionate care and advocacy support is increasing. In a medical system that is much less personal, having a doula to help you navigate your options and advocate for yourself or seeing a reflexologist or Reiki practitioner who knows you is more valuable than ever, even in tough economic times. While technology may have a negative impact on many other industries as things become more automated, a robot or AI will never be able to replace the kinds of skills that doulas, reflexologists and Reiki practitioners offer.
What does this mean? In the face of economic uncertainty and ongoing challenges in various industries, particularly for small businesses grappling with adversity and the transformative impact of advancing technology and AI, the outlook for holistic health remains positive. Despite disruptions elsewhere, the holistic health sector continues to thrive.
Technology advances have also served the holistic health industry well by making training even more accessible, especially for people in remote areas, for busy mothers and people who are employed in other industries who are desiring a change. Live video interaction, streaming video resources, audio manuals and hybrid conferences have proven that they are here to stay which will mean more people can meet the growing demand for practitioners in communities all over North America and the world.
